The experience transitioning from military uniforms to professional attire

As a member of the US Army for almost 10 years from 1996 through 2005 (ages 21-30), I spent a large part of my life, including years leading up to that point, preparing for a very specific role. I knew my job, knew what I had to do to prepare, and was given clear parameters on how to be. You might say that my identity was created for me. I mean this in a positive way – I was certain I wanted to define myself as part of the military, devoted the first half of my life until then to it, and was proud of my role. Inevitably, however, there came a point where I exited the Army and, for the first time, had to pave my own path. From deciding what first civilian job to get, to where to live, and how to engage with non-military friends and family, I was starting a brand new life – at age 30.

I can remember like it was yesterday, the deer in the headlights feeling I had when I took off my army uniform and had to replace it with a “civilian” uniform - a suit - in order to fit in with the more typical workforce. I had to best position myself to get a job and that required me to play the role of civilian for the first time in 9 years. I had to learn how to navigate the more typical working world.

Although I was experienced, well educated, had a bachelor’s and master’s degree, and had been a US Army Captain, I didn’t have a clue how to pick out my suit for a first job interview. I had never needed to buy a suit in the 30 years of my life. What tie matches what belt? How do I match a shirt with the right suit? What about socks? I embarrassingly needed to ask a friend to come with me to the department store to guide me.

If only I had somewhere to go where I could pick up an already put together suit, it would remove the emotional stress of the whole process. The emotional stress of that seemingly simple task that many may take for granted is something I still remember vividly. I, an Army Captain, was stopped frozen in my tracks when I was faced with what suit to buy.

There is a standard outfit in the military, and a standard, but very different, outfit in the civilian world. Taking one off and putting on another is symbolically a difficult task and represents a big change in identity.

This speaks to the larger theme of uniforms. A uniform is mandated by your place of work and becomes your identity. In the military, my uniform was given to me, which removed any possible choice I had to customize or make it individual. However, in the rest of the world, outside of the military, the uniform of a suit is most common. A suit differs from military wear because there are countless options and combinations. And further, that individualized combination of colors, textures, brands, etc. is how people express themselves and represent their style and experience. The significance of the civilian suit is not small, and the suit combination and look selected is what defines someone. As I mentioned, although I was well versed in my field and had unique and valuable experiences, I did not have the fundamentally important experience of making a choice like this – let alone the experience to ever define myself and create my own personal brand. I’m grateful that I had the support of my best friend to take me shopping and help relieve my stress…and help me fit in.

Finding the right civilian work attire can seem like an insurmountable task, but luckily there are a lot of people out there that can help. Since being at Farmers over the past two years, I have witnessed the incredible support our organization has for veterans like myself. Farmers national Suits for Soldiers program is just another example of how strongly Farmers supports military veterans like myself, and how the organization appreciates something as seemingly small as needing a suit for a job. I know for certain that when I was making the transition to the civilian workforce, I would have significantly benefited from a program like Suits for Soldiers.

Beyond just the suit, while at Farmers, I have witnessed first-hand how the organization believes in veterans to be leaders and use their (maybe at first) unconventional skill-set to give them, us, a chance to grow as leaders at the company.

So if you know of a veteran who has gone through a similar experience, to include yourself, please share your experience.