Should Your Next Job Be Working for Your Old Boss?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: WSJ Your Money Briefing

Episode: Should Your Next Job Be Working for Your Old Boss?
Date: December 16, 2021
Host: J.R. Whalen
Guest: Kathryn Dill, Workplace Reporter for The Wall Street Journal

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Episode Overview

This episode of "WSJ Your Money Briefing" explores the rise of "boomerang employees"—workers returning to former employers—particularly in the context of a tight labor market and record job openings. Host J.R. Whalen and reporter Kathryn Dill discuss the motivations, benefits, and potential pitfalls for both companies and employees considering such moves, offering practical advice and insights supported by recent data.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Growing Trend of Boomerang Employees

• Labor Market Dynamics: Companies struggling to fill a record number of job openings are increasingly recruiting former employees.
  • Kathryn Dill: “We're seeing this as a positive potential step both for former workers and for employers who are struggling to fill jobs right now… LinkedIn data shows that these returning so-called boomerang workers have increased across the companies on its platform this year.” (01:50)
• Data Point: 4.5% of all new hires on LinkedIn platforms in 2021 were returning employees (“boomerangs”), up from 3.9% in 2019. (01:50)

2. How Companies Are Reconnecting With Past Employees

• Alumni Networks: Large firms often maintain formal alumni groups as a source for rehires and referrals.
  • Kathryn Dill: “Many companies, particularly large employers, maintain groups of alumni… LinkedIn actually does this with its own employees… and they have traditionally tapped that group both for people they might want to bring back and for referrals.” (02:26)
• Natural Outreach: Besides formal programs, managers organically reach out to past colleagues and ex-employees through their professional networks. (02:26)

3. Company Benefits of Hiring Boomerangs

• Reduced Risk: Familiarity with a returning employee’s performance and work style reduces the uncertainty inherent in new hires.
  • Kathryn Dill: “There’s a lot of question marks associated with a new hire… there are some obvious benefits in bringing back people that you already know you had a really successful experience with.” (03:28)
• Faster Onboarding: Returnees require less time to ramp up due to preexisting institutional knowledge. (03:28)

4. What’s in It for Workers Returning to Previous Employers

• Negotiating Power: Returning employees often secure better compensation and job titles.
  • Kathryn Dill: “Workers who are returning to former companies are typically doing so for bigger salaries, promotions, expanded responsibility.” (04:09)
• Proactive Negotiations: Rehired workers can openly address previous workplace frustrations and set clear expectations.
  • Kathryn Dill: “Some of the workers we spoke with said… in my negotiations, I brought [past challenges] up right away. I said, here’s the type of work I want. They were very direct in approaching the former company.” (04:09)
• Familiarity: Workers already know the company culture, management style, and challenges, leading to a smoother transition. (04:09)

5. Career Considerations and Potential Downsides

• Perception of Moving Backward: Returning to a previous employer can potentially look regressive unless it represents a clear career step forward.
  • Kathryn Dill: “Employees should be cognizant of how this is a step forward… if they are going back for a promotion, bigger salary, expanded responsibilities, then certainly it’s easy to make the case that this was a step forward.” (05:04)
• Do Your Homework: Returning employees should thoughtfully evaluate the current state of the company, reach out to existing staff, and gauge if past issues have been resolved. (05:04)
  • Kathryn Dill: “People leave companies for reasons that aren't fundamentally negatives about the organization…it may be something involved with timing or circumstances that may have actually resolved in the time that the employee has been gone.” (05:04)

6. The Importance of Leaving on Good Terms

• Reputation Matters: The quality of one’s exit determines rehiring prospects.
  • Kathryn Dill: “This is perhaps the greatest example of why you should never burn your bridges when you leave a company. You want your time there and how you exited to reflect well on you wherever you are.” (06:14)
• Dealbreakers: A negative exit can easily block future opportunities with a former employer. (06:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the trend’s growth:

  • “LinkedIn data actually shows that these returning so called boomerang workers have increased across the companies on its platform this year. There are about 4.5% of all new hires this year among companies on the site, up from 3.9% over the same period in 2019.”
    — Kathryn Dill, 01:50

• On the benefits for employers:

  • “There’s a lot of demonstrable benefit for companies, certainly now.” — Kathryn Dill, 03:51

• On negotiation as a returnee:

  • “They were very direct in approaching former company with what they really want for themselves in this next chapter.”
    — Kathryn Dill, 04:09

• On leaving a company:

  • “This is perhaps the greatest example of why you should never burn your bridges when you leave a company. You want your time there and how you exited to reflect well on you wherever you are.”
    — Kathryn Dill, 06:14

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 0:20 – Introduction to the Boomerang Employee Trend
• 1:50 – Data on Boomerang Hiring Increases
• 2:26 – Alumni Networks and Company Strategies for Rehiring
• 3:28 – Employer Benefits of Rehiring Former Employees
• 4:09 – Worker Advantages and Negotiation Tactics
• 5:04 – Evaluating Whether Returning Is a Step Forward
• 6:14 – The Importance of Not Burning Bridges

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Tone and Closing Thoughts

The episode presents a practical, optimistic yet cautious view of returning to a former employer, grounding advice in recent data and real workplace practices. The conversation remains straightforward and insightful, encouraging listeners to weigh both personal and professional factors before considering a boomerang move.

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Transcript

[A]

Deal replaces fragmented payroll vendors with one global system. No third parties hire, manage and pay teams in 150 plus countries operate like a local everywhere. Visit d e l.com WSJ.

[B]

Here's your money briefing for Thursday, December 16th. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal. They say everything old is new again. Workers in search of better pay and maybe even more flexible schedules aren't necessarily landing their next job at a new company. Some are fielding attractive job offers from their old boss at a company they used to work for.

[C]

This is perhaps the greatest example of why you should never burn your bridges. When you leave a company, you know you want your time there and how you exited to reflect well on you wherever you are.

[B]

Our workplace reporter Kathryn Dill has been tracking these so called boomerang employees. So what do you need to know before returning to a company you once worked for? We'll discuss after the break.

[A]

Deal replaces fragmented payroll vendors with one global system. No third parties hire, manage and pay teams in 150 plus countries operate like a local everywhere. Visit d e l.com WSJ.

[B]

There's a record number of job openings out there. And to try and fill them, more companies are searching for workers in an old familiar place. Their roster of former employees. But does it make sense for a worker's career to go back to a former employer? Kathryn Dill covers workplace issues for the WSJ and she joins me now. Katherine, thanks so much for being with us.

[C]

My pleasure.

[B]

So Catherine, you know, people change jobs all the time, but this idea of boomerang workers, has it risen during this tight labor market?

[C]

It has risen. Certainly we're seeing this as a positive potential step both for former workers and for employers who are, who a lot of whom are struggling to fill jobs right now. They can bring on proven workers quickly. And LinkedIn data actually shows that these returning so called boomerang workers have increased across the companies on its platform this year. There are about 4.5% of all new hires this year among companies on the site, up from 3.9% over the same period in 2019.

[B]

Well, in a lot of cases, companies have numerous slots to fill. So how are they finding past employees?

[C]

You know, many companies, particularly large employers, maintain groups of alumni. So in some cases that's a good pool to tap, both for hires that you might want to bring back and for referrals. So this is something that LinkedIn actually does with its own employees. It maintains this thriving LinkedIn group of former LinkedIn and employees. And they have traditionally tapped that group both for people they might want to bring back and for potential referrals. They extend referral bonuses to their alums as well. But they've really emphasized that in the last number of months, they were seeing it organically and started sort of targeting this group with encouragement for alums to return more specifically. But we also see it happening just sort of naturally among, you know, managers tapping their former networks, reaching back out to people who left years ago or who left, left recently, or who they've worked with at another company and saying, why not come back now?

[B]

Aside from filling an open position, what benefit do companies see in tracking down former employees?

[C]

Well, you know, there's a lot of question marks associated with a new hire. Even if somebody interviews really well and has sort of superlative references and things like that, you know, you're never totally sure what you're getting in an employee that you've never worked with before. So there are some obvious benefits in bringing back people that you already know you had a really successful experience. Experience with. Those workers also can sort of, you know, shrink the time that it takes to build institutional knowledge, to get up to speed really quickly in what they do. So there's a lot of demonstrable benefit for companies, certainly now on the worker's

[B]

side of this, how do they benefit from going back to work for a former boss?

[C]

There's the same sort of dynamic where you. You already know some of the key things that it can take a while to figure out about a job. You know, you. You come in more versed already in the pros and cons of working with a manager. But also right now, workers who are returning to former companies are typically doing so for bigger salaries, promotions, expanded responsibility. And there's that added bonus of being able to sort of head off challenges you may have had in the past. So some of the workers we spoke with said, you know, the last time I was here, here was the sort of stumbling block I encountered. And so in my negotiations, I brought that up right away. I said, here's the type of work I want. They were very direct in approaching former company with what they really want for themselves in this next chapter.

[B]

But is this a tricky path for an employee to consider, you know, to be sure the move isn't seen in their career path as a step backwards?

[C]

It can be. Certainly employees should be cognizant of how this is a step forward. Even if they're going back to an old employer, and if they are going back for a promotion, a bigger salary, expanded responsibilities, then certainly it's easy to make the case that this is or this was a step forward in trying to explain this to a potential future employer. But also, employees should really reflect carefully on an offer like this from a previous company. They should maybe reach out to people they worked with before, people who are still there, ask some questions about the culture now and see really where the company stands and weigh that very carefully. But as one person that a manager that I spoke with for the story pointed out, very often people leave companies for reasons that aren't fundamentally negatives about the organization. It may be something involved with timing or circumstances that may have actually resolved in the time that the employee has been gone.

[B]

And wouldn't the value of a former employee to a company depend a lot on the circumstances around how that employee left in the first place?

[C]

Yes, absolutely. I mean, certainly this is perhaps the greatest example of why you should never burn your bridges when you leave a company. You know you want your time there and how you exited to reflect well on you wherever you are. But it could certainly become a deal breaker if it was negative and you were thinking of returning to the company. So this is a great example of why you should always leave on a high note, no matter what your experience may have been.

[B]

All right, that's Wall Street Journal reporter Kathryn Dill. Kathryn, it's been great having you with us.

[C]

Thanks so much.

[B]

And that's your Money briefing. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

[A]

Deal replaces fragmented Payroll vendors with one global system. No third parties. Hire, manage and pay teams in 150 plus countries. Operate like a local everywhere. Visit De L. Com WSJ.