From the author: Career development is an eternal topic. And there are many interesting subtopics in it - finding a job, positioning yourself in the labor market, developing your own brand, starting a business and even returning to your old place of work :) www.evgeniyavarlamova.comEvgeniya Varlamova, Ph.D., psychologist, coach, author of the New Year program Coaching www.varlamova.ru HOW TO GET BACK TO YOUR PREVIOUS JOB? You cannot step into the same river twice. But if you can’t, but really want to, then... that’s right, YOU CAN. For example, return to your previous job. It used to be that people retired as if they were going into exile - forever. Modern political and business life in Russia is replete with opposite examples: Gerashchenko alone was appointed head of the Central Bank four times. What pros and cons can be drawn from such a situation and how can you prepare those around you to correctly perceive the sharp turns of your life? How it happens A successful family is a chain of marriages and divorces with the same person. Professional relationships can be considered a form of love. Often we leave the service at a time of acute crisis, that very “divorce”. A week or two passes and we realize our own mistake, but we don’t know what to do next. Not everyone has the courage to come and repent. One of my clients, Alla, quit her job at the end of her affair with her boss because of the jealousy of his secretary, a scandal with uncontrollable subordinates and two broken contracts. For the first week, our heroine was in a vengeful euphoria: “They will regret it.” However, the HR department calmly gave her the documents, and the accounting department made the final payment. With her departure, many colleagues began to sleep better. The boss - because he got rid of his young bitchy mistress, the secretary - because the boss became more affectionate with her, the subordinates took a break from rudeness, which was Alla’s main style of business communication. Clients were expecting more favorable terms of transactions. Allochka herself began to think about revenge: “Now I’ll prove it to them all.” She rushed to the best recruitment agencies for tempting offers. But it turned out that there are practically none. Numerous interviews produced a completely free, but colossal psychotherapeutic effect on her. She came to me no longer white and fluffy, but meek and crying for advice on how to return to her previous job without damaging her reputation. The first thing we did was write scripts on how to communicate with people without being rude. Alla had a special job ahead of her: she had to overcome the alienation of her colleagues, who had already said goodbye to her once. The problem arose of how to communicate with the employee who was now performing her duties. She had to endure humiliation, since everyone tried to benefit from her return: her bosses did not pay the quarterly bonus, dumped the most unpopular tasks on her, and her colleagues demonstrated professional devotion and zeal against the backdrop of her departure and arrival. And Alla had to be very loyal and tolerant in order to re-earn her place in the sun. From the point of view of the person who quit, “A strong person knows how to admit his mistakes,” management textbooks state. Therefore, as soon as you realize that you cannot live without the job you left, that you will not be paid more in any other place, will not be valued as much - simply appear under the bright eyes of the previous management and say something like this: “I was wrong. I miss you. I want to come back. If you don’t mind, let’s discuss the terms.” If you are not a complete scoundrel, but just an ordinary cynic, boor and rude person, most likely they will take you back. In any case, when you have to choose between a new person and a proven personnel, the management will prefer the former employee. More than anything else, people are afraid of uncertainty; they want to deal with well-known, one might say, familiar problems, and not create new ones by inviting an unknown employee. Moreover, there is a chance that they will love and appreciate you more after your return. Remember the biblical story about the prodigal son? To those who repentedalways treated with warmth. Question two: how to prepare for a new registration in the old team? The costs of return depend on who initiated it. If an employee quits, then most likely they will be pushed around at first. And here you need to behave extremely flexibly: on the one hand, not refuse to work, on the other, try to protect your rights. If the initiator of the return is the company's management, then the newcomer has a chance to improve the terms of employment. There are three possible options for returning - choose the one that is closer to your temperament. One of my clients, Mikhail, left his insurance company almost every year - in the spring. It was during this period that he was overcome by acute dissatisfaction with himself and everything that surrounded him - starting with his wife and ending with his work. He wrote a letter of resignation, started another whirlwind romance, and this continued until September. In the fall, Misha returned to his legal wife and to his former place. He came to his boss and solemnly declared that he was ready to continue working for the benefit of the common cause. They accepted him back because he was a completely professional agent and the life of the party. He sang, came up with pranks, laughed, it was impossible to imagine the New Year and March 8 without him. He arranged his return festively - if not with fireworks, then with a noisy feast. But then no one pestered him with unnecessary questions. You can return quietly and inconspicuously. Another client of mine, a calm and reserved person, did just that. His problem was that he never discussed work conflicts with his superiors, preferring to store grievances within himself. When there were too many insults, he exploded and wrote a letter of resignation, which he regretted the very next day. After this, he sought advice from a psychologist. When we clarified the situation a little, he settled in his previous place. He behaved as if absolutely nothing had happened. Ultimately, the demarche benefited him: he learned to discuss problems that inevitably arise at work. Another client left a prestigious position in a well-known company for a promotion to a small company. Here he had room to turn around. He implemented all his ideas that did not fit into the format of a large company, became very famous in his industry and after three years he received a promotion offer from his previous employer. The topic of our discussion at the coaching project was solving the dilemma - to continue a career in a large corporation or decide to start your own business. It was a no-win dilemma for him. The question was what suited his strategic interests. From the point of view of everyone else, those who returned are very beneficial to their superiors, since during the forced downtime they realized a lot, they became motivated to work hard. You can count on them much more than before. Before their dismissal, people most often take a position of passive sabotage, internal rejection of their work. Hence the mistakes and emotional failures. When they return, they have already realized that this particular job is the best option for them. They were able to appreciate all its advantages, which they had not noticed before, and easily turn a blind eye to the disadvantages. Use the need of “returnees” for self-rehabilitation, because they want to prove their usefulness and irreplaceability. Entrust them with the most difficult part of the job, support their initiative, show respect for their courageous act, create the appropriate atmosphere in the team - and they will be capable of a lot just out of gratitude. If you were unable to agree on something before they left, now is a very convenient time for this, since the cards are in your hands. If your colleague returns to his old place, you have a tremendous chance to adjust the relationship in your favor. If he was a boor, put him in his place from the very first day, agree on more polite and friendly behavior. If he didn't know how to listen, be more assertive in terms of asserting your position. If you