- Employment opportunities for outsiders
- Rate of pay
- Growth/promotion opportunities
- Moving/relocation
- Child care
- Insurance and retirement benefits
Employment Opportunities for Outsiders
Government. Without prior federal government or military experience, it is very difficult to secure a job working for the federal government today unless you are willing to start at the bottom. A federal government personnel administrator told us that every posted job has from ten to one hundred outside applicants. Most federal and state agencies try to promote from within; thus entry-level positions are at the bottom. Mid-career moves from public to private are done more often than the other way around. Counties and cities are more open to outsiders at higher levels than are the federal and state governments.
To become eligible for a job at any level of government you must test for that job classification. If your score is high enough, you will then be put on an eligibility list. It is this list that is reviewed by hiring managers at the time of an opening.
Private Sector. There are more employment opportunities in the private sector, but there can also be a degree of discrimination against former public employees. Some people feel public employees do not know how to work as hard as those in private business. These people feel that public employees have not had to answer to the bottom line, so they do not have the same outlook on fiscal management as employees in the private sector. If that was ever true, it is certainly undergoing a change today with the belt-tightening at all levels of government.
Some large corporations prefer to promote from within. The only way to enter the work force of such a company is to start at a low-level position. Such corporations believe this is necessary to protect career opportunities for current employees. Some companies do this to protect corporate culture. They believe the way they conduct business can be learned only by working one's way up the corporate ladder.
The only way to enter such a company on a management level is to find a manager who believes yon are the only person who can do the job they have open. Your uniqueness then overcomes the "promote from within" philosophy.
Rate of Pay
Pay and fringe benefits are of more concern to you in mid-career than when you were starting out. You now have a family to support and other obligations. Child and health care benefits are much more important to you now. In fact, a lack of these may be one reason you want to make a change.
Government. Federal, state, and local government pay has traditionally been lower than pay in the private sector. This is not true in geographic areas where government has to compete in a tight labor market to attract employees, or for certain hard-to-fill job classifications. In very small or poor communities, federal and state pay may be much higher than that of private business in the area. The federal government uses the nation as a whole to figure rates of pay. State governments review the salaries of neighboring states to set pay scales. If a local economy is small or depressed, such government jobs will have relatively higher wages. The reverse is also true. If the local economy is very robust, government pay may be behind. This is especially true if there is low turnover in government jobs. Under those circumstances there is no need to adjust the pay scale to compete.
Private Sector. You know that private-sector pay varies by size of city, size of company, and level of management. However, there are always exceptions. As a general rule, a small privately held company will not pay as much as a large public company. Geography is an influence on the rate of pay. A company in Los Angeles, California, will have to pay a worker more than a company in De Ridder, Louisiana, will.
Most private employers have more flexibility than government to pay well for the qualified personnel they feel they really need. Pay is generally spoken of in terms of ranges. Never forget that an exceptionally desirable prospective employee can negotiate pay. A pay range can be extended or a job reclassified. If this becomes the situation for you during a change, be sure you address the issue of future promotions and raises before you accept the job. As soon as you have accepted the job you have lost your power to negotiate.
Growth/Promotion Opportunities
Government. Many of the government interviewees feel their jobs offered them an opportunity to "do good," or that they were truly "serving the people." They felt such positions are not available in private business.
Others believed the private sector offers to an outstanding person more rewards and recognition than government does. They felt there is more opportunity for faster advancement in the private sector.
Government managers at mid-level and higher who are interviewed feel their jobs to be more secure than their counterparts in private industry. They believed that the government takes a long-term view of management skills, measuring a manager based on his leadership and motivation rather than against the bottom line only.
It is a common belief that government service is an ideal training ground to prepare for a second career in private business.
For years there was discrimination against women and minorities. Today the reverse seems to be true. One city personnel employee said in an interview that every job opening generates two lists: one that lists the top five eligible candidates, and a second list that ranks the top five eligible women and minority candidates. The hiring manager is encouraged to work from the second list.
Private Sector. Large companies are very aware of the important role they have in helping women and minorities move ahead. However, they do not appear to be practicing reverse discrimination to the same degree as government-unless the employer is doing a great deal of government work and has to meet government employment goals.
Latest researches show that many white males age thirty or older feel that because of reverse discrimination the best career opportunities are found in self-employment or working for small companies.
Smaller companies are dominated by white males at the top and women at the bottom. Promotions past supervisor are still difficult for women unless they are exceptional or find an exceptional company. There is a general feeling that this is changing, though it is hard to find statistics to back it up.
Moving/Relocation
Government. The federal government has become much more sensitive to the concept of family relocation. It is aware that 70 percent of all households have two incomes. The federal government will usually help the spouse of the transferring employee find employment.
Most families who move for the government find the people at the new office very helpful. Anyone who has worked for the federal government for five years or more has probably moved to secure a promotion. Veteran employees understand what it feels like to arrive at a new town, a new house, and a new job. They are willing to help fellow employees make the adjustment.
Private Sector. Relocation is important for career growth in most large companies, but generally, refusing to move will not end your career as it once would.
