Why Financial Firms Draw on Returners for Experienced Talent
Back in 2008, Goldman Sachs coined the term Returnship — a bold step toward recognizing the hidden talent of professionals coming back to work after a career break. They discovered something powerful: these returning professionals brought not only deep expertise but also fresh perspective, unwavering loyalty, and real leadership potential.
Fast forward to today, and the talent landscape has changed dramatically. Entry-level hiring is shrinking, with college grad recruitment down 16% this year and 44% since 2022. Meanwhile, AI is automating tasks once assigned to early-career employees, with an estimated 50% of those jobs becoming at risk in the next five years. In this market, companies need experienced, strategic thinkers, with strong emotional intelligence, making Returnships no longer an innovative experiment but a strategic necessity.
Returners Deliver: Proven Talent, Lasting Results
Working with Returners is an easy way to retain valuable talent and reduce turnover. Returnship programs provide a structured on-ramp for returning professionals to transition back into the workplace, and help companies reduce the costs of hiring and training new staff. It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
At reacHIRE, we’ve been helping top financial services firms tap into this incredible talent pool for over a decade. Here’s what our partners are seeing:
- 97% conversion rate after the program across nearly 400 roles
- 95% of Returners were still employed 2+ years later
- 100% satisfaction across large Fortune 500 companies
- 90% conversion and extension rates across all financial clients
Returners have valuable experience to bring to a variety of roles. We’ve placed professionals at financial institutions in roles such as business analysts, software engineers, project managers, and more. The average Returner has 11 years of experience – they’re not just re-entering the workforce, they’re strengthening it. Take it from one of our clients: “These individuals were so well-prepared from day one.”
More Than a Hiring Strategy
A career break shouldn’t be a career breaker.® And Returnships aren’t just a recruitment tool – they’re a future-forward approach to workforce and succession planning. With 95% retention two years post-hire, they help organizations build leadership pipelines while unlocking talent others overlook. For employers, Returnship programs are mutually beneficial: they help fill critical talent gaps, boost retention, and contribute to a more well-rounded workplace.
So if you’re building a high-performance talent strategy, consider what a Returnship program could do for your team. One of our clients puts it best: “If reacHIRE wasn’t doing this work, I’m not sure how we’d reach them.” Let us help you pilot or scale with speed, quality, and confidence.