Did you know that the boomerang most of us are familiar with — the type used by Australian aborigines for hunting — is not the only kind of boomerang? Yep, apparently, there’s another kind, and it’s been found in parts of Europe — one from Poland, was made from a mammoth’s tusk and is believed to be ~30,000 years old — in Egypt (of course King Tut had a collection), and in California and Arizona! But are they the same, you may ask, just from different parts of the world? Nope. They are not. The difference between the non-Australian and Australian boomerangs is a matter of return: the former don’t (they just reach what they need to hit and drop to the ground) and the latter do. Ok, the Australians do have non-returning boomerangs … but at Intouch, we like the ones that come back. In fact, “boomerang” is what we call someone who leaves Intouch and then returns. Lately, we’ve been catching up with our two dozen-plus boomerangs to find out what makes Intouch worth returning to. Today in our boomerang series, we’re highlighting a conversation with Intouch boomerang Kathy Walden, a group copy supervisor with our affiliate, Intouch 7. Check it out!
What influenced you to leave?
I left Intouch in 2014 after 12 years with the company. A move from Chicago to Seattle prompted my resignation, but I was also ready for a change. I thought freelancing might be a better fit because I was feeling some serious burnout, and I wanted to be more available to my kids who were 7 and 5 at the time.
Did you continue to work in this industry or try something entirely new?
I did a little bit outside of pharma, but the majority of the work I did was in the pharma/healthcare space.
How long were you away?
I was away from Intouch for 7 years.
How many positions did you have before you boomeranged?
I freelanced for various companies and agencies — including Intouch! — from 2014-2017, and I worked full-time for a small healthcare company from 2017-2021.
What are two or three things that drew you back?
Integrity at the leadership level (my team had been burned pretty badly by the folks in leadership positions at my previous company); the option to work remotely (I have been working remotely since I left Intouch in 2014, so it would have been hard for me to return to a traditional, 5-days-a-week office environment); the great creative work; the people.
The company leads with integrity and truly cares about each and every employee.
In your opinion, what differentiates Intouch?
This will sound redundant, but definitely the fact that the company leads with integrity and truly cares about each and every employee; the benefits; the supportive environment; and the opportunities to learn, grow, and make a difference in the world, both from an everyday work standpoint and a philanthropic standpoint.
If you’d like to join a company that employees come back to — and whom we happily welcome back — visit our Careers page today and check out our openings!