[Author’s note: if you are a civil service attorney or executive, please see the special offer at the end of this article. Also, this is a Special Edition. We will be resuming our regular alternate Thursday schedule starting March 6]
The way the hatchet has fallen on tens of thousands of civil servants since the Trump inauguration is unconscionable. Families are now suddenly facing wrenching hardships, and the civil service professionals whose careers have come to screeching halts must now deal with some daunting challenges for which many are ill-prepared.
What kind of job can you get if you have spent 10 years as a lawyer for a regulatory agency like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when Washington has decided there is no longer a need for financial regulations? What kind of job can you get as a civil rights attorney for the Department of Education when protecting civil rights is no longer a government priority and when the private sector is being (strongly) encouraged to disband its DEI programs?
A traditional path for civil service professionals when changing jobs is to link up with another federal agency or contractor. That strategy isn’t going to work today – no one knows how many more government agencies will be shut down or hacked to bits in the coming weeks. While there will certainly be opportunities for some terminated civil servants, they won’t be easy to find.
As of Feb. 20, according to the Office of Personnel Management, about 75,000 federal positions are facing elimination due to the DOGE buyout offer. OPM – which has terminated its own probationary employees — also reports that 220,000 other federal probationary employees (less than 1 or 2 years on the job) are facing the axe.
That’s almost 300,000 federal jobs that are disappearing, not including cuts at the Pentagon. And not all of the people being terminated are probationary – the USAID has been shuttered and some 10,000 staffers are now jobless. The IRS is expected to lay off thousands more workers – certainly PWC and Deloitte are not going to absorb them all!
The surfeit of experienced civil service professionals who have been let go for no reason is going to make the competition more intense than ever for other federal government jobs. Let’s face it, the Trump-Musk machine wants to dismantle the civil service, so they won’t be creating many new jobs. Not in Washington. Not anywhere. Beating the competition and winning one of those few available civil service jobs is going to be a challenge.
On a broader scale, the District of Columbia region is going to be awash with white collar job seekers, many of whom are lawyers and executives. Career change – wanted or otherwise — is a subject on the minds of many of them. Since a transition into another civil service position is less likely than in the past, a career change of a greater or lesser magnitude is to be expected for most ex-government workers.
This will not be an easy process, which is why I am here in the first place. I have been guiding white collar professionals through complex career changes and job searches for 20+ years. There may be some opportunities on the state, county, city and town government levels. Even the non-profit and academic sectors may have some spots.
The private sector can be viable, especially for former government regulators who can move to the other side, and help the regulated. How much of a market there will be in this space is uncertain, as it is expected that many current regulations are going to be eliminated – and along with them, the need for compliance counsel. Nonetheless, the private sector is going to be the best bet for many discharged government attorneys and executives.
But there is another problem here: The perception of government workers. Public sector workers are often portrayed as lazy, incompetent and even evil, according to a Department of Justice Programs study.
Recent studies say civil servants are seen as “inflexible, boring, lazy, and go home on time.” This is complete bull poop. I have had the privilege of working as a career mentor to many, many public sector lawyers and executives. As a group, I have found them to be among the brightest and most dedicated, conscientious clients I have ever served. They take their work seriously and are there – often at great economic sacrifice – to help others, serve their communities, and to try to make the country better.
But the negative perception is real.
I experienced it myself early in my career when I was trying to make the transition from being an aide to the US Congressman to getting a job in the private sector. I thought the fact that I was working on legislation, researching complex issues, solving all sorts of problems for constituents, writing speeches and position papers – all of this – would result in the corporate world greeting me with open arms. Boy, was I wrong.
I had to fight my way past many misperceptions about government workers – the concerns mentioned above and more! – until I was able to get a private sector job. To this day, I remember my colleagues both in DC and in the District Office, as being among the smartest, hardest- working and dedicated people I have ever worked with. I felt honored to be working with them.
Fast forward a few decades-plus. Today, I am currently the part-time Executive Director of a state-funded consumer advocacy NGO. My personal practice, Career Strategies Group, has been very good to me, so my work as a contractor with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is my way of giving back and helping others. Once again, I have found the state government professionals with whom I work to be an extraordinarily talented, caring and hard-working group of individuals.
The Special Offer: I am offering a free guide specifically for Trump-Musk civil service victims to help them get started on their job searches, and to deal with some of the stresses of a sudden and undeserved job loss. This not something I will be putting together in a slap-dash manner – I am going to prepare something useful, thoughtful and original. It will take time to complete, but if you would like to reserve a copy, please email me with the word “Guide” in the subject line. I will also make myself available for a no-cost 30-minute consultation to discuss your job search questions.
If you are an attorney and you’ve been thinking about exploring your career options and or discovering “what else is out there” for you, but are not sure how to even start the process, get in touch with our team today for a virtual cup of coffee. You will receive a confidential, no-cost consultation to discuss your situation and goals, and will also get expert advice on how to launch your job campaign.
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