I am not a civil servant, but I once worked for an international organization—an environment not much different from the public sector: stable job, good perks (better than the state sector), privileges, access to many VIPs, and respect. Therefore, looking back at the time I left, I also see an image of myself in today’s early-retired civil servants.
I would like to share a few observations from the experience and perspective of someone who was in a similar position, as well as from my friends. The term “civil servant” here includes both state officials and those working in subsidized organizations (NGOs, international bodies). And this applies only to those who truly retire early with a severance payout.
You receive a sum of money; you have a good network of relationships from your days as an official; you still have energy and intellect. You do not want to retire just yet. So, what should you do?
1. Don’t Let Money “Go Never to Return”
When retiring early, you receive a fairly generous severance package. But this could also be the last sum of money you receive if you don’t know how to manage it. The first thing you need to remember: Do not rush into investing right away!
I have witnessed quite a few people enthusiastically pour money into startup projects, open companies, or pool capital with friends within just a few months of leaving the public sector. They do it to prove themselves, to make a fresh start, or even to forget the disappointment/boredom of leaving public service. The result? Money disappears faster than a mouse click. Your first experience becomes losing a chunk of money due to naivety in the business world.
Take at least 6 to 12 months to think and research before making decisions. If you don’t know what to do yet, simply put it in a savings account or, even better, invest in stock market index funds—where even if you do nothing, your money still has the opportunity to grow alongside the economy. Don’t let a fine day come where you find yourself contributing capital to a coffee shop only for it to close three months later because… no one drinks there. Don’t invest in a company only to see no profits indefinitely, because the marketplace is a battlefield, and money is truly not easy to earn (unlike official perks).
This severance package is a cushion to give you time to think about your next path, not a one-way ticket to the bankrupt neighborhood.
2. On Relationships: “Lovers Forgotten, Friends Drifting Away…”
You used to have a broad relationship network in the public sector and favors owed by private businesses. But trust me, these relationships have an “expiry date” and remain “warm” for only about three years after you resign. After that? You will find yourself receiving fewer phone calls, fewer party invitations, and people who were once cheerful with you will suddenly appear much busier. It’s not that they hate you. They need to maintain relationships with your successor and dedicate time to other matters.
Therefore, the first three years after leaving are the golden window to leverage these relationships to build a career in the private sector. If you intend to start a company, consult, or move to a private firm, do it immediately during this phase while relationships are still warm enough.
Later on, if former subordinates no longer remember you and private partners stop calling, do not blame them. That is the law of nature. In the past, people respected you largely because of your position, not necessarily because you were a close comrade.
3. Don’t Hold On to the “Ego”
Many civil servants stumble when stepping into the private sector not because of a lack of ability, but because of their “ego” and excessive pride.
20 years ago, when I resigned from a major international organization abroad and returned home to a salary only $1/20$ of my old rate, the first thing I did while preparing to bring my family back to Vietnam was call my sister and ask: “Do you have a list of English teaching companies in Vietnam? I want to learn what teaching pay is like and apply for a job.”
My sister burst out laughing and asked: “You studied up to a US PhD and worked at prestigious international organizations like that, why are you asking about teaching English in Vietnam?”
I replied: “That is my fallback option. If I can’t do anything substantial in Vietnam and fail to adapt, I can still teach English to feed my family.”
To me, that was completely normal. Back when I worked as a specialist, I felt prestigious meeting major world and Vietnamese government officials. But that was in the past. When switching careers, in the worst-case scenario where there was no job close to my old expertise, picking up trash, driving a car, or teaching English were all things I was prepared to do, as long as it fed my wife and children. And I was never ashamed, nor did I consider those jobs beneath me.
Humility and modesty are never enough!
I have a very talented friend. When he left the public sector for a while and needed to find a job, I introduced him to a large corporation where I used to be a leader. I arranged dinner with the leadership of that corporation—a close comrade who was like a younger brother to me.
Attending the dinner was merely a friendly formality, as my friend had already promised to hire him.
However, toward the end of the evening, without being drunk since we didn’t drink alcohol, my former civil servant friend excitedly spoke very casually, lecturing me in a highly patronizing manner right at the dinner table in front of all my former staff and associates. My friend—the boss leading that corporation—simply remained silent and smiled softly.
After dinner, he said to me: “I cannot hire him. A person who doesn’t even respect you in front of all your former subordinates—how am I going to manage him later? He still hasn’t remembered that he has become an ordinary citizen!”
Just like that, my friend lost a great opportunity over a single small, unhumble act.
I know another older colleague whom I deeply respect, who was also one of my benefactors when I returned to Vietnam. He used to manage a crucial state sector with deep influence over the private sector in that industry. Frankly speaking, he was someone whom many business owners had to respect, or even defer to. However, during his time as an official, he never exploited his position for personal gain or to cause difficulties for businesses.
The day he resigned from office, many business owners came to invite him to work for them as a way to repay debts of gratitude he had never demanded. He accepted a job from them.
However, he clearly understood that times had changed. In the past, he might have been the person many businesses had to seek favors from, but stepping outside, he knew himself and knew his place. He did not hesitate to address those business owners—people who once needed him—with the flattering titles they liked to hear, such as “Mr. Chairman,” “Big Sister,” “Boss Lady,” and so on. He respected their directions even when they flipped 180 degrees, without complaining a bit. He told me: “It’s B’s company, so I listen to B!”
That very humility and level-headedness helped him become a “tycoon”—one of the very few people leaving the public sector to achieve major success in the private sector. He did not let himself get caught in the so-called “power hangover” to remain trapped in past glory after leaving state service. To him, once out of the system, the old role had ended, with no lingering regrets.
4. Manage Your Expectations
A foreign acquaintance of mine was formerly an ambassador. He loved Vietnam so much that after his term ended, he resigned and stayed in Vietnam to open his own consulting firm.
Meeting him again 10 years later, I asked him: “What was the hardest thing for you to adapt to when leaving government service for the private sector?”
He replied: “There were many things, but there is one thing I understand yet still can’t accept: in the past, whoever I talked to, it was easy; whoever I made an appointment with, it was fast. I thought people really liked me. Yet when running my own company, with those exact same people, I have to wait for months without getting an appointment. Turns out back then I was an ambassador, so that’s why. Now that I’m an ordinary citizen, everyone is the same.”
One thing you will notice is why, when you worked in the public sector, asking for favors on anything was so easy. Yet just turning around a few months into the private sector, those same people seem so “cold” toward you. Quite a few people suffer a heavy shock upon seeing themselves treated this way. Back when you were an official, a single phone call from you got things done. Now, you might even have to plead from department heads down to specialists just to get a permit or an approval signed.
When you worked in the public sector, you held authority or influence over them. Now, you have become the person seeking favors. Times change, and you must always remember that.
In the past, you only had to defer to your boss and higher leaders. Now, you have to defer to everyone in the public sector when working in the private block. That includes individuals who used to be your subordinates, whom you naturally assumed had a duty to listen to you.
Trust me, that “deference” is very different from the “deference” when you were still working for the public block.
Another expectation you need to adjust is the way people work. In the public sector, you were used to compliance principles: the boss speaks, you execute, and subordinates have no right to object. But moving to the private sector, you will get much more impatient because there are too many stakeholders. Nobody works by your “directives” anymore; everything is negotiation and compromise.
Behaving imperiously will cause you to lose the support of colleagues and superiors very quickly. Be patient and do not expect things to go smoothly right away.
Don’t Let Early Retirement Become “Permanent Retirement”
Retiring early does not mean your “role is over”; it simply means you are changing roles. But in return, you gain something many covet: freedom. You can enjoy life and experiment with new things.
Therefore, instead of sitting around reminiscing about glory days, put your “ego” in the closet and start a new life. Whether working as an entrepreneur, consultant, teacher, or growing vegetables and raising fish, the most important thing is not to let yourself become a “mobile museum” of a bygone era.
Nguyen Quoc Toan
