Recruiter Seeks To Reach Federal Employees With Book For Job-Seekers

ASHBURN, VA — Ashburn resident Bill Fitzgerald had been planning a new book for some time to share insider recruiter tips on the job search process. But the recruiting firm leader's book has become especially timely with the reductions in the federal workforce by the Trump administration.

Fitzgerald is the CEO of FitzDrake Search, Inc., an Ashburn-based recruiting firm that helps with hiring of executives and other professionals, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. His new book, titled "Searching for a Job Sucks! - Practical Advice, Insights, and Insider Knowledge from the CEO of an Executive Search and Recruiting Firm," provides a glimpse at the recruiter perspective of the hiring process. The book's overall goal is to help job applicants increase their odds of a successful and shorter job search.

Fitzgerald told Patch his interest in helping job-seekers grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people began losing jobs. That led to his first book, "How To Find A New Job Without Looking: Building Vital Relationships That Lead To A Successful Career" in 2023.

"That book was really all about how to leverage relationships, how to network, and how to find a job, besides trying to hit the easy apply button a thousand times and hope that somebody gives you a call back," said Fitzgerald. "And in the course of doing that, in the course of continuing to talk to people, it motivated me to write this second book."

The new book emphasizes recruiters' perspectives on what makes a successful applicant, giving more of an advantage to job-seekers. Fitzgerald wants federal workers who are suddenly without jobs to know they have that helping hand.

"It's just struck me that all these people coming out of the federal government … really need to understand how this process works, and to give them this behind-the-scenes look at what they can expect and hopefully give them a leg up," said Fitzgerald. "That levels the playing field a little bit so they can be successful when they're looking for a job."

While there is not yet an official total of federal worker job losses, The Associated Press estimates thousands of probationary federal employees have lost jobs. Federal agencies and departments have received new guidance to develop plans by March 13 to make additional federal worker reductions.

Fitzgerald, whose firm has done recruitment efforts across the U.S., says federal workers are entering a challenging job market.

"For the last six months or longer, we really have been in a white collar recession," said Fitzgerald. "When you look at the monthly job reports and dig deeper into the data, you find that there has not been a lot of white collar hiring. To me, it's been a lot of healthcare, it's been a lot of government, it's been a lot of service, but it's not been IT and finance and HR and marketing."

He believes the job market will get tougher as more and more federal workers will be seeking jobs. The federal job losses will also have a "ripple effect" on other businesses that support the government.

Health care and local government are a few industries where federal workers will find active hiring. Federal workers with a health care background can leverage those skills for health care-related roles. Local governments are another employer where federal workers' government experience will come in handy.

For job-seekers who have been applying for a while without success, Fitzgerald says it can be a lonely place. He recommends taking a step back to examine what isn't working in the job search. What can help is getting a second opinion from a friend, mentor, colleague or family.

A quality resume goes a long way, because Fitzgerald says recruiters may spend an average six to seven seconds looking at a resume. He recommends job-seekers provide a clear professional summary of their job experience at the top, because recruiters may not bother if they can't identify the applicant's job experience.

"I believe it's important that the folks coming out of the federal government have a very simple, easy-to-use format that will catch a recruiter's attention," said Fitzgerald.

On applications, relying on online applications with hundreds of applicants may not always prove successful. Fitzgerald recommends finding the hiring manager's email address and reaching out directly with a two-sentence introduction. This requires a clear hook to get their attention. The job-seeker's resume can be embedded in that email to increase their odds of being seen.

Referencing his first book, Fitzgerald also urges federal employees to utilize their job connections — former colleagues, bosses, customers and vendors — to "build an army" of supporters in the job search.

"We all have people in our lives, or meet people that take an interest," said Fitzgerald. "And more and more of these federal folks, they've got to build their armies. They've got to build their network of people that want to help them find this next job, because they're not going to be able to do it alone."

Although the federal worker reductions create more uncertainty in the job market, Fitzgerald's main message is encouragement.

"People will find jobs, I mean it, people will eventually find jobs," said Fitzgerald. "It just may take a little bit longer than what they would hope or what they thought, but I really believe there's something out there for everyone."

Fitzgerald's books are available on Amazon and from other booksellers.