The Boomerang Boom: Why Rehiring Your Ex Could be the Savviest Thing You Ever Do

Career & Workplace

Let’s dispel one myth right here: not every breakup is forever.

The previous employee who departed for “a new challenge”? They could very well be the ideal candidate– again.

Welcome to the era of the boomerang hire—the increasing practice of rehiring former employees who departed from your business and (gasp!) wish to return.

It isn’t lazy—it’s deliberate and strategic.

No matter if you’re a manager considering hiring back that best former performer, or a professional trying to discern whether to re-spark your corporate romance, here’s what you need to understand about boomerang hiring in today’s hiring landscape—and why this practice is rewriting hiring playbooks in industries.

The Statistics Behind the Boomerang Bounce

Boomerang hiring isn’t a one-time anomaly; it’s a full-fledged movement. In a Workplace Trends/UKG study, a stunning 15% of total recent hires are boomerangs. More indicative? 76% of HR pros report they’re more inclined to hire back former employees than they would have a decade earlier.

Some other eyebrow-raising stats:

  • 40% report they would return to a previous employer (LinkedIn Workforce Insights).
  • Rehires usually earn 10–20% greater compensation than they had when they departed (Harvard Business Review).
  • Boomerangs hire up to 30–50% more rapidly than brand new personnel (Cornell ILR School).

In brief: this is not a step backward. It’s a step forward—smarter, quicker, and with fewer regrets in hiring.

The Boomerang Trend: Why It is Picking Up Steam

Boomerang hiring is on the rise for a number of reasons:

1. Familiarization in a Volatile Marketplace
In the current talent pool, hiring is a risk. Cultural fit, teachability, and non-cognitive skills tend to be as important, if not more so, as sheer credentials. By rehiring a person who already knows your systems, values, and mayhem—um, culture—you diminish dramatically the margin for failure.

2. The Great Resignation (and Regret)
Millions resigned in the Great Resignation, believing that the grass was greener elsewhere. It turns out, it wasn’t. And that wasn’t the only reason for leaving. Much of it was simply for growth or new opportunities.
A 2023 Muse survey reported that a stunning 72% of job switchers felt “surprised or regretful” in their new jobs. Many began looking back at those previous positions with a fresh eye—and coming back.

3. It’s Cheaper. Period
Hiring, onboarding, and training a new candidate can take up to $4,700, as estimated by SHRM. With a boomerang hire, you’re skipping a large part of that routine. They’re already familiar with the ropes—and the coffee machine.

 

The Employer Playbook: Managing Exits (When You Want Re-Entrants)

Boomerang hiring won’t be successful if you burn bridges as you leave. Increasingly, companies recognize that offboarding is the new onboarding. How you leave may be the determining factor in whether that door is ever opened again.

Here’s what smart employers are doing to entice ex-employees:

–Provide support, not merely severance. Resume coaching, LinkedIn endorsements, and networking assist in making a lasting impression.

–Establish alumni networks. Consider corporate LinkedIn groups, alumni newsletters, and regular updates. Reframe former employees as future partners, clients, or referrals—because they are. Genius. 

– Exit with dignity. Refrain from blame, bitterness, or ghosting. A polite farewell leaves the door open and inviting for a possible return.

Remember that they didn’t leave just so they could burn the building down. Sometimes they wanted to experience something different. Sometimes they needed a break. Sometimes they realized later that your office cold brew was the best in town.

 

Why Boomerang Employees Are a Secret Weapon
Rehiring a past employee is a perfect combination of value, efficiency, and loyalty. It is like having a pre-owned car with a full-service record and every upgrade.

The Top Advantages:

✅ Faster Onboarding

They already understand your systems, equipment, and internal politics (let’s be honest). This results in less time spent in training and a greater time in making things happen. Research indicates that boomerangs accelerate up to 50% faster compared to outside candidate hires.

✅ Culture Fit Guaranteed

They’ve been there. They’ve succeeded. There’s no guesswork as to whether they’ll fit in with the team—or take offense at your Slack memes.

New Perspective + Knowing It Well

They come back with experience from other companies, fresh skills, and a new perspective—but with a knowledge of your organization’s idiosyncrasies. It’s the ideal balance of “been there” and “leveled up.”

✅ Reduced Risk

This does not qualify as a blind date. You already know their weaknesses, their resilience, and if they fill up the office coffee. That is less risk in rehiring them compared to a shiny resume with a past that is unknown.

✅ Higher Retention

Surprise twist: boomerang employees remain longer than brand new ones. Why? Because they’ve experienced the alternative and decided to return.

Shall You Recruit Every Past Employee? (Nope…Not at All.)

Let’s not idealize. Exits had to occur. Not every exiting staff member must be brought back. What is important is to be selective:

Ask yourself:

Did they leave professionally and respectfully?

Were they a top performer or cultural enhancer?

Did they acquire additional skills or experience that make them even stronger?

Do they really desire to return for the correct reasons?

And workers—if you’re looking to come back:

-Do not suppose you can resume exactly where you stopped.
-Be explicit about what has changed (you and the business).
-Bring humility, not entitlement, and curiosity.

The Future is Flexible—and Circular Boomerang hiring is evidence that the linear career path is dead.

The career spiral is here, and coming back to a previous employer is not a step in reverse—it’s a jump forward.

The greatest companies treat talent as relationships, not as a transaction. They’re making investments in the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding, through to exit, to alumni, to rehire. And the wisest professionals? They’re leaving doors ajar, reputations intact, and relationships preserved. You never know when the greatest next step is a return.

Need assistance with positioning yourself as a top boomerang hire—or building a resume that brings your previous (and future) dream job? Let’s discuss. I assist executives and professionals in becoming the clear choice—once again.

Industry Review – What's Growing in America

Job SearchResume Writing



 
With 9% unemployment nationwide being the new norm, people are looking at other industries to find work. They may not have experience in their new industry, but you go where the opportunities are.
So what new industries are open to American job seekers? Some may surprise you.
1. Green Technologies
Managing, scientific and technical jobs abound. The key to getting these jobs is having a background in them, but any new industry will need accountants, marketing personnel and office workers. The industry may have changed but the need for office workers has not.
2. Services for the elderly and health care
With so many people approaching retirement, or way past, the health care sector has never looked more promising. Those babyboomers are going to need someone to assist them with their services. These include health care cost, nursing homes and finding work for the elderly, who are still working late into their 70s and 80s.
3. Speech therapist and physical rehabilitation workers
The third fastest growing industry also deals with health. But this time it’s helping people recover from injury or developing needed parts of speech. More children are diagnosed with speech impairments now than ever. This requires people knowledgeable in dealing with these ailments.
4. Data processing, web hosting and online services
As the world changes, so does the way that we receive and send information. With almost everyone using the internet as the chosen medium of communication, more people are needed to man the ever increasing data stream. These people range from data processors to people with capabilities maintaining existing infrastructure. Improvements are needed as well, so expect this segment to grow.
5. Computer design and related services
Designing user interfaces that work with existing data streams will become even more important as new programs are needed to help workers diagnose problems and troubleshoot.
If you are looking for work, don’t just limit yourself to only the industry you are comfortable in. Revisit your resume, look at your skillset and see what other opportunities are out there for someone with your qualifications and experience.

Tips for Standing Out at a Job Fair

Assessments & EducationJob SearchNetworkingSalary

Many of you know that I was at the Detroit “Good Morning America / Women for Hire” job fair the other day. There were about 25 résumé evaluators and approximately 5000 job seekers. They literally were lined up outside the doors at 3:30 am. Talk about motivated people. Wow. What a busy, productive and fulfilling day.
It was televised (GMA and local ABC news crew) and there were camera people everywhere. Sort made us feel like movie stars except the cameras really weren’t on us, and we didn’t get paid. But still.
I was really impressed by the amount of professionalism, ambition and previous success that most of the folks had. There were just a few people that could have used a few pointers. So in case you think you might be one of those people, here they are:
1-      DRESS AS IF YOU ARE AT AN INTERVIEW. Appropriate dress is really a MUST at a job fair. I know you already know this, but I thought I’d mention it again. You know the saying, “First Impressions are a Must”, well they really are.  I saw some people that looked gorgeous and really ‘wow’ed’ me. THAT is how you have to look. Not saying you have to go spend a fortune on new clothes. You can put together a new outfit from what you have. Wash your hair, do your nails, trim your nose/ear hair, you know… the usual. And if you have dread-locks, tuck them into your suit.
2-      HAVE A RÉSUMÉ PREPARED. (and if at all possible, have it professionally done). Yes, I saw many, many résumés and only about 5% of them were impressive. Remember, lead with your accomplishments, not your job description duties. The Microsoft Word résumé template was used in about 80% of the cases (yuck) I saw at the job fair. Remember, that is a template that doesn’t allow much give, so you may be cutting some significant info out because it won’t fit into the “template”. DON’T USE IT.
3-    PACK BUSINESS OR NETWORKING CARDS-A great idea is to bring along your business or networking cards. Business cards work well because they have your name, address and phone number on them. If they have a previous company name on them, better rethink handing them out. You can always make some inexpensive cards on your own home printer for just this occasion. Another idea is networking cards. Networking cards are business card sized cards that hold significant career information along with your contact information. 2 or 3 of your top accomplishments really stand out on networking cards.
4-      BRING A SMALL BAG, TOTE OR BRIEFCASE. You will be bombarded with giveaways (pens, company trinkets, business cards, candy, brochures, etc.). It will be easier to carry everything and your résumé portfolio.
5-      GET A BUSINESS CARD FROM EVERYONE YOU SPOKE WITH. You might want to follow up with something you talked about. Even better, after you’ve talked with them, write down some key things you spoke about on the back of the card so you will have it to reference when you call, or if they call you!
6-      KNOW THE COMPANIES. Find out what companies will be there and get to know a little about them. Nothing impresses companies more then when you display the knowledge you have about them. Show off a little bit. Impress them!
7-      GET INTO A GOOD MOOD. I had a few folks come sit down with me who were shaking and scared to death and I wasn’t even the hiring person! People can tell if you are nervous, distracted, moody, having a bad day, etc. That isn’t the best first impression to offer. Instead try to relax, smile, speak slowly and clearly (vs. rushing through what you want to say), and remember, the HR person knows you are nervous and understands. So try to relax and enjoy yourself. Fake it if you have to.
Job Fairs don’t have to be a bad/scary/nerve wracking thing. Remember, it’s just another avenue to try out in the midst of your job search You get to meet new people, learn a few things about different companies, and have free coffee.