Sometimes the best person for the job is the person is the person you know. Below you will find the advantages and of these so-called “boomerang” hires and how to make them work.

As it appeared in Universum Quarterly By Kina Zeidler

The advantages of “boomerang” hiring, or bringing back the alums, are:

• Reduce your recruitment expenses

• Access a broader and qualified pool of candidates

• Improve your company’s overall performance; alumni require less time to be productive

• Gain individuals that already share values and expectations

Dos

• Treat your alumni as you would treat other applicants. The demands should remain the same.

• Only re-hire people who were top performers and left in good standing.

• Understand the reasons why they left in the first place, and do your homework before interviewing to make sure those issues no longer exist.

Don’ts

• Don’t lose contact with the alumni if the interview doesn’t turn into a hire.

• Don’t assume the alumni will take your offer over a competing one because of their past history with the company. They are still looking for the best opportunity.