How to approach director about possibly working on their team in the future?

Question

Our company had a career fair last week, which was basically a chance to view what other divisions and departments in the company actually do, and I gather part of the purpose was to generate internal interest and possible recruiting from within.

There were no applications but each station asked for contact details for future follow up).

At one station the woman gave me a list of the directors with the various positions under them and I'm assuming it was with the intention that I contact them about working on their team in the future.

I've only ever applied for jobs the traditional way -- apply online w/ resume, wait for interview, more interview, repeat, etc. So I'm a little unsure about how to approach this director to tell them I'm interested about a future position they will have open (we will be bringing a programming responsibility in house sometime in the future), and how to talk about why I'm qualified for the job. I've been with the company for a little over a year, and want to stay in my position for at least 2 years before looking elsewhere in the company.

Answer 1

I think the important thing to note at this point is you're not applying for a role, you simply want to be on the radar if one comes up (however, personally I'd be less worried about necessarily waiting for a couple of years before relocating to another position within the company, especially if it could be viewed as an internal promotion.)

With that in mind though, I'd simply email along the lines of the following:

Hello x,

I was talking to y at the career fair the other week, and found a position for (the position advertised) might be opening up in the next few months or so - it sounds like really interesting work! Would you be able to send me a few more details?

Obviously adjust the level of formality to suit your company, but the important thing is you're expressing interest without all-out saying you want to apply.

The only caveat to bear in mind for this sort of internal email is that, however you phrase it, you have the possibility of the news reaching your current manager. (That may or may not be an issue, of course.)