WHAT COMES NEXT

For veterans leaving military life, the hardest part is getting employers to understand what they’re looking at.

On any given day, somewhere between a military base and civilian life, a service member is trying to answer the question of what comes next.

For many veterans, the transition out of military life is not a clean break but a slow unraveling of identity, routine and purpose. Skills acquired over years — leading teams, managing logistics, solving problems under pressure — do not always translate neatly onto a civilian résumé. Employers, for their part, often struggle to interpret what those experiences mean in practice.

One Indiana organization is trying to change that. INvets, a statewide nonprofit with more than 600 partner companies, works to connect transitioning service members and their families with employers across the state, focusing specifically on translating military experience into civilian careers.

Next week, that work comes to Greater Lafayette. The INvets Summit will run from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Stables Event Center, bringing together local employers, veterans and community leaders in what organizers describe as something more deliberate than a job fair. By pulling that disconnect into one room, the summit is designed to help both sides better understand, and ultimately find each other.

Panels featuring City of West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter and Greater Lafayette Commerce leadership will highlight the region’s economic future, while workforce experts will guide companies on how to better recognize and recruit military talent. Veterans will circulate through the room as candidates with a distinct and often misunderstood set of skills.

“This is about connecting a highly skilled talent pool with real opportunities here in Greater Lafayette,” said Mikel Berger, president and CEO of Greater Lafayette Commerce. “Veterans bring leadership, adaptability and experience that translate directly into today’s workforce, and events like this help both employers and job seekers see that more clearly.”

For James Messer, a veteran engagement manager with INvets and a 21-year Army veteran, those connections are personal.“There are a lot of programs that step in after something goes wrong,” said Messer. “Our goal is to make sure it doesn’t get to that point.”

Messer knows the uncertainty firsthand. When he left the military, he said, he had little idea what direction to take. It was through conversations, initially as a client of INvets, that his path began to take shape, eventually leading him back to the organization in a professional role.

The challenge, he said, is often not a lack of ability but a failure of translation.

“One of the biggest difficulties is a lack of understanding of how to read a military résumé,” he said, noting that employers may overlook candidates whose experience is described in unfamiliar language, even when those candidates possess precisely the qualities companies say they want: discipline, adaptability and reliability.

That disconnect can carry real consequences. Veterans nationwide face higher risks of underemployment and financial instability during the transition to civilian life, challenges that can compound without early support.

INvets positions itself as a preventative measure, working to connect veterans not just with jobs, but with long-term careers. The organization also links participants with local resources, including county veteran service officers and state benefits programs, to help build stability beyond the workplace.

“We don’t just get them a job and write them off,” Messer said. “We want to make sure they’re connected to the right people and understand the benefits they’ve earned.”