Applying for a job at a museum where you already work sounds like it should be easier.

You know the organization. You know the people. They already know your work.

But that familiarity can make internal applications and interviews deceptively tricky.

It’s easy to fall into the “they already know I do that” trap, skip over important context, or assume the hiring team automatically understands why you’re ready for the next role.

In this episode, we talk about how to make the case for yourself as an internal candidate and how to help people stop seeing you only in your current role and start seeing you in the next one.

We talk about:

• Why “they already know me” can work against you
• How to build your internal growth story: who you were when you arrived, how you’ve grown, and why this next step makes sense
• How to identify your “secret sauce”. The skills, systems, processes, and responsibilities people already trust you with
• How to use institutional knowledge, relationships, and strategic priorities to your advantage
• Whether you should tell your supervisor or coworkers that you’re applying
• How to interview with people who already know you
• Why you still need to fully answer questions like “Tell me about yourself”
• What to do if you don’t get the role

One big takeaway: your coworkers may know your title and your face, but they may not know the full scope of your work, your process, your results, or your career goals.

Your job is to connect those dots for them.

And please: save the job description. Every application gets its own folder. Future You will thank you.

• What parts of the new role am I already doing?
• Where have my responsibilities expanded?
• What do people come to me for?
• What have I improved, created, or taken ownership of?
• What measurable impact can I point to?
• Why does this role make sense as my next step?

Have a museum-career question you want us to tackle in a future episode? Submit it here.

Curate Your Career
Instagram: curateyourcareerpodcast

Alli Schell | Your Museum Career Coach
For museum professionals building and growing careers within museums.
https://yourmuseumcareer.com/

Elin Filbey | Deaccessioned Career Coaching
For museum professionals exploring careers beyond museums.
https://deaccessionedcoaching.com/

If this episode made you think of someone who is already doing the next-level work without the title, send it to them.