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Kogod School of Business
Leaving a government job can happen for various reasons, from administrative and department shifts to major life changes to the desire for a new work challenge. Whatever the reason, making the leap from the public sector to the private sector is a huge move, and figuring out where to land can be intimidating. To make the change as comfortable as possible, it’s vital to have the information you need to transfer your skills, match them to a field that suits your goals, and set yourself up for a successful transition.
Transferring Your Skills
Many government employees spend the bulk of their careers in a specialized department or field; as a result, leaving government work can lead to concerns that their experience is too niche to transfer well into a new role. However, government jobs share plenty of skills with the private sector, and a closer look at your responsibilities can turn up experience that looks great across fields. For instance, government employees often develop expertise in budgeting, compliance, regulation, and policy development, which can be brought into management roles to ensure that businesses comply with regulations, improve their existing processes, and meet their goals.
Government work is also great for developing interpersonal skills such as clear communication, analytical thinking, and problem-solving. Many government jobs involve working with large teams, other departments, or the public, and succeeding in those roles requires establishing rapport with different groups and getting ideas across in a productive way. Similarly, working in business often involves meeting with stakeholders, consumers, and fellow team members to find common ground and reach mutual goals. People-facing roles allow government employees to bring their existing communication and teamwork skills to the public sector.
Government professionals excel at navigating complex challenges involving competing stakeholder demands, limited resources, and difficult public-private dynamics. Their expertise in leading through complexity, strategic project management, regulatory knowledge, and stakeholder dialogue can transfer effectively to the private sector.”
Garima Sharma
Professor of Management, Kogod School of Business
Above all, government employees gain a strong sense of adaptability from their work, which is a crucial skill in any field. Working in the government often means adjusting quickly to changes, whether it’s a change in leadership or an unexpected geopolitical event. Not only is adaptability and valuable within a role, but it’s also the key to successfully transitioning to a new role, and former government employees can stress their ability to adjust and learn quickly when working on entering a new field.
How to Make the Switch to the Private Sector
Once you’ve identified how your skills from government work transfer into the private sector, there are other steps you can take to ensure that those skills stand out on your resume, during your interviews, and while in your new role. Here are just a handful of ways to kick off a transition away from a government role.
Update and adjust your resume: Many long-term government employees build out their resumes to focus on specific aspects of their government work, including time spent within departments and specialized duties. However, resumes that thrive in the private sector prioritize tangible achievements and a wider variety of skills. When making the change in your job search, tweak your resume to focus both on your impact in each role and on skills that employers are more likely to look for.
Have conversations with people in the field: Networking has a wide variety of benefits, from making connections in your chosen field to gaining new perspectives to even landing your next job. By talking to professionals in your desired role, you can better understand what potential employers are looking for. Additionally, you can connect with people who already transitioned from government work to the private sector to understand what steps they took, what helped them in their transition, and what they’d recommend.
Brush up on your interviewing skills: Much like your resume, your interview style might be shaped by your experience in government. Private-sector interviews tend to focus more on cultural fit and problem-solving and often involve pulling examples from your professional experience to demonstrate how you approach a wide variety of issues. Before interviewing, review your experience against the requirements of the role and be ready to provide highlights of your career that demonstrate your skillset.
Gain additional knowledge: Supplementing the skills you picked up during your career in government can prepare you for an even wider range of roles. Whether you earn a certification, attend online or local courses, or pursue freelance or contract work in a new field, additional knowledge looks good on your resume and gives you fresh expertise to bring to your next job.
Beyond certifications and courses, many universities and other institutions offer executive education programs for professionals to build additional skills. These programs include coursework and certifications in leadership and management, which can then combine with your existing skillset to prepare you to take on an upper-level role in a new field.
What Executive Education Can Do For You
Executive education programs differ from degree programs or certifications in that they’re often customized to the student’s particular skillset and needs. Universities that offer executive education programs have a variety of topics to focus on, from current technology and analytics to innovation in business. By working with these programs’ teachers, you can build upon your existing knowledge with tools that help you adjust to the different pace and challenges of the private sector. By the end of a customized and well-developed executive education program, government employees will have a bolstered resume and more confidence in their ability to transition successfully to the next step of their career.