Dress for Success Austin helps female veterans find careers after military service

AUSTIN, Texas – Female veterans are getting a big head start to finding careers after their service.

The Dress for Success Austin organization recently brought in 18 veteran women to help put them on the road to post-military success.

“I love when we serve veterans, it’s so lively, the energy here is electric we love being here together, the volunteers love it. It’s such a great cause, and we pull together to give them the best experience possible,” said Mia Johns, Executive director for Dress for Success Austin.

At Dress for Success Austin, this is much more than just a day of pampering, they also help the women with networking and offer six different Texas workforce programs.

“We love to help veteran women and when they’ve been in the military so long it’s important to help them bridge from military life to civilian and be ready for the job search,” said Johns.

Desirae Salmo is one of the 18 veteran women. She is still a specialist in the Army, but she is also preparing for her life after the military.

“It’s giving me a head start, and it’s giving me inspiration for business attire it helps in seeing myself transitioning back into the civilian world,” Salmo said.

Salmo wants to pursue a career in the health care industry and what she learns through the program could make a big difference in attaining that goal.

“For me the military is my first job and only job I’ve ever had. I joined out of high school and have no other experience but being here it opens your eyes that there are other possibilities,” Salmo said.

Dress for Success Austin puts on this program four times a year, but they also help veterans all year long.

“They gain so many skills in the military, but they may not know how to out those skills on paper or articulate those skills in an interview and that’s what we do is teach them how to articulate their skills and can transfer it to the civilian workplace and make sure they are prepared for their interviews,” said Johns.

The Dress for Success Austin veterans program is through a partnership with the Texas Veterans Commission.