Whether you’ve chosen to leave the Foreign Service or had the choice made for you, these career transition tips can help you make the move successfully.

BY DAWSON LAW

The author on Flag Day in 2009, when he was assigned to Khartoum.
Courtesy of Dawson Law

I still remember the quiet shock of that first morning after my consulting job in London ended. I had made my grand exit from years in the Foreign Service and U.S. Treasury and sailed smoothly into a consulting firm. Suddenly, for the first time in years, I wasn’t waking up to a calendar full of meetings, policy papers, or classified cables. Instead, I sat in my small London flat, wondering what came next.

Just months earlier, I had been deep inside U.S. Embassy London as U.S. Treasury’s first representative to the United Kingdom, focused on sanctions and illicit finance issues, working closely with many State Department and interagency colleagues on national security priorities. The mission was clear, the stakes were high, and the community was tight-knit. But I realized the Foreign Service wasn’t a long-term fit for me, and transitioning to the private sector abroad seemed like the logical next chapter. When my private sector role ended abruptly due to layoffs, I was forced into the kind of reinvention I had always assumed would happen on my terms, at my pace.

Since the start of my career, my motto has been simple: I want to make a positive impact on the world. That motto carried me through, and it remains my compass now. What I’ve discovered is that life after government service is not just about finding another job. It is about rediscovering your ability to make an impact on your own terms.

From Structure to Uncertainty

Foreign Service careers provide a unique rhythm. Your life is shaped by bidding cycles, assignments, and an overarching sense of purpose. Even in moments of frustration and change, there is comfort in the structure.

Leaving that world, especially early to mid-career, can feel like being dropped into a new country, but without a briefing cable or a welcome packet from post. The transition is not just professional; it is profoundly personal.

For me, the first adjustment was psychological. I had built an identity around being part of the national security apparatus. In the consulting world, not everyone understood the weight of state-sponsored disinformation, sanctions designations, or the intricacies of shadow tanker fleet networks. Suddenly, I had to translate my work into language that made sense outside government.

Leaving that world, especially early to mid-career, can feel like being dropped into a new country, but without a briefing cable or a welcome packet from post.

The second adjustment was the loss of certainty. Consulting felt familiar enough, the acronyms were fewer, but the work was adjacent to what I had done at State and Treasury. When the company hit turbulence though, I discovered how fragile private sector roles can be; entire teams can vanish overnight.

Yet even government service, once seen as a rock of stability, has shed much of that certainty in the past year. Hiring freezes, attrition-driven reductions, and reductions in force (RIFs) have touched colleagues across agencies. For many, the sense of permanence has given way to the same uncertainty familiar in the private sector. What once felt enduring now requires the same resilience and adaptability as any other role.

It helps to remember that this isn’t unusual. Today’s professionals can expect not just job changes but also career changes: Researchers estimate most Americans will go through three to seven distinct careers in their lifetime.

Lessons in Reinvention

Looking back, I see that period not as an ending but as the beginning of reinvention. Here are a few lessons I took away, ones that may resonate well.

Adaptability is a superpower. Foreign Service professionals are conditioned to adapt to new countries, languages, and crises. That muscle translates beautifully to life outside government. This adaptability helped me pivot quickly from a consulting setback toward entrepreneurship. The same flexibility that once helped me navigate a meeting with militia members in Sudan could also help me design a business model in Europe.

Negotiation skills travel well. Years of persuading reluctant interlocutors or navigating interagency disputes leave you with finely tuned negotiation skills that apply far beyond diplomacy. In the private sector, I’ve used those same skills in client pitches and contract discussions. The context changes, but the underlying ability to find common ground remains invaluable.

Cultural fluency is an asset. Foreign Service professionals know how to read a room, sense unspoken hierarchies, and adapt their tone depending on the audience. Outside government, this cultural agility sets you apart. Whether working with multinational clients, leading diverse teams, or entering a new market, your comfort with ambiguity and cultural nuance is prized.

Not everything translates. In government, authority often comes with a title, a badge, or simply the weight of the institution. In the private sector, none of that is assumed. And while in Washington it was sometimes enough to identify a problem, outside government you are expected to bring solutions quickly. There are fewer silos, less time for process, and far more emphasis on execution. It’s a different kind of pressure, one that demands agility, accountability, and speed.

Top Tips for Career Transition

The author at the APEC Leaders Summit in Papua New Guinea, 2018.
Courtesy of Dawson Law

Even those who quickly find a role after being laid off may not have found their dream job. So how do you make such a big transition successfully?

Do an identity check. Find your new mission. Expect a feeling of loss when the official mission no longer defines your days. Be intentional about creating a new mission, whether through teaching, entrepreneurship, advocacy, or simply deepening personal pursuits. Ask yourself: What brought you to public service, and how will you translate that mission to a new professional vision?

Translate your skills. Speak a new language. Don’t assume others understand the value of your Foreign Service work. Learn to describe your accomplishments in private sector terms. Instead of “drafted cables,” say “produced analytical reporting that shaped senior-level decision making.” Instead of “served as control officer,” say “managed high-stakes visits under intense logistical and political pressure.” Use numbers and metrics, not job descriptions with no clear results.

Continue learning. Curiosity and constant learning drew many of us to our careers in foreign affairs. Your intricate work knowledge will grow stale or become less relevant over time. Take the opportunity to continue learning and stay up to date on emerging issues like artificial intelligence.

Network widely. Relationships are the currency of reinvention. Reconnect with former colleagues, professional associations, think tanks, and mentors before you need them. Be clear in your asks, thank people for their time, always ask who else you should talk to, and follow up promptly. The AFSA community itself is a powerful network.

Experiment and pivot. Explore your options. Talk to industry contacts to learn about their work, company culture, and good supervisors. You may find yourself in a role that isn’t a great fit, but each experiment builds clarity.

Know geographic focus matters. Decide whether Washington, D.C., should be your base. The capital may have jobs relevant to your experience, but it is saturated with talent, making you a small fish in a very large pond. Positioning yourself in a regional U.S. hub, university town, or overseas market can make you stand out. Consider opportunities in different locations. Nothing beats a networking trip to the places you are contemplating living.

Use your voice. When you leave the government, you’ll be able to speak and advocate without clearance or institutional limits. Whether through writing, public speaking, or joining cause-driven organizations, you can build a public presence in ways that were not possible while you were in the Foreign Service.

Remember resilience above all. Careers after government service rarely follow a straight line. Layoffs happen, business ventures falter, opportunities vanish. What matters is the ability to adjust course. The same resilience that carried you through difficult assignments or overseas tours will carry you through this chapter too.

Finally, it’s time for the long view. The one lesson I want to share with recently RIFed colleagues is this: Leaving government is not a downgrade. It is not the loss of relevance. It is an invitation to reinvent yourself, apply your skills in new ways, and rediscover what drives you beyond the mission.

That first morning in London, I feared my ability to make an impact on the world had ended with my government service. I see now that it was only the beginning of a career advising companies on how to integrate new geopolitical realities into their strategy, helping them comply with complex sanctions and export controls, and offering career coaching to foreign policy professionals making career transitions.

Your story does not end when you leave the Service. The mission continues. But now, you get to define it for yourself.

Dawson Law was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service from 2009 to 2019, serving in Khartoum, Warsaw, Hanoi, and Canberra. He also worked as a civil servant at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence from 2021 to 2024. Law founded a geopolitical and compliance advisory, Conseil Global Advisors, and a career coaching practice, International Careers Coach.