How to Reassure Risk-Adverse Employers

Delva White
May 20
2 min read

When employers consider job candidates, they look to lower their risks. Just like you when searching for a job, they are not interested in wasting their time or resources. In order to counter these risk aversions, you first must consider what they are and then how you can “de-risk” yourself. Here are some tips for making yourself look like the ideal candidate.

You’ll quit. Employers invest a lot of time and money in finding you and training you as a new employee. Unless you’re a bad fit, the last thing they want is for you to quit. If you have a lot of short work stints on your resume, an employer might think you’re a risk to hire and invest in. To overcome this, camouflaging your short bursts of work history is a good idea. Sometimes, it’s best to leave these jobs off your resume entirely, especially if they are six months or longer. Otherwise, if you can use a more functional resume that is skills based where you can group work together in your work experience, this could be another way to hide job-hopping.

You won’t fit in. An employer is worried about you fitting in with their company culture because someone quitting or being let go always has some kind of impact on team dynamics, according to HR Morning. And, if they hire you and you don’t fit in, it could also affect team productivity. So, during interviews, they’ll be concerned that your goals and values align with the company culture. You can reassure them you’re a good fit by doing your research ahead of time. See what you can find online about company culture or talk to current employees to find clues. Then, provide evidence of traits they’re looking for and even preemptively strike with endorsements from past colleagues noting you have these qualities.

You won’t be a team player. As much as an employer wants you to know your stuff and have the hard skills necessary for the job, they also want to know you can listen and get along with people. These soft skills are not at easy to teach (and sometimes impossible), so employers like to see evidence of these qualities up front. One of the easiest ways to show this quality is during the application and interview process. Be flexible about any schedule changes. Listen carefully to instructions and follow all of them to a T. Then, during the interview have many stories ready to go where you worked successfully with other people to meet job objectives.

One of the best ways to succeed at a job interview is to anticipate the concerns of an employer. There are reasons beyond your work experience, or lack thereof, that will cause them to pass you by. Reassuring these employers you’ll be a team player, won’t job-hop, and are an ideal fit with the culture are the best ways to overcome key objections. Following these suggestions will help you stand out as a viable candidate to an employer.