Is it a bad idea to re-apply for your old role?

12 Comments

1. Megan LeasherSeptember 30,2024 at 7:14PM UTC

   I'd consider applying and do gut checks along the way. If the leader is gone, the team feels things are much better and you enjoyed the role, I think it's worth applying. Go through the process and see what it's like and how you are feeling. You could always turn it down if something doesn't feel right or you learn something that is a dealbreaker for you.

2. AnonymousOctober 1,2024 at 10:49AM UTC

   Sure. It sounds like it's now a company and a position you can love. You're a shoo-in for the position. Your team misses you!

3. AnonymousOctober 1,2024 at 1:12PM UTC

   Ask yourself many questions first because this is a more significant issue than the team you were part of. Did the company pay fairly and have sufficient benefits? Were there any outside influences that caused stress within the company or the team besides a lousy manager (upper-level pressure, for instance)? How invested (friendship/acquaintance/business only) were you with your teammates, and why are they so anxious for you to return? Was the commute decent and allow you sufficient time for work/life balance? You say you enjoyed the role. Why? If the reasons you left had to do with more than just the poor leader, those things have probably not changed much.

4. AnonymousOctober 1,2024 at 2:55PM UTC

   These are all very good questions that are crucial to answer honestly.

5. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 1:26PM UTC

   If the former leader is no longer there, positive changes have been made (I would seek details on this and compare everyone’s information for validity), AND the professional role still interests you, go for it.

6. AnonymousOctober 3,2024 at 6:51PM UTC

   Never done it myself and never been tempted, but I've witnessed several occurances in different jobs of people coming back and being happy about it.

7. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 12:17PM UTC

   Go for it, but ask lots of questions along the way to make sure things have truly changed. Best of luck to you.

8. Meg BrockOctober 4,2024 at 12:39PM UTC

   Just interviewed for a lateral role at my company I left for a company that promised me the world but laid me off after 6 months. I went in a week ago and I felt like the mayor! Everyone came up to me telling me they want me back and my senior manager left. She was the problem. Didn’t respect women with more experience with her. My previous assistant manager is now in her role. I went in open minded, but I asked if I would be given my years of seniority back. That’s a yes! I felt so calm and welcomed and other departments let me know they were talking about me last week saying “if she was here she’d help us and know what to do” I felt so valued. Even if the pay is stagnant that feeling is priceless! Best of luck and go with your gut.

9. AnonymousOctober 4,2024 at 6:00PM UTC

   I went back to a former employer a year after they laid me off. I had gone to a competitor in the interim and knew I liked the first place better. The folks who rehired me were kind to assure me that the layoff had been simply a “last one hired/first one laid off” situation.

   Altho the leader you clashed with is gone, I would dig deeper about how much of the culture had really changed in the meantime. Sometimes it just is one challenging personality, but sometimes they’re just playing the hand they’ve been dealt by senior leadership.

10. AnonymousOctober 5,2024 at 12:59PM UTC

    I wasn't laid off but quit my job to go to a competitor. I went back to my former employer after 11 months when they reached out to me about my old position opening up. I learned quickly the grass is not always greener. It was the best move I made in my career. I worked there for another 20 years.

11. AyianOctober 6,2024 at 2:09PM UTC

    It is uncommon that the things you left over are resolved, but it sounds like perhaps they are now. It doesn't hurt to apply for it and go do an interview. Ask to visit the team and feel things out if they bring you in.

12. AnonymousOctober 6,2024 at 9:15PM UTC

    It depends. Try to think about all the reasons why you left in the first place. You say that the team was reactive. Well, the team is still there. A poor leadership can make it or break it BUT if you back then had issues with the team then I am not sure how much has improved. Hard to tell. Also think of the reasons why they want you back. Do they immediately need new employees and can't find any? Are some of them still your friends who miss you and that’s why they want you back? Or do they want you back because it was easy to work with you (but in reality you felt like everybody's doormat)? How much time has gone since you quit?

    I was in a situation to come back to my former workplace. Out of wrong reasons. I met again all these things that make me quit. It was a very frustrating experience. That was my case, but may not be yours. If things really has changed.