Career Navigator Playbook
Welcome to the FedsForward Career Navigator Playbook—your trusted companion for navigating your career from the Federal government to a non-Federal sector role. After dedicating your talents to government work, stepping into the private, non-profit or academic job market might feel like entering unfamiliar territory. The rules are different, the pace is different, and even the language can sometimes feel foreign.
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This playbook breaks down that intimidating process into manageable steps, giving you both the strategy and the tactical tools needed for a successful transition. Each section contains practical worksheets and templates designed to help you translate your government experience into terms that private employers will value. From crafting a resume that highlights transferable skills to negotiating compensation packages that reflect your true worth, this guide walks beside you through every stage of your journey.
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Think of this playbook as your personal career transition command center. We recommend starting with the Career Exploration Phase to clarify your priorities, then methodically working through each subsequent phase. Each phase has a set of tasks to do, and includes both a description of the task and some resources, tools, and templates to help you complete that task. The templates are meant to be living documents—revisit and refine them as you progress through your search. Don't feel pressured to complete everything at once; this is a process, not a race.
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Remember that your government experience has equipped you with valuable skills—project management, navigating complex systems, working with diverse stakeholders—that are highly marketable. This playbook will help you showcase those strengths in ways that resonate with for-profit, non-profit and academic sector employers, turning your public service background into your competitive advantage.
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Career Exploration Phase
This foundational phase is about understanding yourself as a professional and setting clear targets before diving into applications. For federal employees, this is your opportunity to reflect on the skills you've developed in government and identify how they translate to value into non-Federal government sectors and roles.
Task
Description
Resources, Tools, Templates
Assess my competencies
Identify my interests
Research industries/sectors
Translate my skills
​Identify target job roles/titles
Set up & do informational interviews
Figure out what you’re good at, what you need to work on. This will guide you as you think about what you’d like to do next. Would you be more comfortable doing what you’re already good at? Would you like to move towards improving an area in which you’re not as competent as you’d like to be?
At this moment in your career, reassess what you want
Research different sectors to get a sense of which might feel like better fits based on what you want
Take your federal government experience and frame your competencies and skills in a way that is applicable to non-federal government sectors
Based on what you are looking for and your experience, competencies and skills, identify roles and job titles that might be good fits
Identify people in your network who are in the jobs or the organizations of interest to you & set up informational interviews
Document Preparation
This phase focuses on crafting your professional narrative for roles outside of the Federal government. Federal government resumes and non-Federal government resumes differ significantly in format, length, and focus—here you'll create the foundation to reframe your public service accomplishments in ways that resonate with hiring managers in for-profit, non-profit and academic sector employers. In this phase, you’ll also establish (or re-establish) your online presence on LinkedIn so prospective employers can find you.
Task
Description
Resources, Tools, Templates
Develop a “base resume” that you can tailor for different sectors/industries and/or specific job applications
Develop cover letter template
Create or update LinkedIn profile to align with your career goals
A base resume is one that has all of your professional experiences, certifications/licensures, educational background, and other information. You will use this as the “base layer” resume for specific job applications
Create a cover letter template that you can modify and tailor for job applications
Create or update your profile so that it communicates your strengths and your value to prospective employers
Research and Application Phase
This phase helps you develop a systematic approach to finding suitable opportunities in the private sector. Unlike the structured USAJobs process, job hunting outside of the Federal government requires a multi-channel approach and strategic networking—skills that may feel new after time in government service.
Task
Description
Resources, Tools, Templates
Research target organizations/companies (culture, reviews, news)
Reach out to your network to learn more about potential job opportunities
Set up job alerts
Tailor your resume and cover letter to specific job opportunities
Apply for jobs and track all applications in your spreadsheet or app
Learn the background of the organization, who’s on the leadership team, its strategic plan, special initiatives, and reviews of the organization
Meet up (in-person or virtual) with people in your network (or people referred to you from your network) to learn about specific job opportunities, gain insights, and potentially secure a job through referrals or word-of-mouth
​Based on the target job roles/titles you have selected, your skills and competencies, and targeted industries/organizations, create specific criteria for your job search. Set up job alerts on platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.
Tailoring your resume and cover letter is important to ensure that your application will stand out through the initial screening phase through to hiring managers.
​Keep yourself on task. Track applications, deadlines, follow-ups, and status updates so you know what you’ve done, what’s upcoming, what’s worked & what didn’t
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Interview Preparation
This phase prepares you for interviews, which often differ from government interviews in style and substance. You'll need to translate your government accomplishments into business impact stories and be ready for questions about adaptability, innovation, and commercial awareness that may not have been emphasized in your Federal agency interviews.
Task
Description
Resources, Tools, Templates
Research common interview questions for your industry
Research to find recent news/events related to the organization you’ll be interviewing
Prepare STAR method responses (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Document for yourself how the interview went
Prepare for the interview for anticipating the questions you’ll get and how you’ll respond
Research to find any current events or issues that may affect the organization. Research the organization’s leadership to see if they are making any headlines.
Prepare STAR method responses (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Identify what you learned, what you liked and didn’t like about organization, what you didn’t like
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Prepare STAR method responses (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Follow-up
This is a simple but important step – follow up with interviewers after you meet with them.
Task
Description
Resources, Tools, Templates
Send thank-you emails within 24 hours after interviews
Connect with interviewers on LinkedIn
A thank you note email is a low-effort way to keep you on the recruiter or hiring manager’s radar!
​Go onto LinkedIn and search for your interviewer. If you’re not already connected with them, click “connect” to make them part of your LinkedIn network
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One Last Thing Before You Go
Transitioning from federal service is an opportunity for you to carry forward your public service to other sectors in the economy using the unique skills and experience you’ve gained. Your Federal government experience has equipped you with qualities many for-profit, non-profit and academic sector employers desperately need: accountability, integrity, navigating complexity, and delivering results under constraints. These are strengths, not limitations. Your challenge now is translating this experience into language that resonates in your new target environment.
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This job search will have moments of frustration and uncertainty—that's normal. Be patient with yourself and with potential employers who may not immediately recognize the full value of your public service background.
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Remember that this playbook isn't just about landing any job; it's about finding the right opportunity where your unique combination of government experience and personal strengths will be valued. Take the time to reflect on what success means to you beyond just titles and compensation.
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As you move forward, maintain connections with both your government colleagues (Hello to your agency’s alumni organization!) and your network of people outside of that. These relationships often provide unexpected opportunities and insights that no playbook can anticipate.
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Your public service background has given you a perspective on how systems work, how policies impact people, and how to navigate complex organizations—all valuable assets in your next chapter. Carry that forward with confidence.
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The skills that made you successful in government will serve you well in this journey too: persistence, attention to detail, and commitment to excellence. The right opportunity is out there.