Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How to Use Shadow Work for Internal Transfers
Transcript
- Lucas: You know the advice everyone gives about internal transfers? Update your resume, network with hiring managers, apply through the portal. It is fine advice, but it is also high-risk. You signal intent before you have any idea whether the role actually fits you. Luna: And once you apply, you are in the system. Your current manager might get notified. It can get awkward fast. Lucas: Exactly. So today I want to talk about a lower-friction approach that most people overlook entirely: job shadowing. Not the one-day 'sit next to someone and watch them answer emails' shadowing. I mean structured, timeboxed shadow work that functions as a try before you buy for an internal move. Luna: Okay, I have heard of people shadowing to learn a skill, but using it to actually transfer? That is a different angle. Give me a concrete example. Lucas: Let me tell you about a marketing coordinator at a large financial services firm. We will call her Sarah. She had been in the marketing operations team for about two years, doing campaign analytics and vendor management. She kept noticing that the product managers had more strategic influence, and she wanted in. But she did not know anyone in product management well enough to ask for a referral, and she was afraid that applying formally would tip off her boss. Luna: Classic catch-22. You need insider knowledge to apply, but applying is what outs you. Lucas: Right. So instead of applying, Sarah asked the senior product manager for her region if she could shadow him for two hours a week for three months. She framed it as professional development: 'I want to understand how product strategy connects to the marketing campaigns I execute.' The PM said yes because it was low commitment for him and flattering. Luna: Smart framing. She is not saying she wants his job. She is saying she wants to be better at her current job. Lucas: Exactly. And here is the key: she did not just sit in on meetings. She created a simple deliverable each week. One week she mapped the product roadmap to the marketing calendar. Another week she summarized customer feedback trends from support tickets. She sent those one-pagers to the PM with a note: 'Here is what I noticed from shadowing your sprint review — thought you might find it useful.' Luna: So she is adding value while learning. That is a huge difference from just observing. Lucas: Massive. After about ten weeks, the PM started including her in his project Slack channels. Then she got invited to a cross-functional strategy session. By month three, when a junior product manager role opened up, the PM came to her and said, 'You should apply. I will sponsor you.' She got the role without ever submitting a formal application through the portal. Luna: That is a beautiful outcome. But I suspect the success depends on how you propose the shadowing. What if your manager gets defensive? Lucas: That is the critical piece. You have to manage the optics. If your manager thinks you are plotting an exit, they will shut it down. So the framing has to be skill-building, not job-hunting. And ideally, you get your manager on board first. If you say, 'I want to shadow the product team so I can bring better customer insights into our marketing campaigns,' a good manager sees that as an investment in your current role. Luna: What about the risk that the shadowing becomes unpaid labor? You are doing real work for the product team, but you are still on the marketing team's payroll. Lucas: It is a real risk, and you have to set boundaries. Sarah timeboxed it to two hours a week. She did not let it creep into her core responsibilities. And she made sure her manager knew the time commitment. The product team got value from her summaries, but she was not doing their grunt work. If you start doing data entry for the product team, you have crossed a line. Luna: So the rule is: you observe and synthesize, you do not execute for them. Lucas: Exactly. You are a consultant, not a temp. And you need a feedback loop. Sarah asked the PM for a brief check-in every two weeks: 'What am I missing? What would be more useful?' That kept the shadowing productive and also built rapport. Luna: It also signals that you are coachable. Hiring managers love that. Lucas: Totally. And here is the thing — this approach works even if the shadowing does not lead to a transfer. You still gain cross-functional knowledge that makes you better in your current role. And you build a relationship with someone in another department who can later advocate for you. It is a no-regret move if done right. Luna: I want to push back a little. For someone in a very siloed organization, or a company where cross-team movement is discouraged, could shadowing backfire? Like, what if the PM tells HR and HR flags you as a flight risk? Lucas: Fair point. If your company culture is toxic or highly political, any hint of mobility can be dangerous. But in that case, you probably should be looking externally anyway. For most healthy organizations, cross-functional curiosity is seen as a positive. The key is to keep it transparent with your manager. If you cannot be transparent, that is a red flag about the company, not about the strategy. Luna: So what is the concrete pitch? If a listener wants to try this next week, what do they say to the person they want to shadow? Lucas: Three components. First, be specific about the time commitment. Say, 'Could I shadow you for one hour every two weeks for the next two months?' Not open-ended. Second, state what you will deliver. Say, 'I will send you a one-page summary of takeaways after each session.' Third, connect it to your current role. Say, 'I think this will help me do better work on the marketing side.' That makes it a win-win. Luna: And if they say no? You have to be prepared for rejection. Lucas: If they say no, ask if they can recommend someone else in the department. Or ask if you can attend just one team meeting as a fly on the wall. The goal is to get a foot in the door. And if the whole department is closed off, that tells you something about the culture. Luna: Honestly, I think a lot of people overcomplicate internal moves. They think they need a formal transfer plan or a sponsorship from a VP. But this method is so low-stakes that it is almost foolish not to try it. Lucas: Yeah, and it aligns with something we have seen across many episodes: the best internal moves happen through relationships, not portals. Shadowing is one of the purest relationship-building tools because it is collaborative, not transactional. Luna: It reminds me of what we talked about in episode 6 — building visibility before you apply. This is a concrete way to do that. Lucas: And if today's episode gave you a new way to think about your next career step, honestly, if it was worth a coffee to you, that is the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and independent, and we really appreciate it. Luna: Yeah, it is a small way to make sure we keep digging into these practical strategies. Lucas: So back to shadowing. One more nuance I want to hit: the timing. Do not start shadowing when your team is in the middle of a big delivery. Wait for a lull. If you are under a deadline and you ask to shadow someone, it looks like you are avoiding work. Luna: Good point. Read the room. Lucas: And once you start, document everything. Not just for the deliverables, but for yourself. After three months, you should be able to write a one-page summary of what you learned and how it applies to your career goals. That document becomes your internal pitch when a role opens up. Luna: So it is like building a portfolio of cross-functional work before you even ask for the job. Lucas: Exactly. And that portfolio is way more convincing than a cover letter. It shows you have already done the thinking. You have already added value. You are not asking for a chance — you are showing you can do the work. Luna: What about the person you are shadowing? Do you think there is a risk that they feel threatened? Like, maybe they think you are after their job? Lucas: It depends on the person. If they are insecure, yes. But most senior people are not threatened by someone two levels below them. They actually like being seen as a mentor. And if you position yourself as someone who wants to learn from their expertise, it is usually welcome. Sarah's PM actually told her later that he appreciated her initiative because it made him reflect on his own work. Luna: That is a nice bonus. The mentor benefits too. Lucas: Right. So if you are listening and you are stuck in a role that feels like a dead end, try this before you update your resume and start cold-applying. Shadowing is low risk, high return. And at worst, you learn something new. Luna: And if it works, you might end up in a role you actually love without ever filling out an application. Lucas: That is the goal. Next episode, we are going to talk about what happens when the shadowing leads to an offer — how to navigate the transition without alienating your current team. See you then. Luna: See you.