As a newer employee of a growing company, is it acceptable to apply for a more senior position?

Question

I am a newer employee (less than a year) with a growing company facing change on various organizational levels.

My current position is/was a newly created position, that I am well suited for. I have had praise for my work, have gotten recognized for going beyond what is asked of me, and feel that I have begun to network well within the organization.

A newly created position has just opened up that is quite a few pay grades higher than mine. It is in more in the neighbourhood of assistant/managerial responsibility in a different department than my own. However, quite of a few of the responsibilities of the new position are already being performed by myself in my current position.

On one hand, I feel like I have a very good chance due to the fact that I am already performing majority of assigned duties, perhaps to a less intensive degree than to be required. I already have rapport with the manager specific to the department, and can already rehearse why I'd be perfect for the job.

On the other hand, the paygrade jumps a few levels (although how positions are graded seems to be a bit of a mystery among staff), and I've only been in my position for a short amount of time. I fear that it will backfire and will be seen negatively to having been trained only to leave the position. Because this was a newly created position, I know that there is no one trained and available to fill my place should I be promoted. My current manager is difficult to work with and not liked by many people. Apparently, that was one of the reasons they had trouble filling this position internally.

That said, it is not my motivation for applying. I am truly interested in this new position, regardless of the paygrade. It is aligned with my career goals, although I wonder if I am jumping the gun.

Would it be inappropriate for me to apply? Could it be reflected negatively?

Answer 1

Would it be inappropriate for me to apply?

You'll never know unless you do.

Could it be reflected negatively?

The only people I'm aware of that would think negatively about this are ones that wouldn't want you to advance in your career.

Answer 2

Would it be inappropriate for me to apply? Could it be reflected negatively?

It's seldom inappropriate to apply for internal positions. Companies often post positions internally in hopes that good current employees will step up and apply for these positions before they are opened up externally. In many ways, it's best for a company to promote from within whenever they can.

Applying for an open internal position is seldom viewed as a negative, although some poor managers don't like to see their employees move to other departments, making the manager's life harder. You don't want to do this too often, as that could send a signal that you aren't happy with your current position, but an occasional attempt at a better position shouldn't be a negative..

That said, you haven't even been with the company for a year, and you indicate that the new position is several pay grades above your current position. This might be an indication that your chances for landing the job aren't terrific. Since some companies have rules about how often you can apply for internal positions, and how soon after joining, check those first before you decide to pursue this move.

Still, the only way to know for sure if you could be considered for this new role is to apply and see what happens.