CareerForward:
A Career Transition Cohort For Federal Professionals
CareerForward is a special partnership between Your Career Storyteller and FedsForward, created specifically for federal professionals navigating career transition.
This 7-session group coaching program is based on my proven group coaching framework and integrates FedsForward’s CareerWizard and career translation tools, giving participants both the live support and practical tools they need to move from stuck, scattered, and second-guessing into a clear job-search strategy.
If you’re coming from federal service or another mission-driven environment, you may know exactly how valuable your experience is, but still struggle to explain it in a way that connects with employers outside government.
That’s where this program comes in.
It’s not about grinding harder, sending more applications into the void, or memorizing interview answers.
It’s about learning a simple, repeatable system that helps you clarify your direction, translate your experience, identify aligned opportunities, and build momentum through focused action and strategic conversations.
This Program Is For You If…
You know you’re capable, but your job search feels scattered or stalled.
You’re “open to everything,” but that openness is making it harder to communicate your value clearly.
You’ve been applying broadly and getting little traction, or landing interviews that don’t feel quite right.
You want a job-search strategy that turns your experience into real opportunities, not just more applications.
You’re ready to stop guessing and start using a clearer, more repeatable approach to build momentum.
What You’ll Walk Away With
By the end of 7 weeks, you will have:
Clear career direction that guides what you apply for and what you skip
Defined career lanes that reflect your strengths, values, and the kind of work you want to do next
A focused list of target organizations where your experience is relevant and in demand
Stronger language for translating your federal experience into new career environments
Confidence in outreach and conversations that lead to introductions, referrals, and real opportunities
A clearer understanding of what teams are hiring for and how to position yourself effectively
A simple, repeatable system you can use to generate traction now and reuse for future career moves
How It Works
7 weeks | Live group coaching | Small cohort
Each weekly session follows the same proven structure:
Training — Learn the framework and strategy
Breakouts — Apply it immediately with guided exercises
Hot-seat coaching — Get live coaching on real challenges
Q&A + next steps — Leave knowing exactly what to do next
This “learn → do → reflect” model keeps you moving forward without overwhelm.
The 7-Week Journey
Week 1: Reset the Job Search + Translate Your Value
Reframe the problem you’re actually trying to solve and begin identifying the skills, strengths, and experience that define your value beyond your federal title.
You’ll learn why applying more is not necessarily the answer, how to approach your search with more clarity and intention, and how to begin translating your experience into language employers outside of government can understand.
You’ll begin using CareerWizard and translation tools to clarify transferable skills, strengthen positioning, and move from “I did a lot of things” to “Here’s the value I bring.”
Week 2: Career Lanes: What You Want to Do
Move from “open to anything” to clear, testable career directions.
You’ll identify the kinds of work, problems, roles, and environments that align with your strengths, values, and next chapter. Instead of trying to search everywhere at once, you’ll begin narrowing your focus into career lanes you can explore, test, and refine.
Week 3: Organization Mapping & Market Research
Learn how to find where your work lives, identify the people who can help you understand the market, and start having conversations that create clarity and momentum.
You’ll map organizations, teams, sectors, and role types that align with your career lanes, then learn how to conduct market research through targeted conversations.
This includes identifying the right people to contact, writing outreach that feels natural and specific, and asking questions that help you understand what teams need, what roles really involve, and where better-fit opportunities may exist.
No awkward networking. No asking strangers for favors. Just thoughtful, strategic outreach that helps you test your direction, build relationships, and become more visible to the right people.
Break Week: Execute Your Market Research
Between Sessions 3 and 4, you’ll have a dedicated implementation week to put your research and outreach into motion.
This gives you time to build your target organization list, identify contacts, send outreach, begin targeted conversations, and gather real-world insight before the next live session.
The break week is designed to help you move from planning into action, so you return with sharper questions, early insights, and clearer next steps.
Week 4: Turn Insights Into Strategy + Expert Résumé Guidance
Use what you learned from your research, outreach, and conversations to sharpen your search — and begin translating that strategy into a résumé that works for you, not against you.
You’ll learn how to interpret what you’re hearing from the market, identify patterns across roles and organizations, refine your career lanes, and adjust your positioning based on real-world feedback.
Then we’ll turn that positioning into résumé strategy. You’ll learn how Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) actually work, what recruiters are really looking for when they review your résumé, and how to create a strong master résumé that captures the full scope of your experience.
You’ll also learn strategies for tailoring efficiently, so each application doesn’t require hours of rewriting your résumé from scratch.
Week 5: Build Your LinkedIn Strategy
Turn everything you’ve clarified so far — your value, career lanes, target organizations, market research, and positioning — into a LinkedIn presence that supports your search.
You’ll learn how to build a profile that clearly communicates who you are, what you bring, and where you’re headed, while using the language and keywords that help the right people find and understand you.
We’ll also develop a practical LinkedIn engagement strategy so you know who to follow, where to participate, what to say, and how to use LinkedIn to build relationships and visibility without feeling like you have to become a full-time content creator.
Week 6: Tell Your Story: Elevator Pitches and Interviews
Practice communicating your value clearly, confidently, and conversationally.
You’ll learn how to talk about who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for in ways that make sense to employers, recruiters, networking contacts, and interviewers.
This includes developing your elevator pitch, strengthening your career narrative, preparing for common interview questions, and learning how to answer transition questions without rambling, over-explaining, or underselling yourself.
You’ll also learn how to connect your experience directly to what an employer needs so your answers demonstrate not just what you’ve done, but why it matters for the role you want next.
Week 7: The Wrap Up: Your Job Search Strategy Playbook
Pull everything together into a clear, repeatable strategy you can keep using after the program ends.
In this final session, we’ll step back and look at your entire job search system — from career lanes and target organizations to market research, networking, résumé tailoring, LinkedIn, applications, interviews, and follow-up — so you understand how all of the pieces work together.
You’ll leave with your job search playbook: a practical strategy for what to do next, how to prioritize your time, and how to keep building momentum without falling back into the cycle of endlessly searching and applying.
This session is also dedicated to getting your remaining questions answered. We’ll use the time for Q&A, hot-seat coaching, troubleshooting, strategy refinement, and next-step planning so you leave CareerForward with clarity about both your direction and how to execute your search moving forward.
Built-In Support
You’ll have access to optional office hours for hot-seat coaching, Q&A, and feedback on their progress.
Beyond the 7 Weeks
This program is designed to create momentum, not dependency.
You will leave with a 30-Day Momentum Plan to keep moving forward after the cohort ends.