Yahoo Is Practically Begging Former Employees To Come Back

Jeff Weisbein -

In a tweet posted the other day by Tom Coates (see below), a former Yahoo employee, received a Yahoo Welcome (Back) package in the mail. The package apparently informed him of all the “big opportunities” that he would be able to be a part of at Yahoo if he came back.

Apparently though, he’s not the only one to receive mail like this from Yahoo. Over the past couple of months, Yahoo recruiters have reached out to ex-VPs, low-level engineers and PMs who used to work for Yahoo with these packets, with the word “Back!” scribbled on them in black Sharpie.

But is it working?

“I’ve heard they literally cannot buy people,” said one person who received the packet, and who passed on the offer.

That sounds like a major problem for the Mayer regime. Everyone appeared to be excited to see what she has planned for Yahoo, but no one wants to work at the company and make it happen? That just seems weird to me.

As for these recruitment tactics, it’s an interesting and different approach — one I’ve certainly never really seen before and I can’t help but wonder how many of these people will actually go back. From what it seems like so far though, the answer would appear to be: not many.

One thing is for sure though, no matter how good the ideas Marissa Mayer may have are, without a talented team of employees Yahoo isn’t going to be able to turn around the sinking ship.