Is going back the new way to move forward in high-tech?
As uncertainty, layoffs and the rapid rise of AI reshape the technology industry, some employees are returning to companies they once left. They bring new skills and experience, while employers regain people who already understand their culture and operations.
For years, moving between companies was considered one of the surest ways to advance in high-tech. But some employees are discovering that their next opportunity may actually lie with a company they have already left. Against a backdrop of uncertainty, layoffs and changes driven by artificial intelligence, some are choosing to return to former employers, sometimes in more senior roles. Companies, meanwhile, gain employees who already understand the organization and bring fresh experience from elsewhere. Is going back actually a way of moving forward?
When Nadav Hozeh (44), a software architect at Gong, returned to the company after a stint at Intuit, he was met with a surprise. A large, exceptionally lightweight box had arrived at the office. Inside, he found a boomerang. It took him a moment to understand the joke; the recruiter explained that it was a gift for anyone returning to Gong.
The boomerang has become a symbol of a trend increasingly involving both employees and employers in the high-tech sector: people who leave a company for a new professional opportunity, only to eventually decide to return. The reasons vary. Some are disappointed by their new workplace, others see an opportunity for advancement at their former employer, while some only recognize the value of the people, organizational culture and sense of security they left behind after experiencing somewhere else.
Data from the United States suggests that the phenomenon of the "boomerang employee" is growing. According to research firm Revelio Labs, employees returning to a former employer accounted for 3.1% of all hires in the U.S. in 2023, rising to 3.4% by the end of 2025. In September, Business Insider reported that Amazon was reaching out to former employees, including some who had previously been laid off, in an effort to recruit them again, particularly for artificial intelligence roles.
Hozeh joined Gong in 2019 as a software developer and eventually became a software architect within one of its divisions. After five and a half years, he decided to leave for a new professional opportunity at Intuit.
"Gong entered the world of AI back when people still thought it was the stuff of science fiction. Five and a half years later, the era of 'agents' arrived. Intuit offered me a role as an 'AI Builder.' Professionally, it was the right step forward, and I embarked on this new adventure with mixed feelings."
His start at Intuit, however, did not go as he had imagined. Instead of developing agentic systems, he found himself primarily managing teams and tackling technical challenges. About six months later, he finally landed a project that matched what he had been looking for: developing an agentic system for the financial sector.
"We were like a startup within Intuit. But just as the 'AI Builder' dream began to materialize, a wave of layoffs hit, and my department was cut. I told myself, 'I'm going back home.' I picked up the phone, called a VP at Gong, and we sealed the deal."
The rehiring process was swift and required neither interviews nor tests. By the time he returned, Gong's R&D organization had grown to more than 500 employees, and the company had significantly expanded its work on intelligent agents. Hozeh found himself working on the very technology that had prompted his initial departure.
"The stars aligned, and it was a perfect fit," he says.
He returned to his previous role, but with a renewed appreciation for the company's culture. At Intuit, where many teams are based in the United States, he had felt the geographical and cultural distance. At Gong, by contrast, he says, problems can often be resolved through a quick, informal conversation in the hallway.
"I returned to a company that had grown, yet I felt no sense of distance or alienation. I'm not the only one who came back; I even brought seven other employees with me from Intuit."
Omer Calfon (32), a back-end developer at cybersecurity company Cycode, nearly became a boomerang employee. In his case, however, the return happened before he had even left. After six years at the company, four of them in a team-management role, he felt he had reached his limit and wanted a change. He secured a position at an AI startup, signed a contract, gave notice and said goodbye to his colleagues. Then he changed his mind.
"I wanted a change, driven by a sense of adventure and a longing for the early days. I found a job at a hot startup that had 'AI' in its name. I signed the offer, gave notice at Cycode, and then, three weeks before the big transition, I had second thoughts. So, in the end, I only left in spirit."
Calfon found it difficult to part with the product he had helped develop and the people he had worked alongside. Uncertainty in the job market also played a role.
"I knew that Cycode was a professional and caring workplace, and they valued my worth. Furthermore, I was looking for stability, given all the changes these times bring," he says. "Cycode was happy, but it wasn't easy. After putting them through the wringer, I announced that I was staying."
He did not ask for a promotion or a salary increase in exchange for remaining at the company. Instead, he stepped down from a management position to become an individual contributor.
"Some might say this is a step down, since I used to manage a team and now I'm just a developer. But I realized that what I needed wasn't necessarily a change of scenery, but rather a shift in focus, looking inward rather than outward."
Adam Harow, who currently heads the Customer Enablement division at business data company Lusha, also discovered that the professional opportunity he was looking for was back where he had started. After spending about two and a half years at Lusha as an Enterprise Customer Success Manager (CSM), he moved to a startup that tasked him with building its Customer Success function. Within three months, however, he realized that neither the company nor the sector in which it operated was the right fit for him.
Around that time, a new position opened up at Lusha: Education Program Lead, reporting to his former manager. He returned to a role that allowed him to lead projects and launch new professional initiatives.
"Having a prior relationship was significant. I knew I was returning to an environment that encourages critical thinking and grants me complete freedom to advance any project or initiative I wish to pursue."
Harow says leaving helped him understand that professional growth does not necessarily require moving between companies. Returning allowed him to take on a broader, more challenging role, but the personal dimension was also decisive.
"Right after I returned, I had to stay home with our baby because my wife was called up for reserve duty. On the eve of Purim, my manager showed up at my place with some homemade food. A gesture like that, combined with the professional appreciation, made the decision to return a no-brainer."
"I was truly happy to receive that call."
For Sharon Yehezkel, a Senior Executive Search Partner at iLeadX, a firm specializing in executive recruitment for the high-tech sector, returning to a former employer was not about securing a promotion or a higher salary. Instead, it reflected a need for a familiar and supportive workplace during a particularly difficult period in her life.
Yehezkel entered the recruitment field after spending more than 20 years in the high-tech industry. About five years ago, she joined the executive recruitment division at iTalent. Two years later, she received an offer to lead recruitment efforts at a startup.
"A new challenge presented itself, an opportunity to work at a product-based company, with better pay. I didn't leave because things were bad; I left because an interesting opportunity came along that I wanted to explore."
The departure was amicable, and Yehezkel felt that the door had remained open. After a stint at Triple Whale, she experienced another work environment, one that ultimately proved to be a poor fit. Then came the war.
"And then came October 7th," she recalls. "My youngest son was serving in the Nahal Brigade's reconnaissance unit and was deployed into combat for long stretches, completely cut off from phone contact. I was in terrible distress, gripped by existential anxiety. I felt completely lost."
A few months later, her former colleagues called to ask whether she would consider returning.
"Timing is everything. I was truly happy to receive that call, at a time when I needed something to keep me occupied and the supportive environment I remembered."
She returned to a role with conditions nearly identical to those she had previously held. Today, she works at iLeadX, a subsidiary of iTalent. At 60, she no longer sees career advancement as the sole measure of professional success.
"I'm at a stage in life where I'm not looking for a promotion or a more impressive job title. Salary is obviously important, as is professional challenge; but when you spend so many hours at work, it makes a huge difference if you're genuinely happy to see the people you work with."
Avner Sternheim (51), a Principal Software Engineer at Imperva-Thales, also discovered during a year away from the company how much he valued the work environment he had left behind. After more than seven years at Imperva, he left in January 2025 to join startup FundGuard. The prospect of moving into the FinOps field and contributing to a significant transformation appealed to him. At 50, he also felt he might not have many more opportunities to experience working at a startup.
The role, however, did not develop as he had expected.
"One of the reasons I decided to return was that I felt I wasn't fully realizing my potential or putting my skills to good use," he says.
He also came to appreciate anew the flexibility of Imperva's hybrid work model and the trust the company places in its employees.
"I missed the experience at Imperva, the people and the organizational culture."
In February 2026, after just over a year away, he returned to Imperva.
"The welcome back was immediate. In a sense, I returned to the same world, but today I have a broader scope of responsibility, so, in a way, it's a promotion."
"It's a win-win for both sides."
For employers, boomerang employees offer a combination that can be difficult to find in an external candidate: familiarity with the organization alongside experience gained elsewhere. Carmit Shiffer, VP of Human Resources at Sela, a company providing cloud and AI services to enterprises and startups and placing personnel in technology projects, says she has been observing the phenomenon for nearly 15 years.
"I encounter 'boomerang' employees who are returning not just for a second stint, but even a third. I believe AI has been a contributing factor in recent years: rapid technological shifts, combined with uncertainty in the job market, create a sense of instability. When the job market becomes turbulent, people look for an anchor, and what better anchor than a familiar workplace?"
According to Shiffer, returning employees bring a valuable combination of skills and familiarity.
"A boomerang employee brings a winning combination: relevant technical knowledge and professional experience, insights gained from other workplaces, and an understanding of the company's DNA, all of which allow for a smoother onboarding process."
But does an employer feel let down when an employee chooses to leave? Shiffer acknowledges that it can be difficult, but says companies are increasingly pragmatic about the possibility of employees returning.
"Any time an employee leaves of their own accord, it's a bit hurtful. But today, given the rapid changes in the market, smart organizations understand that an employee might leave for legitimate reasons, gain experience, and then return, so it's less of an emotional issue."
The return process, she stresses, is not automatic.
"It's a more flexible screening process, which almost always begins with a personal connection rather than a resume submitted via LinkedIn. The recruitment process isn't skipped; it's necessary to understand what happened during the years the employee was away and whether their expectations for the new role are aligned. If the reasons for their initial departure are known, steps must be taken to address them so that those same issues don't resurface."
In her experience, returning employees often arrive with particularly high motivation.
"They come back with a sense of gratitude and a feeling that the burden of proof lies with them, as they were consciously re-selected. This is a mutual choice, both sides are opting in again. The employee doesn't feel like they missed out on anything elsewhere, having already been 'on the outside' and realized that returning was the right move. They are driven to prove that bringing them back was the right decision. Meanwhile, the employer doesn't just look at why the employee is returning, but also at what new value they bring, things that weren't there before."
Shiffer believes that returning employees can also give an organization a fresh perspective on its own practices.
"For instance, we had a DevOps engineer who returned as an architect. He worked with clients, gained exposure to other systems, learned different work methodologies, and brought us perspectives and practices from other workplaces. So, it's a win-win for both sides."
