Returning to a former employer can be a complex decision, fraught with both potential rewards and risks. Let's delve into the factors that can help you determine if this path is the right choice for your career trajectory.
People often quit jobs based on other opportunities that emerge
It takes time to figure out what you really want in your career
- Career comebacks often involve a former employer, especially if you were wrong to leave in the first place
- People are often tempted into new careers for the wrong reasons
- When companies turn their cultures into a cult they attract possessed employees who are capable of throwing themselves into their jobs with 100% commitments even if they are overworked and underpaid
Experiment
There is only one way to know what you want: try things out, experience, experiment.
- Unless you allow yourself to fail, you will never really succeed
- So long as you can carefully and objectively assess the costs and benefits of reuniting with your former employer, there’s no inherent or de facto reason to eliminate that possibility.
Skills Acquired
The job market does change significantly throughout people’s careers
- One of the best ways to develop new skills is on-the-job learning
- If your old employer didn’t provide many opportunities to expand your skill set, they may be interested in having you back after you learn new key skills somewhere else
Change in leadership
Whether you like or dislike your job is largely dependent on your boss
- 30% of employees’ engagement and performance can be attributed to their direct line manager
- If your old boss is no longer around, even returning to the same job you had may be a very different proposition
