Re-Hiring Former Employees: Best Practices & Considerations

If the stalled labor market has you considering expanding your candidate pool to include former employees, you’re not alone. According to ADP’s payroll data, March saw the highest ever hiring surge for former employees, with 35% of all new hires considered boomerangs.

Defining Boomerang Employees

Boomerang employees are one of 2025’s big talent acquisition trends. As the name implies, a boomerang candidate is someone who applies to work for a former employer. The typical boomerang candidate wasn’t fired for performance issues or personality clashes; they likely left their previous position on good terms. Whether they left to pursue an exciting opportunity, earn a degree, or make more money, they’re ready to become a member of the team again.

Pros & Cons of Rehiring Former Employees

Expanding your candidate pool to include former employees can be a smart move in a competitive labor market. Here are some pros and cons to consider before you make an offer.

✅ Pro: Faster ramp-up and time-to-productivity

Former employees already understand your systems and culture, so their onboarding and training is inherently less time intensive. This means faster contributions, and for critical roles, speed can be a major advantage.

✅ Pro: Strong cultural fit

Boomerang hires typically return because they like the people and they believe in your mission. These existing relationships help them integrate more easily and strengthen teams.

✅ Pro: Decreased recruiting time

No need to spend hours sifting through new resumes and applications or conducting screening calls.

❌ Con: Risk of unrealistic expectations

Familiarity with your organization could lead to friction if former employees expect the company to be the same as when they left.

❌ Con: Potential resentment among current team members

If a boomerang employee comes back at a higher salary or with more flexibility, it could cause friction within the team. Communication and transparency are key to mitigate any misunderstandings.

❌ Con: Missed opportunity for new perspectives

Over-reliance on boomerang hires can limit innovation, so be sure to strike the right balance between former employees and outside talent with new skills and ideas.

Best Practices for Hiring Former Employees

You’ve weighed the pros and cons and decide to move forward with hiring a former employee. Here are some essential tips to keep in mind.

1. Lay the groundwork for a successful boomerang interview

Laying the groundwork for interviewing a boomerang candidate starts before they even leave your company. It’s always wise to conduct thorough exit interviews with outgoing employees, and it’s even more important if you’d ever consider rehiring them in the future.

Exit interviews are a great way to delve into the issues that may have prompted the person to leave, and that’s especially valuable if he or she comes back to work for you again. Before interviewing a boomerang candidate, review the notes from their exit interview to understand the circumstances around their departure.

You might also be wondering if an interview is even necessary. 

The short answer is yes, you do still need to interview boomerang candidates. An official interview is key to maintaining a fair and consistent hiring process. Further, things can change fast, on both ends. Whether the employee left a few months or a few years ago, it’s likely that their skill set, experience, and even disposition have changed. Certainly, so has your business—the operations, internal processes, and maybe even the culture. Even if they were formerly a star employee, there’s no way to tell if the candidate is still a good fit without at least an introductory interview.

2. Focus on previous issues

Some employees leave for purely external reasons, and there were no underlying issues at play. But if your boomerang candidate expressed concerns about anything during their exit interview, or if current employees have since opened up about potential issues, it’s crucial to bring them up during the interview. 

The goal here is to find out whether old issues will creep back into the picture to affect the boomerang candidate’s abilities. They’ll want to be assured that any underlying issues have since been resolved. And if you have any concerns about their performance or fit, you need to bring those up, too. It’s a good way to minimize the risk of the boomerang candidate leaving again, as quickly as they were rehired.

3. Treat boomerang candidates like any other candidate

Even though you’ve worked with the boomerang candidate in the past, do your best to treat them like an entirely new candidate. 

For instance, you could start the interview by telling them you’ll be adopting a more formal tone. This will keep the exchange from becoming too friendly, which could steer the interview off course and make it difficult to make an unbiased decision. It’s also important in ensuring that each candidate gets equal and fair treatment during the interview process.

4. Fill in the gaps

Delve into the candidate’s work to understand what’s happened since they left. New skills, competitive intel, and professional experience gained during their time away from your company could be incredibly beneficial. Alternatively, issues with their most recent company could make you think twice about rehiring them. Asking deeper questions will help you understand the reasons why they’re considering a return.

5. Keep the team in the loop 

Assuming the interview goes well and you decide to re-hire your boomerang candidate, inform current employees of the impending return of the former employee. Let employees share how they feel about the situation and ask any questions about how it might impact their work. Be clear and direct in the final decision and focus on the organization’s commitment to growth in building boomerang hires into your recruitment strategies.

6. Build customized onboarding and re-training

Consider their background and the new experiences they’ve gained to build an onboarding and training plan fit for your former employee. Don’t just assume they’ll hit the ground running. Connect them with the tools, processes, and people they need to be successful. Build in regular check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days, as you would any new hire, to ensure a smooth transition.

7. Nurture your alumni network

When employees leave, keep the conversation open. Set up an alumni group on LinkedIn. Keep them informed about what’s happening at your company. This will build a solid pipeline of boomerang talent to tap into when you need it. 

8. Set up a solid re-hiring policy

Re-hiring should be treated as a formal part of your talent strategy, not an adhoc decision. Define clear criteria for eligibility, such as performance at time of departure, length of absence, or reason for leaving. A solid re-hiring policy clearly outlines rehire expectations for things like compensation and benefits. For example, decide how you will handle service anniversaries. Does the clock reset when they’re rehired or do they pick up where they left off?

Interview Questions for Boomerang Employees

Set the right tone for your boomerang interview with questions that help you assess their current fit and motivation for returning to your organization. Here are some sample questions you could ask:

• What motivated you to consider returning to the organization?
• What’s changed for you professionally since you left?
• What did you learn in your time away that you’d bring to this role?
• How does this role align with your current career goals?
• What kind of support would help you succeed if you rejoined?
• How can we ensure this next chapter is even better than the last?

Build questions like these into a standardized boomerang interview process so hiring former employees becomes an equitable and strategic part of your recruiting strategy.

Re-Hiring Made Easy with Rival Recruit

The beauty of recruiting a boomerang candidate is you’re not starting from scratch. And by using AI recruiting tools, it’s easier than ever to identify, engage, and re-board your top former employees. Rival’s recruiting automation platform and personalized outreach make reconnecting a breeze.

Whether you want to engage with alumni or manage large-scale re-hire campaigns, Rival helps you do it faster and with less manual effort.

Strengthen your talent pipeline today – schedule your FREE demo!