How to successfully pivot from a federal job to the private sector

Since President Trump took office in January, more than 24,000 workers at 18 federal agencies have been fired in an effort to reduce the size of the government.

However, in recent days, federal judges Judge James Bredar of Maryland and Judge William Alsup of California have ordered the 18 agencies to rehire thousands of fired probationary workers, saying the mass layoffs were illegal.

While many federal workers may be reinstated in their previous roles, others will be placed on administrative leave, highlighting that the future of federal workers is far from guaranteed.

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So, what can federal workers—former or otherwise—do to be proactive about their job security and their financial future?

Transitioning to the private sector is an obvious choice. However, in order to successfully make this move, federal workers will need to reframe their skills and experience and give their resumes a complete overhaul.

Size matters

It’s not uncommon for a federal resume to span five to six pages and provide a detailed work history including responsibilities and qualifications.

This is because resumes submitted through USAJOBS, the official job portal of the U.S. federal government, must follow specific formatting and adhere to government guidelines.

By contrast, private sector resumes should be kept to one to two pages and focus on technical and soft skills, work history and educational background.

Private sector resumes are also usually put through an ATS (applicant tracking system) so applications can be filtered via keywords that are included in the job description.

Reach for the STAR(s)

The STAR method is a four-part technique that is used to efficiently answer interview questions but it can also be adapted when creating a private sector resume.

STAR is an acronym for four parts of an answer: situation, task, action and result. By adopting this approach when re-writing your resume you will be able to match your work experience to specific job requirements.

For example, if you were an FBI agent for 10 years, managed active investigations, led a team of 5 and had to apply forensic methods to evaluate crime scenes you could reframe your experience as follows: “Investigated high-profile criminal cases involving financial fraud and cyber threats. Led multi-agency collaboration efforts to gather intelligence and evidence. Coordinated with forensic analysts, conducted interviews, and executed search warrants. Successfully closed 50+ cases, leading to multiple high-impact prosecutions.”

To highlight your leadership skills you could add: “Managed a team of five agents handling complex criminal investigations. Oversaw daily case assignments, performance evaluations, and strategic operations. Implemented new investigative protocols that improved efficiency. As a result, increased case resolution rate by 30% and reduced backlog by 40%.”

Your private sector resume should focus on results over responsibilities to highlight your impact, how you reduced costs and how you actively improved efficiencies.

No jargon

While you might be well-versed in government acronyms, it’s likely the private sector won’t be as familiar with them so you’ll need to adapt your resume accordingly. For example, the term GS (general schedule) workers doesn’t mean anything to private sector hiring managers, so you’ll have to translate these kinds of classifications into layman’s terms.

Similarly, you should avoid any kind of jargon that doesn’t translate outside of a federal context. The terms one- or two-grade intervals (which refer to the differing patterns of career advancement) or “Competitive Service” (a category of employment that covers most civilian jobs in the federal government) are good examples of this.

Adaptability is key

Whether you’re seeking a remote opportunity or prefer a structured hybrid approach, it’s important to highlight how working remotely in the past has helped you hone your communication and collaboration skills.

Mika J. Cross, workplace transformation strategist and government workplace expert has the following advice: “For federal workers eyeing a career with more flexibility, make your resume stand out for remote-friendly employers by clearly listing your remote and flexible work experience and relevant skills like self-motivation, time management, and digital communication.

“Highlight your proficiency with remote work tools and technologies to show you're ready to thrive in any environment.”

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