Your Old Boss Probably Wants You Back

Would you consider going back to a former employer? If you’re like most American workers responding to a recent survey, you wouldn’t. A full 52% of respondents to the Accountemps staffing firm’s survey said they likely would not. But the same can’t be said for former employers. Nearly all (98%) of human resources managers interviewed said they would welcome back a previous employee who left on good terms. (The survey did not provide stats regarding employees who left on bad terms.)

For employers, the benefits of rehiring a valued former employee can be pretty obvious.

“Boomerang employees have a shorter learning curve and may require less training, and have already proven themselves and their fit with the organization, so there are fewer surprises,” Bill Driscoll, a district president for Accountemps, said in a statement. “Companies who part ways unprofessionally or don’t take seriously the information they glean from exit interviews could miss out on bringing back someone great.”

Most employees, however, rarely leave jobs they’re happy with. The top reason employees gave for leaving a former employer was that they didn’t like the management (23%). Not liking the corporate culture was the second most common response (14%), tied with not liking their job duties. And 10% of employees said they wouldn’t consider returning because the company burned bridges when they left.

The surveys were conducted by independent research firms. They included responses from more than 300 HR managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees and more than 1,000 U.S. workers 18 years or older and employed in office environments.

“When it comes to rehiring former employees, consider why they left in the first place. If they resigned to pursue education, training or a role with more responsibility, having them back may bring new skills and ideas to the organization,” Driscoll said. “On the other hand, those who quit because of dissatisfaction with management, pay or the corporate culture may still be unhappy if they perceive nothing has changed while they were away.”

Remember, employers often conduct credit checks on potential employees, but these have no effect on your credit scores. They count as a soft inquiry on your report.

And if you are in the market for a new job, you can take the following actions to make sure there aren’t any surprises during an employer credit check:

Obtain a copy of your credit reports.
Dispute any errors on your reports with the credit reporting agency that issued the report containing the error.
Include disclosures in your credit reports explaining derogatory items.
Prepare to explain yourself to prospective employers by emphasizing that your mistakes were a thing of the past, and you have turned a new leaf and now exercise more sound financial habits.

And of course, it’s good to periodically check your credit reports throughout the year, whether or not you’re thinking of applying for a new job that might require a credit check. You can get a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once a year. And, although a prospective employer will never see your credit scores, those numbers are a good indicator of your credit health. You can view your two free credit scores, updated every 14 days, on Credit.com.