I often catch a glimpse of your radio show as I am driving to work. Thank you for sharing your wealth of hard-won insights.

I have an opportunity to return to work for an employer whom I voluntarily left on good terms 10 months ago. What sort of questions do recommend to ask myself and my former (and potentially new-old) employer to determine if this would be a good move for me (and them)?

I’ll try to summarize some key points about the situation, if that helps. My expertise is in software quality engineering and automated testing.

Why I went to new company:
- Formerly worked with new boss and had great working relationship
- Got to focus on technical side of business (rather than managing people)
- Closer to home

Why I left old company:
- A bit burned out and frustrated
- Tired of dealing with off-shore folks
- Felt that I needed more authority and participation in the management team.

Why I’m considering going back to old company:
- Opportunity to move up as a manager (I am function better when I have more ownership and accountability)
- More money
- Less late night customer support
- My boss at the new company is so busy I hardly ever see him (I’m fine working independently, but there needs to be just a little more interaction)
- I’m working as a one man team now with little prospect of getting any more team members, which is really needed
- If I had management authority, I could deal with the off-shore situation more effectively

Thank you for your valuable time.

Steven Jones
469-667-4343 cell
testmonger@yahoo.com

I second this – it is also very important to interview often, I have very rarely turned down an interview – even if the position was not ideal, because as we all know it “practice makes perfect”.

Not only going through a lot of interviews builds confidence but it also allows the candidate to polish his pitch.

PAC