Q: I was wondering what may be the best way to approach acknowledging to a previous employer, that you made a mistake leaving your previous job. A year ago, I left a well paying consulting position with a large technology company to pursue another job. Unfortunately, the new job has not met my expectations and I now regret my decision to leave my previous employer.
Before leaving my previous employer, my director offered me another position that he thought would suit my skills, in order to keep me in the company. However, this position was not yet defined and thus I decided to leave. Now, a year later, I regret this decision and should have been more patient and pursued this opportunity.
Do you think it’s worth while contacting this director or should I just forget about this? Curious to hear what you think.
Maikel
Maikel, thanks for your question. The short answer is absolutely contact the director. What do you have to lose? Just because you left an employer doesn’t mean they don’t want you back. And it sounded like you left on good terms. They may no longer have the same open position as an year ago, but it will always help your chances if you proactively reconnect with this director and tell him or her you are interested in returning.
The best way to contact this director is by email. This way it gives you a chance to craft your message. Approach him or her honestly. Tell him or her what you told me and ask to see if there are any opportunities currently. Also be persistent. If you don’t hear back from the first email, follow up with another email or on Linkedin. Sometimes emails goes into SPAM by accident and people are busy. It is your job to make the effort to follow up if you want to reconnect successfully with an old employer.
At the end of the day, even if he or she doesn’t have anything right away, you at least reconnected so this director can keep you in mind for future openings. Here are two articles with real life stories that can also help you.
Best wishes and let me know how it goes.