Liz Kiriakou found out she was fired the day after she returned from maternity leave.
A former contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development, she was one of the first to go when Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effectively dismantled the agency. She’d spent the entirety of her career in civil service supporting global communities struggling with HIV and AIDS – mission-driven work that she loved.
When President Donald Trump’s administration laid off tens of thousands of federal workers this spring, the job market became saturated with highly specialized workers, many of whom had little experience outside the federal government. Some states and nonprofits saw an opportunity to fill a demand for talent in state and local government by recruiting former federal employees to jobs where they could do similar work. Hundreds of federal employees have already found work through efforts like this, although demand may outpace the number of jobs available.
Why We Wrote This
Some states and organizations, like the newly formed Civic Match, are working to bring the skill sets of laid-off federal workers to open local government roles.
Elon Musk’s recent exit from Washington leaves behind a complicated scene. Some firings are still playing out in courts. On Monday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to halt a federal judge’s order barring it from conducting mass layoffs. Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, are looking to codify some of DOGE’s efforts into law.
At least 134,000 people are navigating possible job transitions, including those who were fired and those who accepted resignation offers, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
One of the organizations helping former federal employees secure work is Civic Match, a program within the nonprofit Work for America. Launched last November as a resource for former campaign staff after the election, it’s now helping thousands of former federal workers identify roles in state and local government they could apply for. That includes Ms. Kiriakou, who’s been able to find a temporary job that’s helping her pursue connections in local government and stay in a meaningful career path.
“While D.C. really has been perceived as kind of the center of gravity for public service, we now have this really incredible opportunity to reimagine what public service looks like and in particular where it happens,” says Caitlin Lewis, Work for America’s executive director. “And I really think cities and states are the answer to that.”
Caitlin Babcock/The Christian Science Monitor
“We want you”
Over the last four years, state and local governments have struggled to fill open positions amid an aging workforce and a difficult recovery from the 2020 pandemic. So when DOGE started laying off workers en masse, several states were quick to roll out the welcome mat.
“Federal workers: We want you,” read signs in a New York ad campaign. Within three weeks of the campaign’s launch, the number of users on New York’s state jobs website had doubled and the state had hired 28 former federal workers, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore directed his state to streamline the hiring process for certain types of positions, host job fairs, and put together weekly career workshops targeted at former federal employees.
Those efforts have led to Maryland hiring almost 150 former federal workers for state jobs, according to the state’s labor secretary, Portia Wu, and thousands more have applied. Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California have launched similar efforts. Site views for California’s new federal workers web page, launched in April, now make up nearly 30% of the state’s website traffic.
Nonprofits like Civic Match also stepped in to make it easier for federal employees to find local jobs. Civic Match partners with state and local governments to connect these workers with roles that match their skill set.
Another nonprofit, the Partnership for Public Service, has hosted webinars, career fairs, and a seven-week boot camp geared at helping federal workers transition to roles including state and local civil service.
“There’s a strong interest in wanting to stay in public service,” says Michelle Amante, Partnership’s senior vice president of government programs. “Federal employees are so connected to the mission, and there are a lot of state and local agencies that do similar work.”
When Ms. Kiriakou was fired, a former co-worker recommended Civic Match. The program gave her the idea to call her city council member and discuss job opportunities in local government. That phone call led to a part-time job as a legislative aide, a role she says is helping her meet others and plan for a long-term position in civil service.
“I don’t think I would have even thought to meet with him and reflect on local government positions if it hadn’t been for Civic Match,” she says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to bring our skill sets to our own home.”
Caitlin Babcock/The Christian Science Monitor
Challenges of a career pivot
Transitioning to state or local government comes with unique challenges, and not every federal employee finds it a worthwhile effort. At a recent job fair for federal employees in Arlington, Virginia, the majority of workers the Monitor spoke with were open to public service but were also applying to private sector companies.
Wages tend to be lower in state government jobs, says Ms. Amante at the Partnership for Public Service, and some job seekers feel opportunities are more abundant in the private sector.
“We see a lot of states stepping up,” she says, “but they certainly won’t be able to take on the number of federal employees leaving.”
David Remick, the executive director of the Alexandria/Arlington Regional Workforce Council, has tried to nudge former federal workers to look at jobs in state-level civil service.
“Local governments are hurting for qualified candidates,” he says.
However, his immediate priority is giving these people the skills they need to transition into whatever type of job they’re searching for. And for former federal employees, any transition comes with difficulties. Many have spent the better part of their lives working for the federal government. After being laid off, some found themselves trying to craft a résumé for the first time in decades.
“I’m trying to learn the tools [for job searching] that are out there besides LinkedIn,” says Kenneth Williams, a former federal contractor at the job fair who had worked for the government for 20 years.
Ms. Kiriakou says it’s been difficult explaining to employers how her specialized skill set advising local partners within USAID translates to potential jobs. It’s a challenge she knows her former colleagues have faced as well. She keeps in contact with about 30 of them. In the last three months, barely a handful of those have had job interviews, and only one or two received offers.
Ms. Kiriakou hopes prospects will improve as platforms like Civic Match spread the word about the talents federal workers can bring to state and local government. And alongside that, she hopes these efforts drive home the value of the people who have lost their jobs.
“We as federal workers aren’t just budget line items,” she says. “We’re human beings that want to make a difference.”
