You burn bridges when you leave anyway. I have never had go back to an old employer, and I have worked at a lot of companies.
Personally, I focus on building new bridges, rather than maintaining old ones that don't lead anywhere new.
At any rate, you're not just burning bridges with companies, you're burning bridges with people. Your team mates are the ones who get royally fucked over when you leave with no noticee and (therefore) no handover. They're also the ones who have the choice to invite you along for the ride when they land roles in cool new companies, or to block you if/when you apply to those companies.
I only don’t provide positive references or don’t bring with shitty people, even if you’re exceptional talent.
The analogy is flawed, because the "old bridges" can move and wind up along your path forward.
But I have worked for a previous manager again. He left the original company too, but set up contracting as an outside consultant to the software we built. He'd hire me to do some of the work as needed. Great gig for him, not bad for me.
That's not that rare of a setup if you're working on large B2B software packages.
Not usually and you shouldn't.
> I have never had go back to an old employer
People do go back to old employers. I've had old employers reach out trying to hire me back.
The most important point though is that it's people, not companies. Those people will move around to other companies and you want them to try to hire you again.
That's favourable for both parts. Your former colleague that hires you knows you and your qualities. And it's also good for you because you have some edge in the negotiations because you know you have a strong sponsor.
There is always an upside of being a good colleague with the largest amount of people. That increases the chances you're finding yourself in this favourable networking situation. And it also makes life better for everybody involved when it doesnt