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How to Indicate on a Resume a Return to a Previous Employer

As you move from job to job, fate may bring you back to a previous employer. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have to re-apply for the position and submit a resume. That means that the human resources department will see that you worked for the company before and will want to know why you left. Your resume should answer that question for them.

List the previous four employers you worked for in the work experience section. If you were previously employed with a company further back than that, you don’t need to worry about including it on your resume in the work experience section, but it does need to be addressed elsewhere.

Write why you left the company in the job description for the previous time your worked for the company. This will answer the question that your new supervisor will want to know. Make sure the answer is honest, though, because your previous employment record can be checked.

Include why you have chosen to return to the company in your job objective. This will answer another pressing question that your former employer will have. The goal of a resume is to get you an interview so you need to head off the concerns that a former employer might have by anticipating some of those questions and addressing them with your resume.

Use any company-specific facts, language and information you have when tailoring your resume to the company so that it resonates with whoever reads it at the company. This will put your previous experience with the company to good use.

List the previous employer based on the most-recent employment dates if you worked for an employer more than once. You should also include both sets of dates.

List the employer twice if the job titles and duties were significantly different each time you worked for the employer. If you had different jobs, even if it was for the same company, it might as well have been two different companies.

Tip

If you are returning to a previous company, don’t expect things to be the same, either good or bad. Things change over time as do personnel. Approach the job as if it was a position with a new company.

Writer

James Rada, Jr. was a newspaper reporter for eight years and earned 23 awards from the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association, Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, Maryland State Teachers’ Association and CNHI. He also worked for 12 years as a marketing communications writer, earning a Print Copywriter of the Year Award from the Utah Ad Federation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications.