5 Tips to Successfully Transition from Private Sector to Public Sector

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Are you a designer, engineer, product manager or data analyst working in the private sector and thinking of transitioning to the public sector? Savan Kong, a Digital Service Expert for Defense Digital Service, did just that nearly three years ago and has five tips to help you be successful in this type of career shift.

For over 20 years in the technology industry, I have been a product manager, designer and recruiter in some capacity. My work expanded across multiple sectors, including real estate, healthcare, media companies and social networks. 

I now work at Defense Digital Service as a Digital Service Expect (DSE). DDS sits under the Office of Secretary of Defense doing work bolstering our nation's defense capabilities and improving the lives of our service members. During my time here, I've had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects. Here are 5 tips for how to successfully transition from the private industry into the public sector.

1. Learn the language. Even the traditional title of "product manager" has a different context in the government. Because the title and responsibilities are so new to the government, people have difficulty aligning your role with key deliverables. Learning the language and aligning yourself with the output of your work will go a long way to building trust and ensuring clear communication. Other titles that may be confusing when transitioning from the private sector to the public sector are Program Manager, Product Marketing Manager, Design, and anything UX-related. 

2. Don't get caught up in the cog. The Department of Defense is a vast organization. If you try to learn every single facet of every organization, you'll spend a lot of time absorbing - and not enough time delivering. Instead, align yourself with your organization and work through your mission. Break it down into as many deliverables as possible and push hard to deliver results. You will naturally learn more about your space and be introduced to critical partners more efficiently this way.

3. Don't take no for an answer but know when to move on. You will hear from many people that "it can't be done." They believe in the status quo. Your job is not to sustain the status quo. With all that being said … don't spin your wheels getting consensus. The best way to deliver value is to ship often and do it well. Delivery will garner trust and give you a path to doing more challenging things that may not be available initially, like changing policy.

4. Always be curious. A common theme in my career, both in industry and the public space, has been learning about new problems. Therefore, as a successful DSE, you must have an insatiable desire to learn about new problem spaces. 

5. Build trust. Building trust is a constant battle. The DOD is a vast machine filled with many relationships. Building trust is so important to deliver on your objectives because of the interconnected nature of the organization. You can constantly do many things to build trust, but I truly believe that it's as easy as one thing: Do what you say you are going to do.

If this speaks to you, we’re hiring. Check out our job openings and come join the team!