If you quit one job to move to another and then hate the new job, you might think the old job doesn’t look so bad any more. But can you go home again? Would your former employer rehire you? How do you make sure the problems that arose the first time don’t return when you do?

          Employees who leave a job and then return often are called boomerangs. Some employers will take you back, but there are some things to think about before you go reclaim your old office.

          “There is nothing like trying out another job and finding out the grass wasn’t much greener,” says Bruce Tulgan, author of “It’s Okay to Be the Boss” (HarperCollins). “It’s important to go back and look at the first job through a new lens. It’s also important to think about how your decision making process might be flawed. Maybe there is a better process for deciding how to make a career move.”

          He says that before you reapply for your old job, you should ask yourself some questions.

          “What is the value proposition of that job?” he says. “What were my tasks and schedule? Who did I work with? What were my relationships with co-workers, managers, customers and vendors? What were my learning opportunities? What was the location like, and was there flexibility there? Those are the pieces for deciding whether a job is what you want.”

          According to the human resources research firm People Report, in 2007, 3.6 percent of restaurant management hires were rehires, down from 4.1 percent in 2006. For the quick-service segment specifically, in 2007, 2.1 percent of managers were rehires, down from 2.7 percent in 2006.

          Tulgan, whose training company is called Rainmaker Thinking, says if you do decide to ask for your old job back, approach your boss carefully.

          “The first thing I would say is: ‘I think I made a big mistake leaving. I didn’t realize all the positive aspects of working here. I miss working here,’” he says.
          Be sure to mention a reason why they should rehire you.

          “Say, ‘The good news is I really know how to work here because you already have trained me,’” Tulgan says.

          Also throw in the fact that you learned something new during your stint at the other employer. Don’t offer your boss proprietary information about your now former employer, because he or she will think you gave away information when you went to the other place.

          If you don’t get the job back, it may be because they already hired your replacement. Or you might be due to the way you quit.

          “Did you leave by telling everyone off, or by not showing up for a couple of weeks?” Tulgan says. “Or did you leave by saying, ‘Gosh, I have this new opportunity.’”

          Finally, if you can remember only the downside of working at the first place, you should instead look for a new job.

          “If all your memories are bad about this employer, do not go back there,” he says. “There are other employers.”

2008 Nation's Restaurant News. All Rights Reserved.