From Public Sector to Private

In 2008, I graduated in one of the most difficult financial times for our country. I was one of the thousands of college graduates seeking employment and had a difficult time finding anything close to my field of study. In February of 2009, I accepted a temporary position at the Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL). This position, albeit temporary, provided me some insight into the unemployment claim system, the state workforce, and my first real introduction to a represented workforce. 

After about a year and a half, I accepted a full-time position with the DOL. Fast-forwarding to what turned out to be a nine-and-a-half-year career with DOL, I was fortunate enough to hold many different positions and climbed the proverbial professional ladder of success. In nine short years, I went from a temporary employee to an executive liaison for the State’s Labor Commissioner. Through that time, I was blessed to meet many mentors along the way who provided me with support and guidance. 

While my career with DOL was fruitful, I had to make a difficult decision to stay or leave after reaching what felt like a ceiling of success. It seemed like I was on track to become a division director in the coming years, but I had to decide if that was the track for me. As I was quickly approaching completion of my second master’s degree from the University of Connecticut (UConn), I wanted to see if I could leverage my education, and network, to find a career in Human Resources. In April 2018, I was fortunate enough to land a Human Resource Recruiting position for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). 

When I accepted this position, I was finally happy to be a part of a network of HR professionals who I could leverage and learn from. During my first six months, I was able to learn and navigate through the state’s new talent management system, JobAps, and was a part of a team that increased onboarding by nearly 40% in that same timeframe. Relationships and trust levels were building with senior management, and our team was on the brink of continued and unparalleled success. 

Despite this success, however, I felt that my duties did not match my education and prior work history. Although I knew that I needed to “side-step” my career move from DOL to find where I wanted to be and grow, I began to put my resume out again for a soft search. I started to receive interviews for different positions, mostly out of HR but knew the right one would come along. My last interview for the summer was with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company. I vowed that if this didn’t pan out, I would take a break from searching until after the new year. 

After about two months, I received my official offer and accepted the position, after negotiations, as a Labor Relations Senior Representative. Excited beyond belief, I took a second to realize that I had just accepted my first corporate job and thought,

“Am I ready for this?”

Although I had a Master’s in Human Resource Management, I dedicated much of my experience in labor relations to my time spent as a Chief Union Steward for AFSCME Local 269 and DOL. I knew that if I leveraged that experience, I would be most successful in my new position. 

I started with Lockheed Martin in November 2018. Once I passed by the company sign on the building, with the big Lockheed Martin star, I just knew I was in the right place. From the sign-in process to walking the shop floors, to meeting all my coworkers, the first day was quite overwhelming; but that’s to be expected. During orientation, I learned more about the 9/80 flex work schedule, “Huh?” I’ve only worked for the government, and the only time we could “flex” was when travel was involved. With Lockheed Martin, not only could we flex our schedule, but we have every other Friday off,

“Wait…I have a three-day weekend twice a month?!”

Well, yes, but I was required to work eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day over two weeks to get two Fridays off a month. Heck, I’ll gladly work an extra hour a day to get two three-day weekends each month; and this is in addition to other fringe benefits the company provided. 

At this point, I’m on cloud nine. I have a flexible schedule, a management team who are supportive and understanding of my extra-curricular activities, I’m the Head Coach of a local diving team called Elite Diving, and I’m making the most money I’ve made, thus far, in my professional career. Now, you may be wondering, what does a Labor Representative do for a company like Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin? Well, I manage the collective bargaining agreement for multiple business units within the plant, counsel management on all HR and union issues, provide information and support on wages, benefits, and FMLA, and oversee projects and initiatives with labor relations and HR. 

Based on my experience with DOL and DMHAS coupled with my educational background, I’d say this was a perfect fit for me. Being in my early 30s, I couldn’t have found something more fitting. But wait, there’s more. 

Being a part of Lockheed Martin, I have seen the importance it puts behind employee relations. I’ve sat in on different meetings and webinars where the paramount for successes is founded on the foundation of employee engagement and betterment. From allowing employees time to volunteer for something they support or having different employee resource groups that encourage and cultivate the very differences that bring us all together, is something I’m not used to. 

As a public employee, your salary and time are paid by the taxpayers so being ethically, and fiscally, responsible is something we always leaned on before making a final decision on anything. While Lockheed has shareholders and customers to respond to, its ability to enable employees to have a work-life balance is unmatched when comparing it to the public sector.

Of course, the age-old argument about public versus private rests on comparisons between health insurance benefits and stability; however, I’d argue that the public sector is being hit with more workforce woes than private companies. Within my last three years at DOL, I’ve seen layoffs, wages freezes, and stunted career growth. That left the agency with less than 10 people under the age of 30 who wanted to continue their careers. DMHAS had a little more growth during my six months; however, not as much growth, comparatively, to what I’ve seen within my first month at Sikorsky/Locked Martin. 

After working with the State of Connecticut for nearly ten years, I’ve seen a lot of, been a part of many changes, and have been fortunate enough to be mentored by some of the state’s top leaders. I would be remised if I didn’t continue to remind myself that, without their guidance and support, I may have missed my exit and this opportunity. 

Although this post shares some low points about the public sector, I must say that I’ve been fortunate enough to help families in need, offer a career opportunity to someone who’s been searching for years, and have seen the biggest smiles from people I’ve never met. The work that I did for both DOL and DMHAS has molded me to appreciate everything that I am offered, while always remembering to share it with someone else. 

Now that I’m at Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin, I will continue to provide grade A customer service, support those who need/require my services and remember to pass down the wealth of knowledge to those behind me.

As I write this next chapter in my life, I will forever rely on my foundation and knowledge learned as a Connecticut state employee and continue to fulfill my career goals with a catalyst of growth and new opportunities – #LockheedMartin.