Transitioning from Private Sector to Federal Employment

The following post explores Transitioning from Private Sector to Federal Employment.

Are you interested in serving your country as a federal employee? If you’re moving from the private sector to federal employment, there are several important factors to consider during the transition.

Read: How to Make a Federal Resume

Related: Best Federal Resume Writing Services

Federal employees have a lot of perks like generous health and retirement benefits, job security, and good pay. Making the switch from private sector to federal employment is a competitive process.

Here’s what you need to know.

Build Your Federal Resume

Before you can start applying to federal roles on USAJOBS, you need a Federal Resume that aligns with the standards and requirements.

You see, unlike the private sector, there are very specific requirements for what to include on your Federal Resume. Your odds of success are pretty slim without meeting their standards.

Building your Federal Resume is a serious task designed to test your ability to follow specific directives. It’s not meant to be easy. They are looking for candidates who can follow instructions.

Find a Good Landing Spot

The US federal government is the single largest employer in the country. It currently employs approximately two million Americans across multiple departments and agencies.

There are so many different Government Departments and Agencies. With so many government departments and agencies, it’s important to take time to research and identify the best fit for your skills when targeting federal jobs.

Know Your GS Level

General Schedule (GS) is the pay scale used for paying federal employees. Federal agencies assign a grade to each job announcement (GS-1 to GS-15) reflecting the level of difficulty, responsibility, and qualifications required.

Accurately approximating your GS-level is key when transitioning from private sector to federal employment. Before you start searching and applying to federal jobs, it’s important to consider what GS level you fall under.

Understand Eligibility

The federal government has 12 different categories of eligibility in the federal hiring process.

Your application will be rejected 100% of the time if you don’t meet the minimum eligibility requirements (regardless of your qualifications). So, it’s super important to understand your eligibility.

Give it Time

Transitioning from private sector to federal employment is time-consuming and offers no assurance of success.

The federal hiring process is notoriously slow and full of bureaucracy. You should allow yourself a bare minimum of 3-6 months worth of lead time for applying to jobs, interviewing, and onboarding.

Understand Service Types

The three service types are: Competitive Service, Excepted Service, and Senior Executive Service.

Each service type has different hiring processes, qualifications, and implications. Before you start searching and applying to federal jobs, it’s wise to take time to understand the different service types and determine where you fall.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope you find this article helpful for transitioning from private sector to federal employment. There are a lot of factors to consider when making this change. Good luck!