Boomerang employees: How to return to an ex-employer

We’ve all known those on/off couples who break up, only to rekindle their romance months or years later, but what about an ex-employee who wants to get their old job back? 

These boomerang employees left their company only to return years later to find solace in being re-hired. 

Private Advisor Richard Paul boomeranged back to Westpac after taking four years out. 

“Don’t burn your bridges.  When I was younger, I had a different perspective about my career and my ambitions.,” Paul says. 

“When you come back to a former employer, your journey can add richness to your relationships with your colleagues and clients.  I came back with renewed confidence and passion for the role. 

 Paul originally left Westpac for another opportunity but then left that job and went traveling to spend time with his family in his hometown of Glasgow.  

He always kept in touch with his former Westpac colleagues and as he was feeling homesick for New Zealand, one of them had mentioned that there were some vacancies back in his old department.  

He got in touch with the hiring manager to apply for the role and returned to Westpac in 2019 as Private Adviser – a role that he had also done from 2008 to 2013 before becoming a Senior Sales Leader until 2015.  

“Trying new roles and the travel to Scotland gave me the opportunity to assess my priorities and what I wanted from my career.” he says.   

“My advice is to keep a positive working relationship with your peers, New Zealand is such a small network and personal brand is important,” he said. 

Lorraine Coe started working with Westpac in 2008 after being approached for a role as Head of Recoveries while she was working with another bank. 

“I started with Westpac and two weeks later I was diagnosed with cancer.  I offered to resign but my boss said no, they wanted me to stay on,” Coe said. 

“I took time off for surgery and returned to work a couple of months later.   

“Then in 2012, while I was Head of Compliance at that time, I was involved in a car accident with my husband and was badly injured. 

“I had to take another couple of months off to recover and Westpac stood by me once again.   

“After the car accident I spent a lot of time reflecting on my life and decided to leave the bank to figure out the direction of my life.   

“I took a reception job at a medical supply company and ended up moving into their marketing department and stayed with them for five years. 

“In 2019, at the age of 63, I received another call from Westpac, wondering whether I would be interested in coming back, this time in a customer care role.   

“People think you get to an age and life stops, but it doesn’t, even after everything that has happened to me. I ended up coming back for another contract. 

“Westpac has been so dear to my heart because they looked after me twice in my life during two major events and that showed me the worth of the company.  They looked after me without hesitation,” she said. 

Her advice to others who would like to return to a former employer is to just go and approach them. 

“Have the guts to go an tell someone at the company. 

“If you made the decision to leave at that time, just admit that you made a mistake and tell them you would like to come back.  

“Swallow your pride. If you’ve been a good worker, then you won't have a problem,” she said.