74 MAY-JUNE 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LIFE AFTER THE FOREIGN SERVICE intricacies of shadow tanker fleet networks. Suddenly, I had to translate my work into language that made sense outside government. 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. 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 author on Flag Day in 2009, when he was assigned to Khartoum. COURTESY OF DAWSON LAW
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