Federal workers are facing uncertainty as President Trump and Elon Musk have already given notice to around 30,000 employees, with no signs of slowing down. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created with the purpose of slashing the size of the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce, leaving many career government employees scrambling.
For those affected, the transition out of government work can feel daunting. Many federal workers have spent years—sometimes decades—building careers within the public sector, where job stability and structured career paths are the norm.
Many people are now grappling not only with the financial implications of losing a job but also with the emotional toll of being abruptly separated from work they found meaningful. “I don’t cry often, but I absolutely lost it,” one anonymous Park Service worker who was let go told Fast Company recently. “I worked very, very hard, in a dangerous profession, to earn the position I was in, and to have it taken away from me truly hurt.”
That worker and tens of thousands of others have been thrust into a competitive job market, where everything from a worker’s skill set to the wording of a résumé may differ.
While the road ahead might seem uncertain, career experts say there are clear steps laid-off federal workers can take to position themselves for new opportunities. Making a successful transition is about understanding the private sector’s expectations and adapting accordingly.
1. Evaluate Your Skill Set and Practice Interviewing
The first thing to do when looking for a job is understand where the opportunities lie and what the requirements are for those roles, says Fast Company contributor and Careerminds expert Amanda Augustine. She recently helped put together this guide for laid-off federal employees navigating a career transition. She says once you find a job post that seems promising, it’s about “seeing where your skill sets match up.”
Job postings can give you ideas on how you can translate your previous experiences into terms that are being used in the job description, says Augustine. Your skill set from a government job likely won’t be a perfect match for the private sector, so it’s important to find a way to rephrase your strengths.
Informational interviews are a way to get a better sense of where your skill set fits and what opportunities you should be looking into. This helps identify where a gap in experience might be that you can address by acquiring certification, a certain hard skill, or even a soft skill that you want to work to fill.
Informational interviews can also help answer questions like what type of job you want to pursue, whether you’d like to work at a nonprofit, in the private sector, or doing something entirely different. You can also ask about the best way to translate your skills.
There is also a lot of information out there for job hunters to see what kinds of questions employers will ask in interviews based on the industry they are in, says John Mullinix, head of growth marketing for Ladders. “On our site, we have a list of behavioral interview questions and how you might answer those for different industries.”
2. Update Your Résumé
When looking for a new job, a strong résumé is key, as it’s likely the first thing a recruiter looks at. Mullinix says former federal employees should probably condense their experiences. “Federal résumés are often long because they want you to include every little detail. Most HR people are not going to spend that much time on your résumé,” he says. “We actually did a study. Right now they spend about six seconds looking at a résumé. So it’s not ideal for your résumé to be four to six pages long. You want it to be one to two max.”
When deciding what to leave on and off your résumé, the main focus should be functionality. Federal résumés tend to be organized chronologically, with detailed summaries of each position. But in the private sector, this is not always what recruiters are looking for. “[Job seekers] want to include the [positions] that are most relevant or hyper-relevant for the roles that they’re going to apply to,” Mullinix advises. “We don’t need a 25-year summary. Try to keep it to the last 10 years.”
The language that you use on your résumé is also important, as you want to talk about impact and achievement versus process. Including quantifiable results instead of generic descriptions of duties and responsibilities is always more valuable, Mullinix says. Employers want to know what you did and the impact you had.
For employees with government clearances, unless it’s relevant for the role you are applying for, Mullinix says, you don’t need to include it.
Government jargon does not always translate to the corporate world. When crafting your résumé, there is almost a language barrier in how government employees describe their skills in the private sector, says Augustine, noting, “The first thing to do is [think about] the civilian equivalents to any really specific government jargon that nobody outside of your field understands. There is actually also a large database online that describes different government terms and can help you understand how to strip out some of that very specific terminology to make it more generic, or in terms that a prospective employer will appreciate.”
3. Focus on Networking
Networking can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’re searching for connections outside your usual area of employment. But there are steps you can take to make it seem less overwhelming.
Having an updated LinkedIn profile is key. “One thing you want to do is make sure you’re updating it so that it’s telling the same story as your updated résumé,” Augustine says. “But even beyond that, it starts with just connecting with those you meet. LinkedIn is not just for the people you meet while you’re working. It’s [for] your friends, your family.”
Look up target companies and engage with their content on LinkedIn so you don’t come off as cold in your outreach, Mullinix advises. Now might also be a good time to attend relevant conferences, trade shows and or other networking events to make connections with target companies.
Connecting with everyone you know and sending them each a thoughtful message so they are reminded how they know you, while also identifying loose connections (like a friend of a friend), is beneficial, says Augustine. You can also identify people on LinkedIn who previously worked for the government and have already transitioned to the private sector.
Think creatively about networking opportunities—especially when it comes to virtual options. “There are various different ways to approach this,” Augustine says. “Not everybody’s good in a big, crowded room. Not everybody’s good face-to-face. One of the silver linings of COVID and the shutdowns is that a lot of virtual networking options opened up.”
Augustine says you might also consider joining efforts with a former coworker who has also been laid off. Finding someone else to work with and share resources gives you a support system along the way, she explains. The odds of both candidates being an exact perfect fit for the exact same role are fairly slim, so you’re not really in competition.
The job hunt may be challenging, and you may still be mourning your old role, but the most important thing is to be patient. Augustine and Mullinix agree that doing the work and staying consistent will help you land your next job. “Be patient with yourself,” Mullinix says. “Do the things that are hard and do them consistently, and you should see success.”
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