Since President Trump took office in January, more than 24,000 workers from 18 federal agencies have been fired to reduce the size of the government.
More recently, however, Judge James Bleder of Maryland and Judge William Alsup of California have ordered 18 agencies to rehire thousands of fired probation workers, saying that massive layoffs were illegal.
While many federal workers may be revived in their previous roles, others will be placed on administrative leave, emphasizing that the future of federal workers is not guaranteed.
5 jobsEmploymentAmerican
- Executive Director, Sacramento's Fair Political Practice Committee
- National Letter Career Association – Executive Assistant/Scheduler
- Senior Campaign (17-month fixed period), Amnesty International USA, Washington
- Legislative Director of the Washington Large Council of Public Housing Authorities
- Director of Government Affairs for Blueprint BioSecurity, Washington
So, can federal workers (formers or others) be proactive about the safety and economic future of their jobs?
The move to the private sector is an obvious choice. However, to make this move well, federal workers will need to reframe their skills and experience and give a complete overhaul of their resumes.
Size matters
It is not uncommon for a federal government resume to span five to six pages to provide a detailed work history, including responsibility and qualifications.
This is because resumes submitted via USAJOBS, the official job portal of the US federal government, must follow specific formats and adhere to government guidelines.
In contrast, private sector resumes should be kept on one or two pages and focused on technical and soft skills, work history and educational background.
Private sector resumes are usually used for ATS (Applicant Tracking System), allowing applications to be filtered through keywords contained in job descriptions.
Reach out for the star
The STAR method is a four-part technique used to efficiently answer interview questions, but can also be adapted when creating private sector resumes.
Star is the acronym for four parts of four parts: situation, task, action, and outcome. By adopting this approach when rewriting your resume, you can match your work experience with specific job requirements.
For example, if you were an FBI agent for 10 years, managed an active investigation, led a team of five, and applied forensic methods to assess the crime scene, you could reframe your experiences as follows: A shocking prosecution. ”
To highlight leadership skills, he said, “We managed a team of five agents handling complex criminal investigations. We oversaw daily case assignments, performance assessments, and strategic operations. We implemented a new research protocol to improve efficiency.
Your private sector resume should focus on your impact, how you reduce costs, and the consequences surrounding responsibility to highlight how you actively improve efficiency.
There are no technical terms
You may be familiar with government acronyms, but the private sector is likely not as well known, so you need to adapt your resume accordingly. For example, the term GS (general schedule) workers does not mean hiring private sector managers, so this kind of classification should be translated into amateur terms.
Similarly, we should avoid jargon that is not translated outside of the federal context. The terms one or two-year interval (referring to different patterns of career progression) or “competitive services” (the category of employment that covers most civilian jobs in the federal government) are good examples of this.
Adaptability is important
Whether you are looking for remote opportunities or prefer a structured hybrid approach, it is important to emphasize whether working remotely in the past will help you hone your communication and collaboration skills.
Mika J. Crossworkplace transformation strategists and government workplace experts have the following advice: “With federal workers more flexible career focus, they set their resumes apart from remotely friendly employers by clearly listing their remotely flexible work experiences and related skills such as self-motivation, time management and digital communication.
“Look up proficiency with remote working tools and technology to show you that you are ready to thrive in any environment.”
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