Interview at a former employer

lincroft1710

Civil Service policy seems to change with the wind or the particular department. Just go along to the interview. Your previous line manager may see you as capable of the higher grade work (or now capable) or may still regard you as only capable of the lower grade.

Grumpy_chap

I would just go to the interview and no need to say anything to anyone beforehand about the fact you know the interviewing manager.  I assume you declared the previous employment at the same employer on your CV.

I have twice gone to past employers and been interviewed by past managers.  Both times walk in to the interview and they say "well obviously, the job is yours if you want it - let me tell what the role needs".  No-one is interested in wasting time doing interviews with people that cannot get the job.

Wyndham

I've worked for one employer 5 times. Mostly short term contracts, but also a redundancy in there which proves you never actually know that you have a secure job. I work on the assumption that if they keep employing me then I haven't ever done anything wrong (and the industry does struggle with funding, so many contracts are short term).

It is odd being interviewed by someone you know. Not impossible by any means, but odd! I assume you haven't lied/exaggerated on your application? I also think it is up to the interviewer to declare, not you. And the rest of the panel should already know that you've worked there before from your application.

Go for it! And good luck!

MalMonroe

I've done that twice before, been interviewed by old line managers at a previous place of work. In both cases I didn't contact the person I knew on the panel because they had obviously read through all the applications and knew who was being interviewed, in fact both had had a say in shortlisting. 

Your old line manager will probably be very pleased to see you again. Both of mine were pleased to see me. 

With the civil service they will probably be happy to take you on again as you'll know all the protocols, etc. and they won't have to train you all over again.

Good luck, I hope you get the band 4 position! 

Thrugelmir

You've nothing to lose by attending the interview.  5 years is a long time. You've gained both further experience and maturity in the intervening period. 

AskAsk

LittleVoice said:

AskAsk said:

TELLIT01 said:

First thing to check is that the company will actually re-employ former employees, particularly if the job is advertised through an agency.  My niece worked for Royal Mail and resigned because she was moving out of the area.  A couple of years later RM were recruiting via agency, she was offered an interview and then the offer was withdrawn because RM either won't re-employ former staff or won't re-employ for x years.

that is strange.  i have never heard of a company that won't employ previous staff, unless they sacked you.

I once worked for a multi-national  who would not re-employ if the person resigned simply in order to move to another job.  That was on the basis that you had shown you were not satisfied with them as an employer in the past. 

There were some exceptions to the general rule.  For example if you left because you married and moved to another part of the country or left to become a full-time parent, they would consider your application.

When they responded to reference requests, if they were asked whether they would re-employ they would respond negatively but explain that that was their policy.  I suspect they would now simply ignore the question.

i never want to go back to an employer once i have left so that was always what i said to the recruitment agents.  there was one employer that i went back to and i had left on bad terms as i got into a row with my line manager and when i left, i said this on my employee leaving survey form.  i said i left because my line manager was an !!!!!!! lol.

i came back 6 years later and by that time i think all my records had been destroyed but i was recruited to work on another team and that guy had moved to another department.  i didn't know this when i applied for the job and thought if he saw my name and remembered me, he could just dismiss my CV 

SadieO

I work for a large employer that is one of two in the same industry in my city. It is pretty common for people to move between the two (and sometimes back again) as opportunities avail themselves, and lots of people have friends and connections in "the other place". Interviewing, or being interviewed by, someone you know or have worked with in the past happens quite a lot. As long as you left on good terms, and your previous employment showed on your application/CV I wouldn't expect it to be an issue. I am sure if they had such a policy their application process would highlight anyone who contravened it. I wouldn't worry. My only advice is to act like you don't know each other, in that you should spell out your relevant experience and why you are great for the job - don't assume they know about your experience and abilities, even if they do! 

Sandtree

thomasparker430 said:

Should I email the organiser stating that I know one of the panel?

What do you hope to achieve by doing so? 

In my line of work there are plenty of employers but the departments I work in are fairly small and so whilst its not "everyone knows everyone" its fairly common to run across the same people in different employers etc. I've been interviewed by some of them and I've been the interviewer some times.

They probably should let the other interviewers know that they have first hand experience of you but presumably its on your CV and therefore HR will have already joined the dots. 5 years is a fairly long time and so their memory of you is probably not that good any more unless you're a particularly colourful personality. 

MEM62

AskAsk said:

TELLIT01 said:

First thing to check is that the company will actually re-employ former employees, particularly if the job is advertised through an agency.  My niece worked for Royal Mail and resigned because she was moving out of the area.  A couple of years later RM were recruiting via agency, she was offered an interview and then the offer was withdrawn because RM either won't re-employ former staff or won't re-employ for x years.

I have never heard of a company that won't employ previous staff, unless they sacked you.

I don't.  

ryan7

This should not be an issue - it should give you and advantage but as someone mentioned above, don't just assume your previous line manager knows your skills, experience, knowledge, etc... Be prepared to speak and show a genuine appetite for the position.
Gd luck