Some roads lead back to delaware

Jun 18, 2023

Has your career always gone exactly the way you planned it? New opportunities cross our paths, and sometimes we grab them by the horns and explore new horizons. That can be a good thing, saying goodbye when we know we will get closer to our best possible selves in another company, role or sector .

After some time and a fresh perspective, however, people can find themselves rekindling an old flame and go back to a former employer. How does it feel, returning to your "ex", and in what way do you benefit from your experience outside company borders? Let’s ask An-Sofie Hoedt and Tom Vandevelde, two #peopleofdelaware who decided to rejoin after having ventured off into a different job.

First stop: delaware

Both An-Sofie and Tom started their careers as juniors at delaware; An-Sofie in 2018 as part of Dynamics Operations, Tom joined SAP Warehousing in 2014. An-Sofie remembers as if it was yesterday: “During my search for a first job after graduation, delaware came up as one of the options. As from the start of the application process I immediately felt a good connection that only got stronger. There was and still is an unmistakeably good vibe throughout the company, that’s what made the cut for me both times.”

Making the switch back felt quite natural, since I still had a large network at delaware.

Tom Vandevelde

Time for a switch

Having worked for delaware for two and eight years respectively, both An-Sofie and Tom reached a point where they felt the need to switch scenery. An-Sofie worked as an ERP Consultant for SME’s. “My tasks were quite comparable to what I did at delaware, although I did pick up some new experiences such as setting up demos for customers”, she explains. At a certain point, though, An-Sofie was forced to stop working temporarily due to illness. “At that time I was looking for a possibility to work part-time initially and I always kept in touch with former colleagues and delaware came back into my world as a spot had opened up in the Change team”, she explains.

Tom, meanwhile, had reached a point where he wanted to focus more on business consulting aside from purely warehousing and project management. He found that opportunity at another consultancy firm. The switch did not last very long, though, as Tom was contacted only a year later to help roll out delaware’s business consulting activities. “Since I still had a large network at delaware”, Tom says, ”making the switch back felt quite natural. Also, I had always had a good understanding with my delaware colleagues."

Continuing the delaware journey

Both Tom and An-Sofie joined different teams upon their return to delaware. Tom is a member of a new solution that expands our management consulting practices. “Joining a new team that is still taking shape made my transition back into delaware quite comfortable.”, he explains,”I had not been gone that long and everyone in the team is also new to it in some way. It also helps that I know some people in my new team from before.”

An-Sofie is now a part of the Change team, helping customers to define and elaborate their training needs and offering. “Coming back to delaware, my first week was fantastic”, she says. “I really had that warm feeling of coming back into a familiar setting. Even tough I’m now part of a different team, I immediately felt like I had come back home.”

Having been on the other side of the company walls, what do both Tom and An-Sofie appreciate at delaware? “I like that everyone has a focus on both external customer projects and internal delaware projects”, says Tom. “Talking to different people, you also realise that we have a great amount of expertise in-house.” An-Sofie agrees with Tom and adds that “people are also keen to share that expertise with you. Aside from that, I really appreciate having open colleagues who are prepared to listen to you.”

As far as the future is concerned, both An-Sofie and Tom are keen to get stuck in. While Tom is excited to elaborate a solid business consulting offering, An-Sofie is eager to get more experiences under her belt. Best of luck to both of them!