Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Reset Your Career Trajectory
Transcript
- Lucas: There's a concept I've been thinking about a lot lately called the 'trajectory reset' — and it's something an internal transfer can do that a new job at a different company often can't. Luna: Trajectory reset — I like that. What do you mean exactly? Lucas: So imagine you've been in the same role for three years. You're doing solid work, but your performance reviews have plateaued. You're not failing, but you're also not getting the stretch assignments. Your manager sees you as 'the reliable person who does X' — not as someone ready for the next level. Luna: Right — you're typecast within your own team. I've definitely seen that happen. Lucas: Exactly. And the standard advice is to leave for another company. But there's good data that shows internal transfers can actually reset your trajectory faster. A study from the Corporate Executive Board — part of Gartner — found that internal movers were promoted 30 to 40 percent faster than employees who stayed in the same role. Luna: That's a huge gap. But is that just because the people who move are already more ambitious? Maybe it's a selection effect. Lucas: It's a fair question. But the study controlled for performance ratings. Even among employees with the same performance scores, those who made an internal move saw faster career progression. The theory is that a move signals versatility and ambition — it resets the narrative about you. Luna: So it's not just about the new skills — it's about how leadership perceives you. That makes sense. Lucas: Right. And I want to ground this in a specific example. I talked to a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 consumer goods company — let's call her Sarah. She had been in brand marketing for four years. Solid performer, but she was competing against a dozen other brand managers for one director spot. The odds weren't great. Luna: Classic bottleneck. What did she do? Lucas: She transferred to the data analytics team — a completely lateral move. Same level, same pay. But within eighteen months, she was leading a project that got visibility from the C-suite. Two years later, she was promoted to a director role in a new cross-functional group that didn't even exist when she started. Luna: Wow. So her trajectory went from maybe someday director to actually-director in two years, because she changed the context. Lucas: Exactly. And here's the key: in her old team, she was a known quantity. In the new team, she was a mystery. The new manager didn't have preconceived notions. She could redefine her reputation from scratch — and she brought a perspective from marketing that the analytics team desperately needed. Luna: So the reset works partly because you become a novelty. But not everyone can pull that off. What if you're in a company where internal mobility is rare? Or a risk-averse industry like banking or insurance? Lucas: Great point. And I think that's where you have to be strategic. You can't just apply to any open role. You need to identify what I call 'high-reset potential' roles. There are three criteria I look for. Luna: I'm taking notes. What are they? Lucas: First, the role should be in a function or business unit where the company is investing heavily — think new product lines, digital transformation, or data science. If the company is putting money there, the visibility is higher and growth opportunities are more abundant. Luna: That makes sense. You want to be where the action is. Lucas: Second, you want a hiring manager who has a track record of promoting from within. You can usually find this by talking to people who've worked for them, or by looking at LinkedIn profiles of their former direct reports. If you see a pattern of internal promotions, that's a good sign. Luna: And the third criterion? Lucas: This one is subtle but powerful: the role should value a skill you already have, but that your current team undervalues. In Sarah's case, her marketing team didn't care much about her data visualization skills. But the analytics team saw that as a huge asset. You want to find a place where your existing strengths are seen as rare and valuable. Luna: So you're not starting from zero — you're reframing your existing experience. That's a lot less risky than trying to learn everything from scratch. Lucas: Exactly. And I think this is where the internal transfer really shines versus an external move. When you go to a new company, you're starting from zero in terms of relationships, culture, and trust. But with an internal transfer, you already know how the organization works. You have a network. The learning curve is mostly about the new function, not the company itself. Luna: That's a real advantage. But I've also seen people who move internally and then struggle because they're not given proper onboarding. They're expected to hit the ground running because they already work there. Lucas: That's a huge trap. And we did an episode on that — episode 51, about how internal transfers often skip onboarding. But the trajectory reset idea actually gives you a reason to insist on a proper ramp-up. You can say: 'I'm making this move to contribute in a new way. I need a structured onboarding to get up to speed on the tools and processes.' Most managers will respect that. Luna: So part of resetting your trajectory is also resetting your expectations around how you enter the new role. You have to be intentional. Lucas: Right. And there's one more psychological element. When you've been in a role for a long time, you can lose motivation — not because you're lazy, but because you've solved the same problems over and over. A lateral move can re-engage you. It's like a cognitive reset. Luna: That's something we don't talk about enough — the burnout from boredom. It's real. Lucas: Absolutely. And speaking of keeping things fresh — I want to mention something about this show. We deliberately don't run ads on these episodes. That's a choice we made because we think the content is more valuable when it's uninterrupted and focused on you. Luna: Yeah, and we've heard from listeners that they appreciate that. It's a trust thing. Lucas: If you want to support that approach, there's a simple way. You can go to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a low-key way to help keep the show ad-free and independent. No pressure — just if it's something you believe in. Luna: And we mean that. We're not going anywhere either way. But it's nice to know there's a way for listeners to vote with their support. Lucas: Alright — back to trajectory resets. So we've talked about finding the right role. But there's also a timing element. When is the best time to make this kind of move? Luna: I'm guessing not when you're in the middle of a major project or right after a promotion? Lucas: Right. The best time is actually when your performance is solid but you've hit a plateau. If you move when you're struggling, you might just transfer your problems. But if you move from a position of strength, you carry that positive reputation with you. Luna: So it's about timing the move to maximize the reset effect. Don't wait until you're desperate. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: after you make the move, document everything. Track your projects, your wins, the feedback you get. Because eighteen months from now, when you're up for promotion, you'll want to show how the reset accelerated your growth. Luna: That's smart. So the trajectory reset isn't automatic — you have to actively build the case for it. Lucas: Right. But if you do it right, an internal transfer can be the fastest way to change how people see you — and how you see yourself.