Job seekers and recruiting managers are always looking for clever ways to stand out in the job search process. And in the 2025 competitive job market, standing out is essential to getting hired. Job seekers are constantly guessing at how to make a good impression, differentiate themselves and meet recruiter expectations. Sometimes risky job seekers who stick their necks out and demonstrate confidence over credentials are the applicants to land the dream jobs.
Risky Job Seekers Often Snag The Dream Jobs
Putting your confidence over credentials is a hard sell, but there are cases where it works for the right person. Before Shawn D. Nelson became the founder and CEO of Lovesac, he applied for a job at one of Salt Lake City’s top restaurants with zero fine dining experience. Under “qualifications,” he wrote just three words: “I’m dead sexy.” They hired him.
That early moment sparked a personal philosophy that still guides Nelson’s leadership today: “The world doesn’t always need qualifications. It needs confidence. It needs people willing to be seen.” It’s the same principle that’s made Lovesac a standout brand: bold, untraditional and built to last.
If you’re like most job seekers, you have job jitters scarier than a trip to the dentist, holding a spider or skydiving. Chances are, the last advice you want to hear is to take risks on a job application or during an interview. You want to put your best foot forward, and you already have an endless list of things to remember: how to develop your resume, how to dress, what to say, eye contact, body language, questions you do or don’t ask and how to begin and end the interview.
But if you play it too safe and keep a low profile, you could disappear in the morass of applicants and become invisible in the 2025, highly-competitive job market. Sticking your neck out could win the prize. So don’t hide behind the proverbial potted plant in the corner of the recruiter’s office. Keeping a low profile won’t land the dream job. It’s more likely to keep you unnoticed.
Risky Job Seekers Are Willing To Fall Off The Bicycle
So the challenge is knowing the line between outrageous and risky. I spoke with Dr. Rebecca Heiss, author of Spring Board: Transform Stress to Work for You, and she underscores considering the cost of inaction. “We’re quite good at predicting and measuring the costs of our actions,” she reminds us. “‘I might look foolish. I might fail. I might be rejected.’”
Heiss says what we neglect to measure are the costs of our inactions—how not showing up or asking the question ultimately can cost you more than any cost of action. “Go big and play all-in. Regrets are far more painful and offer no lessons to grow,” she advises.
If you’ve got a job interview coming up, Weiss advises that you send intimidation packing and speak up, present a unique idea and try new things. “Remember how thrilling it was to get on a bike for the first time, even though you knew the chances of falling were fairly high?” she asks. “We got on anyway, took a few falls and have been riding ever since. You need to approach professional opportunities with this same mindset—regardless of how big or little that opportunity might be.
According to Peter Duris, CEO and co-founder of Kickresume, chances are, you might not be preparing for the right questions because hiring managers are throwing candidates curve balls. Another way of falling off your bicycle is to prepare to talk about your failures, not just your strengths.
Duris points out that 22% of companies ask about a candidate’s previous failure or mistake and acknowledges that it can feel awkward, but recommends that you not let that stress you out. “It’s really about showing how you solve problems and bounce back from tough situations,” he insists. “We’ve all messed up at some point; it’s how you handle it that really matters.”
He bases his recommendation on Kickresume’s science-backed study that looked into over 250 interview questions from 50 top companies, including Apple, Unilever and Google to find out the topics hiring managers are likely to ask about. They found that, instead of preparing to speak about your strengths, you might be better off to address your career failures and mistakes.
Their findings show that companies want to know about your previous career failures, and 10% of hiring managers ask questions about working with difficult colleagues or how you would deal with conflict within the team. This line of inquiry shows the importance of working relationships and conflict resolution skills, the study suggests.
Over half (54%) of the companies ask job candidates to share stories from their previous experience, with a question that uses a phrase like ‘Describe a time when…’ —which goes to show the importance of being able to back up your experience with evidence. Questions about how you might perform in a real life work environment are also common.
“Our research shows that common interview questions often ask you to prove you’ve got the right skills, qualities and experience for the job,” Duris comments. “So, before your interview, take another look at the job description and think about some good stories that show you’ve got what they’re after.”
Companies tend to ask for your positive qualities as well, like a question about a previous achievement, with 26% asking candidates to describe something they have achieved and 16% wanting interviewees to name their “proudest achievement” or “greatest achievement.” And 16% of companies might want to know what you would achieve if you were hired. One example is the company Square, who asks, “How long will it take you to begin working on projects and make a meaningful contribution at Square?”
A Final Wrap On Risky Job Seekers
Most recruiters are searching for job candidates with a growth mindset that drives profits. They understand that risky job seekers aren’t careless or outrageous and not necessarily the rebels or troublemakers. And they know they’re not “yes candidates,” either. They’re more cautious of job applicants who play it safe, conform and seek approval to protect their own self-esteem, security and ambitious goals than the common good. And more impressed with non-conforming, risky job seekers, who tend to work for the greater good of the company.
Questions about your previous career failures and mistakes might not seem like a positive way to prepare for a job interview. But business leaders like Duris, advise that taking risks can help you impress hiring managers, provided you answer in a way that presents you in a good light.
Playing it too safe, on the other hand, can prevent you from standing out in the interview process. If you want to be among the risky job seekers, find that one place where you’ve been hiding and find one unpredictable bridge to jump from to sprout your wings or that limb to go out on to reach the fruit of the tree in your next job interview.