What do you think of BOOMERANG HIRING?

[AviatorTom]

When a former employee is hired back to the company they left, it's called Boomerang Hiring.

In the US, more companies are adding former employees to their payrolls, according to a recent ADP analysis. In March 2025, 35% of new hires were returning employees, compared to 31% a year earlier, indicating that hitting up a former boss is an increasingly popular job-hunting tactic.

There are advantages to the employer to rehire a former employee:

• Employers have likely become more selective about who they bring on board, particularly in industries requiring highly skilled workers that are concentrated in specific geographies.
• The highest rate of repeat hires was observed in tech jobs, with returning employees accounting for 68% of new hires in March, compared to 34% a year prior.

What do you think about going back to work at a company that you left, whether that was by choice, downsizing, or otherwise?

Have you ever gone back to a company that you once worked for?

Updates

6 mo

Several years ago, I was laid off due to downsizing. I went to work for a competitor for 3 years and then returned to my old job. It was actually good. I learned a lot about the industry I worked in and how other companies work, the processes they used. It also made me several personal contacts in the industry that proved to be invaluable in my career.

[Chazmatazz269]

It’s difficult to not be a little jaded about being let go by a company that is literally still hiring. Ell oh ell!
I’m actually facing this issue right now. I worked as a contractor at a local refinery and they laid me off very unexpectedly. Now they want me to apply to go back to work there in-house. An important detail is that contractors actually make more than in-house employees, on the check. So my layoff was likely motivated entirely by bean counters.
I think they handled it poorly. If that’s what they ultimately wanted, they should have pulled me in and told me what they wanted and asked me if i’d be willing to take the pay cut. I have to do some figuring to decide if it’s worth it. There is a huge concession on hourly rate, but in-house employees have paid time off and paid holidays. They’re also eligible for something they call “California time”; which i don’t fully understand.
Companies are always going to do lousy things to their employees for the sake of the company’s bottom line. That’s why i’m a proud and loyal union member.
Maybe i can make “boomerang hiring” work for me. Ell oh ell!

[BCRanger10]

I was boomerang hired at my last job. I worked there from 2014 to 2015, left (stupidly), and then came back around this time in 2016. I worked there for six more years until a new manager came in who was far and away the absolute WORST boss I have ever had. And I only worked for this guy for about four or five months. How he got the job is a mystery that would drive Sherlock Holmes into certfiable insanity.

Anyway, he asked me to leave and six months later came to seriously regret his decision, particularly after my entire department was gone and he had to do our job and his. One of the technician managers said "hey, you should call Ranger and ask him to come back." And the manager agreed! It took them six months to try to make any movements on that though. By the time they did, I was too busy accepting a major promotion that paid $10,000 a year more than when I left.

So yeah, they tried to boomerang hire me again.

[Dongie]

Cool story!

[BCRanger10]

@Dongie it is, isn't it? I very likely wouldn't have gone back anyway. My wife would have been FURIOUS if I did; I loved the job and I was quite good at it, but it took a lot out of me and my wife hated seeing what it did to me.

[BCRanger10]

Thank you for MHO 🙌

[katiesmuff]

Yes would be a true answer, but not on the level your referring too. I left the restaurant I was working at to move away with a guy who then I caught cheating on me. Within a month of leaving I was back and asking my old boss for my job back which happened. That was a long time ago and the owners were the greatest, and now 20 years later I own that restaurant. Life sure goes in so many different ways!

[purplepoppy]

Sometimes you have to leave a company to gain skills to help you move up the ladder. But coming back at the same pay grade can seem a bit grovelly. I could see a few bosses throwing that in your face if you have an argument.

[AI Opinion]

Returning to a former employer, often referred to as boomerang hiring, can offer distinct advantages. Employers already know the employee's strengths and work style, reducing onboarding time and cultural adjustment. It also reflects positively on employee-employer relationships. I have experienced this phenomenon, when I returned to a past educational institution to contribute to new projects. Familiarity with company culture and expectations eased the transition, allowing me to make an immediate impact. However, it's essential to evaluate the reasons for leaving initially and whether the company has evolved to meet your current goals.

[ArrowheadSW]

I can see it being a thing. Especially if someone was "downsized" out of their job, but later on, there was an opening again for the same position.

On the other hand, I've seen people abuse being rehired. One guy left a job to take a "sign on bonus" with a different company, then worked as long as he had to under the sign on agreement. Then he left to come back, wanting a "sign on bonus" to come back. They payed him and he worked as long as he had to. Then he left for another job to get a bonus. Then when he wanted to come back again, they told him to pound sand.

[exitseven]

I interviewed for a position at a company that I had worked for. I explained that I left the company before because I was offered a job that paid almost twice what I was making. I thought the position was exactly what I was looking for and I liked working there the first time. For whatever reason I was not hired.

[OlderAndWiser]

1. I’m self employed. I’ll ALWAYS take me back!


2. My office has registered a few former employees who had left under acceptable circumstances. It was a much shorter learning curve than with a a truly new hire.

[Briennette]

I don't have any particular issue with the idea or the practice. One company I worked for has often rehired people who had previously left - more often than not because the employees had thought they could do better out there, but the market is rough.
I, myself, had thought about going back to said company, but I found something much better that made the decision easier for me. But I sometimes do some projects for them as an independent.

If it's possible to remain on good terms with an old place of work, you never know what the future might bring. The work environment could get better, a new position there might be more lucrative. Having a history there can also make it easy for employers to integrate the former employer back into the company.

[Hagar88]

Companies want you when they want you. In lean times they like to let people get pissed and leave of their own voalition to avoid paying redundancy. The more years you worked the more redundancy they have to pay.

[docster]

I have not done it myself, but at a job I was at for almost 20 years, it happened a number of times. It usually didn't work out. All but one had a brief second stint. I heard of several who wanted to return but we're not rehired.

[FunkyMonkee]

Well, if you're GONNA hire someone, wouldn't you rather have someone you KNOW already knows how to do the job and does it well, rather than to hire someone new and have to spend loads of time training them?

[KostasKouvalis]

That only works if you didn't get fired for disciplinary reasons😂

The first time I left they ended up calling me back. If they called me back again, I would go back as I've got nothing else.

[DryGermanGuy]

If both parties are happy with the new conditions, more power to them! :-)

[Nikki1989]

The only boomerangs I know are the ones you throw.

[WhitneySnow]

That’s a lot of people going back to an old boss. I’m not sure what it means though.

[Dongie]

When I was young, so much younger than today, I was fired from a business 4 times and quit the last time for getting fired the fourth time unduly.

[Chazmatazz269]

Never quit! Make them initiate termination. Then they have to pay your unemployment until you find another job! Ha!

[Dongie]

Yeah, but the owner was dealing with a divorce, so I just exited quietly.

[strateguy632]

I would apply again.

[NicholasRedone]

Isn't that called reapplying?

[Jeff51]

I came back after 2 years here

[robocop666]

This is because of affirmative action