The Janitor Who Became a Director: What Most People Misunderstand About Government Careers

Many people apply to government jobs with the wrong strategy. They focus only on the title they think they deserve.

One of my former directors at the City of Toronto started as a janitor.

Yes — a janitor.

Not because he lacked intelligence. Not because he failed professionally. And not because that was his long-term dream.

He started there because he understood something most applicants never fully realize:

A public-sector career is often built from inside the system — not from outside of it.

The Mistake Many Applicants Make

I see this constantly with candidates applying to government and large public-sector organizations.

Someone with an engineering background applies only to engineering positions. Someone with financial experience applies only to analyst roles. Someone with project management experience refuses to consider administrative or operational positions.

Their thinking is simple:

“I worked too hard for my profession to take something lower.”

That sounds logical.

But in practice, it often keeps people outside the system for years.

Meanwhile, another candidate takes a practical entry point: operations support, clerical work, field services, customer service, facilities, or administrative coordination.

They enter the organization. They learn how the system works. They build relationships. They understand internal hiring. They begin applying internally.

And over time, they move upward.

Government Hiring Works Differently

Many people approach public-sector hiring like private-sector hiring. That is a mistake.

In many government organizations, internal hiring pools matter. Institutional knowledge matters. Understanding the culture matters. Internal mobility is real. Long-term stability is rewarded.

Once you are inside, the playing field changes.

You may see internal postings. You understand the hiring language better. You gain relevant organizational experience. You learn how selection processes actually work.

That does not guarantee anything. But it gives you a different position from someone applying cold from the outside every time.

The Perfect Entry Trap

Some people spend years waiting for the perfect role — the exact title, salary, or specialization they imagined.

But government hiring can move slowly.

A highly competitive professional posting may attract hundreds of applicants, including experienced internal staff and candidates already familiar with the process.

At the same time, another realistic role inside the same organization may attract far fewer applicants.

One door is overcrowded.

Another door is open.

The people who progress are often the people willing to enter realistically and build strategically.

This Is Not About Settling

Taking a different entry point does not automatically mean abandoning your profession or lowering your standards permanently.

It means understanding how large organizations work.

Many successful public servants started in temporary roles, operational positions, administrative roles, field roles, or support roles before moving into more specialized positions.

Career growth inside government is often gradual and structural. That is very different from how many people imagine it.

The Real Question

Before applying to government jobs, ask yourself one honest question:

Do you want to become a public servant and build a long-term career from within?

Or are you only interested in one exact professional lane?

Neither answer is wrong.

But the strategy changes completely depending on your answer.

The director who started as a janitor did not succeed because of luck.

He succeeded because he understood that getting inside the system was the first victory.

And while others waited for the perfect door, he walked through an available one.