Moving from the Public to the Private sector
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Labour Market Outlook published this summer concluded that the public sector expects redundancies to account for 7.8% of its workforce with the hardest hit sectors being education, healthcare, public administration and defence. It suggests that the private sector recovery will be offset by some 600,000 public sector job losses expected over the next five years, albeit employment will continue to rise, particularly in areas such as manufacturing and production, IT and consultancy services.
Indeed much has been debated in recent times about the onus on the private sector to create extra jobs to soak up unemployed within the public sector. General consensus recognises that the private sector’s ability to fulfil this objective is, at best, limited and it is unlikely over the next two or three years that we will see a sufficient enough rise in private sector jobs to take care of its own, let alone a swathe of new applicants from the public sector.
Does that mean that it is a hopeless pursuit for the redundant public sector employee to seek employment within the private sector? Far from it says David Twiddle, employment market specialist and CEO of consultancy Renovo.
The danger is that we almost classify employees from the two contrasting sectors as being of different species, unable to co-habit, and indeed even survive, in any environment other than the one they have just left.
Public sector workers are of course human and therefore possess all of the inherent skills to be found in the private sector. Project management, finance, HR, IT, administration, procurement, legal, marketing and customer service skills can be found in abundance in the public sector workforce.
Many people in these roles, particularly as contractors, have worked across both sectors successfully for years. So how can they hone these skills and prepare themselves to compete on a level playing field? So what can public sector employees do to increase their chances when job-seeking?
REASSESS
First and foremost, ex-public sector workers should be readily able to give examples of how their core skills are easily transferrable. After all, the public and private sectors share many similarities. How someone manages resources or motivates their team, for example, is not sector-specific. If you can do it in one area, you should be able to in another.
Job descriptions within the public sector can be incredibly detailed and lengthy and often mask the key skills required to fulfil the role. The public sector worker should re-examine their last job description and identify the handful of core skills that has enabled them to be successful in their career. Utilising psychometric assessments can be a powerful tool for assisting the jobseeker through this process – many will also throw up suggestions of alternative careers suited to the personality characteristics and skill sets of the jobseeker.
REFOCUS
Once the public sector worker has identified their core skill set the work can begin in terms of identifying roles within the private sector. (A useful tip here is to visit major internet job sites such as “monster” or “totaljobs” and in the “keyword” search enter one of the core skill sets such as “communication” and see what jobs are thrown up. The results will yield hundreds of unsuitable jobs but amongst them may just be a job “type” that had not occurred to the jobseeker previously.)
Moving onto the CV. Much free advice exists on the internet regarding CV writing but if possible, the jobseeker will benefit from professional advice. Three key tips for an ex public sector worker preparing a CV for the private sector are:
- Do not use public sector jargon on your CV –it will mean little to the reader of the CV in the private sector.
- Focus on your own skills, achievements and the direct contribution you made to the organisation. Make your CV “achievement” led rather than “task” led.
- Tailor your CV for each application. Study the job description and use the same language and keywords as the employer has used.
RESTART
Undoubtedly, cultural differences exist between public and private sector organisations but this point should not be overplayed. Many employees in the private sector comment on the immense cultural differences between American and European owned organisations – is this scenario really that different to the public/private issue?
On starting their new role in the private sector, the ex-public sector worker may often find a sharper emphasis on individual performance than they may have been used to. They will quickly realise the need for the organisation to respond quickly to the needs of its customers and market, driven by the need to make a profit. But there are many benefits to working in the private sector; for example, in the public sector an innovative idea may have taken months or years to implement, or perhaps been blocked due to lack of available funding – in the private sector, providing a sound business case is made, that idea will tend to attract funding and become reality much quicker!
Allowing people to move more easily between sectors and have their transferrable skills appreciated by both will be of enormous benefit to UK plc as a whole. There should be a real emphasis now, across both sectors, on the value of transferrable skills and the notion that people can, and do, move from sector to sector throughout the careers, should be reinforced.
In summary, let’s not forget that public and private sector workers are essentially the same. Sure, they have been operating in very distinct environments with different pressures and objectives, but essentially they are the same and the public sector worker has much to offer the private sector employer.
Rather than bemoan the fact that the private sector will never create sufficient jobs to soak up the mass of public sector workers expected to hit the job market, why doesn’t the private sector celebrate the fact that this diverse, skilful, regiment of labour may just provide the solution in the re-emerging “war for talent”.
David Twiddle is Chief Executive at Renovo Employment Group, a leading provider of redeployment and outplacement services to both the public and private sectors.