Find your fieldWhere your kind of work actually goes: tailored boards, employers, role translation, and credentials.
1 · Find workBoards that understand — or were built for — federal experience.
GovJobs.fyi
A 2025 board that aggregates federal, state, local, nonprofit, and private roles and matches them to federal experience.
Civic Match
Nonpartisan nonprofit matching civil servants to state and local government roles across the country, with regional career fairs.
GovernmentJobs.com
The largest aggregator of state, county, and city government openings. Free job-seeker accounts and alerts.
USAJOBS
Remaining federal vacancies, and where you exercise CTAP/ICTAP/RPL priority if you have it (see §4).
ClearanceJobs
The main board for jobs needing an active security clearance. An active clearance is a real premium in the private market.
Idealist
Nonprofit and NGO jobs, a natural fit if you want to keep doing public-service work outside government.
2 · Translate your experienceMake a private-sector employer understand what you actually did.
Cut the federal resume down
Federal resumes run five-plus pages; private-sector resumes should be two to three. Lead with a corporate-equivalent title, keep your GS grade as secondary context, and replace bureaucratic phrasing with quantified outcomes ("managed a $45M budget," "led a 25-person team").
Translate your grade (rule of thumb)
Not official, but a useful starting frame for titles: GS-13 ≈ senior manager / lead · GS-14 ≈ director · GS-15 / SES ≈ VP, executive director, or C-suite. Describe your scope (budget, headcount, mission) more than your grade.
3 · Benefits & moneySeveral of these have ~60-day deadlines. Handle them first.
Health coverage (FEHB) — two paths, both on a clock
Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) keeps your exact FEHB plan for up to 18 months, but you pay the full premium plus a 2% fee. Elect within 60 days. Or the ACA Marketplace: losing job coverage opens a Special Enrollment Period (about 60 days) and is often far cheaper with income-based subsidies.
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
After separating you can leave the money in TSP, take withdrawals or installments, or roll it over to an IRA or new employer plan. Withdrawals before 59½ usually carry a 10% penalty, with limited exceptions. Don't rush it; read the leaving-service fact sheet first.
Unemployment (UCFE)
Former federal employees file for unemployment with the state agency where your last duty station was, not a federal office. You'll need your SF-8 and SF-50 separation forms.
Severance, leave & retirement
If you were involuntarily separated (e.g., RIF) with at least a year of service you may get severance; unused annual leave is paid as a lump sum. Depending on age and service you may qualify for deferred or early FERS retirement. (Voluntary buyout/DRP takers generally aren't eligible for severance.)
4 · Your reemployment rightsIf you were RIF'd, you may have hiring priority. Use it.
CTAP, ICTAP & RPL
CTAP gives surplus/displaced employees selection priority for jobs in their own agency; ICTAP extends priority to jobs at other agencies; the Reemployment Priority List (RPL) requires agencies to consider RIF-separated employees before hiring from outside. You generally have to claim these and prove displacement.
5 · Retrain & get helpFree, government-funded transition resources.
CareerOneStop
DOL-sponsored hub: training finder, local American Job Centers, and free dislocated-worker services.
Apprenticeship.gov
Registered apprenticeships: earn while you learn a new trade or field.
USA.gov: Job training
Plain-language overview of free and government-funded training options.
Veterans' transition help
Many feds are veterans, so there are extra employment and transition resources if that's you.