Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Give You Access to High-Visibility Projects
Transcript
- Lucas: One thing people often overlook when they think about an internal transfer is the access it gives you to high-stakes projects. It's not just about a new title or a different desk—it's about suddenly being in the room where decisions get made. Luna: So the visibility itself becomes a form of currency. Have you got a concrete example of that? Lucas: Yeah, I was talking to someone at a major financial services firm—let's call her Priya. She was a compliance analyst, solid work, but she was buried in the reporting cycle. She'd never met anyone above the director level. She applied for an internal transfer to the strategy team, which was working on a big digital transformation project. Within a month, she was in a room with the COO explaining her analysis on a $200 million initiative. Luna: That's a serious jump. Did her old manager try to block her? Lucas: They did, actually. And that's the tension. The company says they support mobility, but the individual manager often sees it as a loss. The trick is to frame the move as a benefit to the company—you're not leaving, you're bringing your knowledge to a higher-leverage role. Priya lined up a sponsor on the strategy team who advocated for her. Luna: Sponsorship over mentorship, right? A mentor gives advice, a sponsor actually puts their reputation on the line for you. Lucas: Exactly. She needed that sponsor to make the case to HR that the transfer was in the company's interest. And once it went through, she was on a completely different trajectory. The key insight is that visibility compounds. The more high-profile the project, the more people see your work, the more opportunities you get. Luna: But how do you identify which projects are actually high-visibility versus just busywork with a fancy name? Lucas: Good question. Look for things that are tied to a strategic priority straight from the CEO's mouth—digital transformation, new market entry, cost restructuring. Also, check how many cross-functional teams are involved. The more departments, the more visibility. And ask yourself: does any senior leader have a direct stake in the outcome? If the answer is yes, that's a high-visibility project. Luna: What about timing? When's the best moment to make that move? Lucas: Right after a success. If you've just delivered a big win—maybe you streamlined a process that saved the company $500,000—your stock is high. That's the moment to say, 'I'm ready to take on more complex challenges.' Your current manager is more likely to give you a good reference if you leave on a high note. And the hiring team will see you as a proven performer. Luna: Makes sense. But there's a risk, right? What if the high-visibility project flops? You're suddenly very visible in a bad way. Lucas: That's a real concern. But even a visible failure can be useful—if you handle it well. You learn a ton, you build relationships with the people who were on the project, and you show resilience. I've seen people get promoted after a failed project because they were the ones who could articulate exactly what went wrong and how to fix it. Luna: So it's almost better to fail visibly than to succeed in obscurity. That's a powerful reframe. Lucas: I think that's right. And if we've helped you think through a move like that, we'd love you to consider supporting the show. We deliberately don't run ads here—it keeps the conversation clean and focused. If that's valuable to you, you can toss a few dollars to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's completely optional, but it helps us keep doing this ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture that makes a big difference for us. We appreciate everyone who has chipped in so far. Lucas: Alright, back to the topic. Once you've identified a high-visibility project and decided to go for it, you need to prepare for the internal interview differently. You can't just talk about your current job duties—you have to talk about impact. Use numbers. 'I led a team that reduced processing time by 30 percent.' 'I identified a compliance gap that saved us $2 million in potential fines.' That's the language the new team wants to hear. Luna: And you also need to show that you understand their world. Do your homework on the project's current status, the stakeholders, the risks. Lucas: Exactly. Priya spent two weeks reading the strategy team's internal documents, talking to people who had already transferred, and preparing a one-page analysis of the digital transformation project's biggest bottleneck. She walked into the interview with a solution, not just a resume. That's what got her the offer. Luna: So the internal transfer isn't just about moving—it's about repositioning yourself as a strategic asset. Lucas: Right. The move itself is the beginning. The visibility you gain from high-impact projects is what really changes your career trajectory. And that's something you can't get from just doing your current job well. You have to put yourself in a different context. Luna: I think that's a great takeaway. For anyone listening, the question is: what's the most visible project in your company that you could plausibly get involved with? Lucas: Exactly that. And if you're feeling stuck, start by having a conversation with someone on that team. You might be surprised how open they are. That's all for this week—see you next time.