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Government Leader home > news stories
10/11/06
Execs see “mobility” as key factor in federal careers
By Mark Tarallo
Special to Government Leader
The ability to be mobile is crucial to a successful career in the civil service, a panel of government executives agreed recently.
But “mobility” has several connotations, according to executives who spoke at a “Managing your Federal Career” forum sponsored by the Industry Advisory Council in Washington.
Ideally, mobility means flexibility in terms of location, so that a civil servant can take advantage of opportunities to work in other regions of the country and even overseas.
But if circumstances preclude geographical flexibility, it is then equally important to be mobile within one’s agency, said Deidre Lee, deputy director of operations and chief acquisition officer at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This can mean volunteering for new assignments within the agency — such as serving on a review board or transition committee — so that a wider pool of people will become familiar with the employee’s work.
“You do have to be job mobile,” Lee said. “I really, really emphasize that you need to do that.”
In fact, there has been talk among senior government leaders that serving in more than one federal agency may become a future prerequisite for eligibility in the Senior Executive Service, panelists said.
Nonetheless, plenty of opportunities to advance are coming down the pike, if current demographics are any indication. A federal retirement wave is expected between 2008 and 2010, noted Howard Ady, a program manager at BearingPoint Inc. and a former Defense Department official.
Therefore, employees should keep abreast of job openings and general employment conditions in government, whether or not they are looking for a new position, said Sally Wallace, associate deputy assistant secretary of e-government at the Veterans Affairs Department.
“It always helps to have an awareness of what’s going on outside your swim lane,” she said.
Added Doreen Cox, a strategic enterprise architect for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: “Don’t start looking for a new job when the going gets tough and the job gets rough. … They always say, ‘The best time to look for a job is when you have a good job.’”
And be prepared to strike when opportunity knocks, panelists agreed. “Always have your resume updated,” Wallace said.
It also helps to share career goals with others, she said.
“Make your aspirations known,” she said. “If your goal is to be CIO — let people know. If your goal is to be SES — let people know.”
Such openness may attract a helpful mentor or a “champion” — someone who feels compelled to assist in their protégé’s growth and career.
As for future trends, all panelists indicated that the borderline between the government and the private sector would become more porous in the future. Private-sector know-how, especially in the IT sector, will be ever more valuable, and welcomed, in federal agencies.
“Commercial skills are key. We’re lining up all our practices with commercial side,” said Raymond Poore, an e-government official at VA.
Conversely, federal managers who decide to enter the private sector after retirement will find that their government experience is invaluable, Ady said.
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