These Veterans Didn’t Let the Military Become Their Identity – and You Shouldn’t Either

By Laura Kennedy | November 11, 2024

Don't let your current or past affiliations define who you are or who you want to be. And don't let your career history define your current self-worth, say these two Marines-turned-Zebras.

As U.S. Marine veterans, no one would be surprised if Kristen and Lynn Miracle forever attached their identity to their military service. Once a Marine, always a Marine, right?

However, you were once a child and a high schooler, right? Do you still consider yourself those things? Are they core to your identity? Probably not. Those periods in your life contributed to the person you are today. But you are so much more than your past, and your employment history is not indicative of who you are today or where you want to take your career next.

That's why the Miracles consistently advocate for military veterans - and anyone at a transition point in their life or struggling to move forward - to really think about who they are today and stop putting so much weight on who they once were.

The military isn't your identity, it's an affiliation. It's an employer, like Zebra is an employer. And even though your affiliation changes, who you are inherently as a person - what you offer the world - doesn't have to change. Your beliefs, experiences, skills, strengths…those all stick with you whether you call yourself a veteran or a Zebra or a mum, a dad, a product manager, an engineer.

The only thing that changes over time as you progress in your career is how you draw upon those beliefs, experiences, skills, and strengths to help you excel in the job at hand.

Yet, that's something that many military members and veterans forget. It's why it's sometimes such a struggle when they transition, Kristen told me recently. They don't know how to frame those inherent traits that make up their identity in a way that presents a clear path to new career opportunities.

Lynn agrees, admitting on our recent podcast chat that he suffered a bit of an identity crisis when it came time to transition to civilian life.

How did he get over this identity crisis that so many people go through when transitioning from one life stage to the next?

By asking himself, "What am I good at?" from a very high-level perspective and then considering who would most benefit from those types of skills. Not his military background, but the way he thinks, the things he knows, the skills he has.

That mindset also helped Kristen land in the position she's so grateful to be in at Zebra today, along with an attitude that it's okay to keep moving forward. It's okay if jobs don't stay the same forever. When a change is imminent, she asks herself, "Cool. What's next?" She doesn't get too comfortable in one role because, like her time in the military, she knows it won't last forever.

Plus, even when she was active duty, her role was never the same day to day. Her assignments and responsibilities changed frequently. Change - career transitions - those were nothing new. So, going to the civilian sector wasn't that big of a deal. It was simply another day of figuring out how best to put her knowledge, skills, and experience to use, even if the environment was going to be drastically different and far less intense.

But she knows not everyone sees things the way she does. She has seen how veterans suffer from this rigid mindset about their military service and struggle to figure out what's next after they separate or retire.

That's why she and Lynn happily shared their transition story and the realizations they've come to about "life after the military" as they've settled into their civilian chapter and found a home at Zebra:

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Remember: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take in life. So, 'shoot your shot'. Don't count yourself out for a job because you think you know what someone wants or needs or how they'll judge you. And don't underestimate the vast skill set you've acquired in your life up to this point, whether you served in the military or recently graduated from university and are looking for your next role. You know how to learn, and every new job is simply a continuation of your education and application of the knowledge gained to date in a new role. People change roles in the military, they work on different tasks, focus on different strategies. The only difference is who's signing your paychecks. People stay with Zebra for 20 years. They change roles, take on different projects. They simply keep learning and growing and then find ways to make those gained skills and experiences relevant to the next role or project.

So, whether you're a veteran or simply someone trying to figure out your value, write down everything you know how to do, everything you know about the world - maybe it's how to fix engines, for example - and then think about who stands to benefit the most from that. Those are the people who would be knocking on your door, offering you a job if they knew you had those skills or insights.

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You may also be interested in these life and career perspectives from veterans:

Military Expert: One of the Best Ways to Honor Veterans is to Help Them Thrive After Their Service Ends

Military veteran and Zebra VETZ inclusion network co-chair Dan Jaquint offers suggestions on what you can do to help veterans find their purpose, even if you don't know any personally.

Four Military Veterans Share What It Was Really Like to Transition to Civilian Life - and Civilian Jobs

Though their journeys to Zebra Nation were very different, these four military veterans all had help from Hiring Our Heroes. Here what it was like separating from the military and starting their second careers.

"The Surprising Ways My Military Service Prepared Me for a Successful Career in the Private Sector"

In an exclusive interview, Todd Virgil reveals how just six years in the U.S. Air Force helped him build a 20+-year career in the private sector and become a top executive at a Fortune 1000 company.

Incredibly passionate about people, culture and well-being, and a keen advocate for all things related to equality, diversity and inclusion, Laura is a Senior Advisor for Global & Inclusion & Diversity at Zebra, focused on fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging, where all employees can be their authentic selves. She supports Zebra's Inclusion Networks and culture-shaping efforts, including increasing the focus on expanding allyship across the organization.

Prior to this, Laura has worked on multiple cross organizational strategic projects related to Sales Enablement, Channel & Distribution Marketing, and Channel Communications, both in region and globally during her five years with Zebra .

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