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 6-session group coaching program is based on my proven group coaching framework and integrates FedsForward’s CareerWizardand 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 six 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
6 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 6-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
Use what you learned from your research, outreach, and conversations to sharpen your search.
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.
This session helps you move from “I had a few conversations” to “I know what I’m learning, what it means, and how to use it.”
We’ll also troubleshoot outreach challenges, conversation gaps, and places where your search still feels unclear, so you can keep building momentum with more focus and confidence.
Week 5: Tell Your Story: Elevator Pitches + 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 elevator pitches, career narrative, interview framing, and answering transition questions without rambling, over-explaining, or underselling yourself.
Week 6: Wrap-Up, Strategy Overview + Your Job Search Playbook
Pull everything together into a clear, repeatable strategy you can keep using after the program ends.
In this final session, you’ll review the full system, connect the pieces across career lanes, target organizations, market research, outreach, applications, interviews, and follow-up, and leave with your job search playbook: a practical guide for what to do next, how to stay focused, and how to keep building momentum.
This session will also include time for Q&A, hot-seat coaching, troubleshooting, and next-step planning so you leave with clarity, confidence, and a concrete plan for continuing your search.
Built-In Support
You’ll have access to optional office hours for hot-seat coaching, Q&A, and feedback on their progress.
Beyond the 6 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.
You’ll also get 1-year access to 50% off all Your Career Storyteller services including résumé writing, interview preparation, and additional 1-on-1 coaching