At her first job fair May 21 at Fort Meade, Tatyana Padro Miguel quickly realized she didn’t have something most employers wanted despite her experience as a federal government contractor: a security clearance.

The 26-year-old with a master’s in public health and three years at the Department of Veterans Affairs working to improve health systems had higher hopes for her second job fair that day, one focused on health care at Anne Arundel Community College.

But as Padro Miguel went table to table introducing herself to representatives from hospitals, nursing homes, in-home assisted care companies and a business that provided therapy to children with autism, she realized most of them wanted something else she was short on: clinical experience.

Like thousands of others in Maryland, Padro Miguel lost her job in March as President Donald Trump slashed the federal workforce and contracts that many companies rely on.

They find themselves thrust into a job market suddenly inundated with experienced candidates even as employment opportunities are in free fall under federal spending cuts, particularly around the nation’s capital.

Jobless claims are rising in Maryland at a rate greater than other parts of the country at the same time that businesses, facing economic uncertainty, are hiring less, a trend that is also more acute locally, said Jeremy Schwartz, chair of economics at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management.

“That makes for a more competitive labor market,” Schwartz said.

Padro Miguel told one employer at the community college that she’d enrolled in training to become a certified nursing assistant. The curriculum takes up to six weeks, but that’s time she really doesn’t have, not with unemployment insurance checks falling short of her mortgage payments, never mind other expenses.

“It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s needed. It might be what I do in the meantime,” Padro Miguel said of becoming a certified nursing assistant.

She explained that she wanted to eventually return to public health: “I want to stay committed to helping with health disparities. ... It’s just being cut in all kinds of ways.”

These are the kinds of decisions faced by thousands of newly unemployed federal workers and contractors.

By her estimation, Padro Miguel has submitted at least 200 job applications, for positions ranging from public health to firefighting, local corrections and, in a moment of panic, Chipotle. She’s attended so many local job fairs that she’s starting to recognize the same employers.

If she can’t find something soon, she may need to rent out the condo she bought in Glen Burnie last year and move back in with her parents.

A ‘military kid’ gives back

Padro Miguel grew up moving every two to three years while her father served in the military.

As a student at the University of Florida, she pursued a dual bachelor’s and master’s degree in public health. Despite the schoolwork, she volunteered with the VA, helping establish a national internship program for public health and public administration students.

“I’m a military kid. That has shaped a lot of who I am. So serving the VA was a way to return to the community that shaped me,” she said. “I’m very mission-driven. I’m very big picture. I care about helping as many people as I can. That’s why I pursued public health.”

Her upbringing and career interests made it easy to accept a job after college at the veteran-owned Aptive Resources, a federal contractor in Alexandria, Virginia.

She moved in with her parents, who had retired to Glen Burnie, and worked with the Veterans Health Administration setting up systems that enabled doctors to better care for those who served.

“My goal was to help veterans at a macro level,” Padro Miguel said, “and I was doing that.”

The work was going well. She said she got promoted in November. Though the contract she was working on was set to expire the following September, she expected another.

“Tatyana is extraordinarily talented, focused, self-driven, and smart,” a supervisor wrote later in a LinkedIn recommendation. “She will be an asset to your team because she is always thinking one step ahead (and honestly because she is a great human being you want to get to know).”

But then on Feb. 25, she said, supervisors told her and others to stop working. She recalled being instructed to take paid time off for the next three days. Her official layoff came March 1, when Aptive, according to reports, fired hundreds of employees.

“I didn’t expect federal contracting to be so unstable. Usually contracting is considered to be one of those recession-resistant jobs. Federal is supposed to be that, too,” Padro Miguel said. “I always assumed there would be sick people we need to take care of.

“My mistake was assuming that people would care.”

‘How bad will it hurt?’

Her job hunt brought her to a résumé workshop for federal workers hosted April 24 by Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corp.

Drew Burns, military career coordinator at the nonprofit, lectured the longtime government workers about shortening their lengthy résumés for the private sector. She advised them to tailor resumés to the positions they were applying for. She said artificial intelligence can help identify keywords in a job posting. She told them to highlight career accomplishments on the first page.

Then Burns touched on something that’s been a big focus of Padro Miguel’s career: DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion. According to her LinkedIn, she was the “DEI engagement lead” for Aptive, a role in which she “enhanced workplace culture,” “fostered inclusivity” and coordinated company events.

The Trump administration has sought to eradicate DEI from the government.

“Unfortunately, you cannot have that language in your résumé,” Burns said. “Right now, people are terrified of DEI. Employers aren’t going to hire.”

Though Padro Miguel tweaked her CV to put less emphasis on DEI, she still lists that experience. She said it shows her ability as a leader.

“It doesn’t feel right to remove it,” Padro Miguel said.

Responses to many of her job applications are pending. While she didn’t get a job at the local jail even after touring the facility, she has an upcoming interview for a firefighting position in Frederick County. She’s also waiting to hear from the Anne Arundel and Maryland health departments.

“I definitely get discouraged,” Padro Miguel said. “I try to remind myself that Uncle Sam isn’t my provider. God is. So that’s kind of what helps me.”

She credits a good support system and the few dollars saved up for an emergency for sustaining her. She’s got faith, family and “a hundred contingency plans.”

“I’ll be OK, it’s just figuring out how bad will it hurt,” she said. “In a month, I need to decide whether to move back in with my parents and rent out my home. I’m lucky enough to not have chronic health issues. I’m lucky enough to have a good support system. I’m very lucky, but it’s scary.”

While she originally passed on an interview at Chipotle because the minimum wage job would have left her with less time to find a longer-term solution, she said that decision is subject to change:

“Chipotle might happen in August if I still don’t have a job.”