What's the procedure? Do I have to notify my manager? I'd like to avoid that if possible since he'll see my wanting to leave as betrayal and I'm certain he'll do anything in his power to sabotage my application. I think it's obvious he's one of the reasons why I want to leave. Is there any way to do this without him knowing?
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Reading your comment definitely triggered the hell out of me. I can't say how happy I am at my current job (not Nike) where I make more money, get better benefits, and don't have to deal with stuff like this as a normal part of working at my company.
I definitely fell into this trap at Nike until I finally realized "moving up" was just a mirage and I was spending more and more time focusing on that instead of what was actually making me a better person.
This environment definitely works for some people, but the sooner you realize it's not working for you the better.
@OP TL;DR TELL YOUR MANAGER. You have nothing to lose if you do, and a lot to lose if you don't.
As others have said, regardless of your feelings towards your current manager, you should tell them you are applying for an internal job. It will look really bad of you - to both your manager and the hiring manager of the new job (if you get an interview) - if your current manager doesn't know. If your current manager is competent at all, they will understand that your development/performance reflects on them, and if you ARE actually qualified and a good match for the new role, it would actually reflect well on them. In fact, if you have shared a career map with your manager they should be bringing the opportunity to you (if you are qualified) and supporting you. There is so much movement at Nike no one is going to hold a grudge towards you for wanting to pursue a new opportunity. Be professional and treat your manager as a resource in your quest for a new internal role - tell them what you need from them.
I can speak from experience that the current manager is not always notified that their report is applying for an internal role. And TA or the hiring manager does not automatically reach out to the current manager - they typically assume that the current manager knows...and, honestly, is then surprised if they don't get an email from the current manager endorsing the candidate. Not having a professional enough relationship/respect with your current manager to tell them you are applying for another role reflects poorly on you.
From experience as a hiring manager, with so much competition for so few interview slots (as half must be external candidates), I definitely reach out to the candidate's current manager for feedback to ensure I'm putting together the strongest interview pool. I don't approach it as "give me the dirt on this person", but rather more objectively about their experience and relationship with their current team. If it's clear a manager is in the dark about the applicant applying, it shows me they don't have trust with their manager and that likely extends to their team. (Sorry, as we all know, perception is reality at Nike.)
Yes, as others have said, you need to let your manager know if you intend to apply for another Nike job. And in order to transfer internally, you have to have been in your current role for at least one year. This is one of many backwards things about Nike.
Here's a few things to understand when applying for Nike jobs:
The posting may be for a role that the hiring manager already has a person in mind for, but they "legally" must post it publically. So just because it looks open doesn't mean it is.
Also, just because a job is posted doesn't mean it will actually get approved to hire in the end. I've gone through the process of interviewing candidates and picking someone only to have the company suddenly do a hiring freeze and cancel the req. This has happened numerous times, leaving those candidates thinking Nike is messed up (it is) and really putting my teams in a bad spot because of the lost backfill. But nobody cares if your team can't deliver or has to work extra or that it makes morale tank because of this.
Nike Talent Acquisition people are totally incompetent and they often ignore internal candidates to place people they have found on external sites. I attended a Nike HR seminar a few years ago where they actually said that they view people that apply for jobs as flawed and that they prefer to passively recruit people from other companies that already have jobs instead. It explained a lot about why people that apply are overlooked.
I've had situations where I had friends that were interested in hiring me for a particular role they had on their team within Nike and they asked me to apply for it. Then after applying, Nike Talent Acquisition never even reviewed my resume or passed it along to my friends. This has happened more than once. One of those times, my friend had to completely go around Nike TA to hire me because the recruiter was basically non-responsive.
One time, I was scheduled to do a panel interview for an internal job and when I showed up, nobody was there. Turns out, Nike TA had rescheduled the interview time, but never contacted me. What if I had been an external candudate and had traveled over to the office and had that happened? How bad does that look?
I also had a Nike TA do a terrible screening interview for a job I applied for. This person didn't do any prep or read anything on my resume beforehand. They asked me really dumb questions like how long have you been at Nike? What department do you work for? Who is your manager? What band level are you? What is your employee number? All of these things are already available in your online Nike profile when you apply and in HR systems that are available to them. What a waste of time.
I've been at Nike a long time and I'm still fond of this company. I'm lucky to be in a good place for now. But Nike TA, especially with internal candidates, has a lot to improve.
Since he will find out anyway, just take a flyer and pre-emptively tell him. Frame it up like...you want to do it for "practice." He will have to weigh in with his agreement or he will have to put some reasons on the table why not. Now, he's inadvertently put himself into the mix. Has to help coach and prepare you, or give you developmental areas to stay in place, which you would want to know anyway and which he's either avoided or you haven't received. And maybe, it's a chance for him to say he values you where you are and you can leverage that knowledge. Either way, puts you in a better place of readiness wherever you are. Just one thing...hopefully you've been in your current role at least a year before you're applying for another internal role. No boss is thrilled when you try to exit under a year bc it takes so long to get positions approved and filled and honestly it takes a year to even figure out the seasonality of your current deal. JDI.
Agree that you should consider looking outside of Nike too.
If you decide to apply internally, yes your boss will be notified. If you want it to go smoothly, consider asking their thoughts on the move and your development (even if you don’t really care). It’s much better than them getting an email that you applied or getting caught off guard last minute that you’re going to apply.
@woi, great advice. Seriously, if you get the opportunity to leave Nike, you should consider it. Things are not going to get better at Nike.
OP, you have my total empathy as well. True, you must inform your current manager; in fact, it is a question on the internal application. Be ready to answer a host of questions coming at you from your manager and your manager’s manager. Instead of supporting you, encouraging your development and offer their help, they, most likely, will look at it as sign of betrayal, malcontent on your part, etc. Do it anyway. Don’t let small minded individuals make you feel as though you cannot do better. If anything, it is a reflection on them, not on you. Best of luck.
I empathize with your situation. Sadly, Nike breeds incompetent, toxic managers. You’ll only be going from the frying pan to the fire. Might I suggest finding work OUTSIDE the berm?! Only there will you be truly happy. I’m so glad I’m OUT of there!!
Your manager will automatically be notified as soon as you submit your application.
Yes. You must notify your manager if you don’t that will come back to bite you.