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Ask HN: Returning to a Previous Job

5 points by golly_ned ↗ HN
I screwed up by leaving a cushy big tech job for a start-up five months after starting. This was eight months ago.

Basically, I'm wondering if I have to interview again, or if they'll just take me back. Has anyone gone through the process of going back to a previous big corporate employer?

7 comments

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notpushkin
It all depends on how things are run in your previous company. I've got my old job again after a quick (just about 10 minutes!) catch-up “interview” with my old colleague after a ~1.5 years hiatus.
codefreeordie
This depends entirely upon your situation and the company.

Generally speaking, if both the company and your previous manager regret your departure and want you back, you can go back pretty easily.

I know, for example, that Google generally* does not require an interview for a return to the same job function and job level within 12 months, provided that the departure was "regrettable" and the outgoing manager and at least one or two internal references approve of the return.

After all, you're more valuable now than you were then -- you appreciate what you had now in a way that you didn't used to. So, if they already were sad that you were leaving, they should be even happier to have you back just a little bit wiser.

--

* Generally. This only applies if there is currently-open headcount for you where there is a good match.

golly_ned
This is the most similar to my case -- I left Apple five months after joining.

The bad thing is that I left in the middle of a team transfer. I didn't actually complete the transfer to the team whose manager wanted me. It's gonna be rough asking for my old job back... who would you suggest I contact first? My recruiter, or the manager on the team I was about to join?

codefreeordie
Contact the manager that you most would want to work with (or the manager that you think would be most excited to have you out of the managers that you would like working with). Set up some time with them, talk to them a bit about how things have been the last few months (focus on what you have learned and what new experiences you've had. It's fine to talk about why you don't like where you've ended up, but don't allow the conversational tone to change to "bitch-fest".)

Let them know that you're seriously considering trying to come back. If the manager is interested, this should naturally move into a conversation about the roles that you might be a good fit for -- at which point either they'll talk to the recruiter for you or you'll do so (or both) to kick off the process officially.

If the manager doesn't have a role for you, see if they have recommendations for you of others to talk to. Generally speaking, people actually really enjoy helping out in the careers of other people that they like and think highly of, so long as they feel like they're being treated with respect and not just "used as a connection," and the message of "I went away for a few months, and I learned all these things that led me to realize how much I value some of the things I left behind here and want to come back now" is a pretty positive and personal-growth oriented story.

refurb
Depends on the company.

I had a colleague leave for a start-up, hate it within one week and was reinstated into her old role 10 days after "quitting".