You’re Afraid of the Wrong Thing

You’re evaluating your transition at your most vulnerable moment. Resistance is at an all-time high. The reasons for staying outweigh the attraction of leaving, mostly because you know all the numbers and timelines of a government career. What awaits on the outside has potential but no form. Why evaluate at your point of maximum ignorance and minimum leverage?

The fear runs a bad calculation. Grind through interviews as an outsider, take a junior title, spend five years earning back the standing you already have. This loses to the pension every time. It should. The inputs are flawed.

You don’t have to start over. It will seem like it.

The junior-title restart happens to people applying through postings. These are written for candidates a company already knows how to hire. A federal resume in an ATS won’t catch a recruiter’s attention if they can’t translate it.

Your network does the translating for you. A connector vouches for your attitude and aptitude long before any interview starts. Now the conversation is about the role.

The fear is front-loaded. The cost is paid in full before you start. The payoff of ignoring it comes after.

The fear peaks at month zero and then decays. During those first few months, you’re drowning in new vocabulary and concepts. Who do you want to become next? What companies match your style? When can you be most successful?

For the most part, the answers to these questions must come from within. But people will pose these queries as if you need to have them fully considered and finished at once. It will take time. The hardest part is committing to figuring it out. Give yourself some credit for having the guts to start.

The fog only clears after you start. If you want 15 minutes with someone who watched it clear for other feds, book the free call.