How should i approach my manager to say i want to move to another position in the same company?

Question

I am in a big company that has many buildings and areas of all diferent kinds all over my city and country. The point is that i entered as an intern in one area that, in my opinion, does not suit what i want for my career in the future. I've learnt a lot during the past 6 months but they use very old techs and my boss is not the best one for an internship program, in my opinion (it's not only this that makes me think that this is not what i want for my career, is just a part of it). So, i started looking for another position in the same company (since i liked it) but in an area that suits me best. I talked to another manager and arranged a meeting next week. My real question here is, since this other manager has some positions to fill up in his team, how should i approach him showing my interest? What should i say? I'm kinda shy and my biggest flaw is this part of communication, so i'm really stuck in this part right now. After this part, if it succeeds and i get the chance of going to this other team, how should i approach my current boss to say i'm looking for another position that maybe is best to my career? This second question is considering the facts above plus the fact that my current boss is not very communicative (that's why i said he's not the best one for an internship), at least not with me. He does not seem open to talk at anytime. I saw another question with more or less the same question but in that case he/she had already talked to the second manager, and I didn't.

Thanks in advance for the responses and sorry for my bad english!

Answer 1

There's probably not a single right answer to this.

As far as talking to your current manager goes, the top answer to the thread linked by @lucid in the comments is very good in my opinion so make sure you check that out: Switching to another department in same company in early career

As far as talking to your potentially new manager goes, I would start with pleasantries like:

Hi, happy new year! Thanks for meeting me

And then get straight to the point with a pre-prepared sentence that introduces your intention. Something like:

Look, I heard that you have some positions that you're looking to fill and I just wanted to flag my interest with you because some of those roles interest me more than my current position.

There are two benefits to that approach I feel:

1. Being direct in this situation shows confidence which can be quite desirable. If you're confident in your approach of him/her, then it suggest that you're confident in your ability to fill the role!!
2. Mentioning that their empty position interests you enough to make you seek it out instead of your current, comfortable role highlights you as a good candidate because often a desire/passion for the role makes you perform better! I've heard it said by managers assigning me roles in the past.

Then I would follow it with a brief summary of why you think you would be good for the role, and ask if it's something they are open to and, if you don't already know, what you should do next to apply for consideration.

Hope that gives some help.

P.S prepare, prepare, prepare. Practice the conversation in the mirror over and over. BUT, don't be dependant on a script - it always works out better if you can think on your feet.