Great Insurance Jobs’ Cofounder Roger Lear is here to help you overcome obstacles to your career and job search. This month, he offers tips on those who jumped too quickly into the Great Resignation.
Q: After months of being approached for a new claim job, one sounded great, so I interviewed, received a great offer, and accepted the position. After six weeks, I want to quit and return to my old company. Any advice on how to do this?
A: You are not alone. We have gone from the Great Resignation to the Great Regret. In February 2022, 4.4 million people quit their jobs, which continued a trend that started in July 2021. The nation still has over 11 million job openings, which means there are 1.8 jobs open for every one person looking for work. Employers and their recruiting departments are scrambling to fill both new job requisitions and jobs like the one you just left.
With so many jobs open, corporate and third-party recruiters use multiple recruiting strategies to find, attract, recruit, and hire new employees. In other words, it is the Wild West of recruiting, and it doesn’t look like it is going to ease up anytime soon. Like many, you had a good job, but after numerous “I have a great job for you” calls, you decided to interview with a competitor, and on the surface, it looked great, and you changed jobs. You left your old work family for a new one, and it isn’t working out in your case. At the same time, many people who did change jobs are happy in their new roles.
Most likely, you can get your old job back by calling your manager and just asking. The boomerang effect is in full force. The only time someone is not eligible for rehire is a corporate policy (so 1980s, but still around today) or you left on bad terms. If you do get rehired, many get their new salary matched by their former company. In the end, it is a win-win for all.
If your old job is filled, don’t worry. You are a claims professional, and you are in demand. Before you make a job change in a hot job market, here are a few things to consider:
• Understand recruiters are under pressure to fill open jobs. One way they do this is to make routine jobs sound like the best thing ever. It is imperative to write down anything a recruiter says that sounds too good to be true. Things like caseload size, travel, compensation, exceptional benefits, work from home, and flex time must be understood. If that sounds good, ask them to send that information to you in a document. Verify that information with the hiring manager in your interview. Remember, recruiters, are not hiring managers.
• If you have to go to the office, what is the company culture? Is it all business? Does the company have any social initiatives in the community? Do they help pay expenses for additional training and designations?
• Make sure they have up-to-date technology, or you are okay with what they use to close out claims. Many find out way after the fact that they have huge, complicated caseloads and clunky claims management systems that add hours to each claim.
• Crazy as it sounds, if a company offers you a massive salary increase, this may be a red flag and may indicate that this job has a lot of issues. Go to GlassDoor.com and check if the company has a decent rating.
• If the job has flex time, get it in writing. The company may have flex time, but you find out it doesn’t include your department.
Finally, if you make a job change and have regrets, don’t worry about what it looks like on a resume. Your skillset is in demand. Many think short stints are the kiss of death for their career paths. Great employers that have great work environments love hiring skilled adjusters with job regrets.