When Olipop CEO Ben Goodwin is interviewing a candidate for a job, he isn’t looking for a lengthy tenure at a prestigious company, or a plethora of hard skills. Instead, one trait stands out amongst the most desirable people, he says: Passion.
People who have “that real fire in their belly” and a motivation to succeed are more attractive than those who only have an impressive resume, Goodwin tells CNBC Make It.
“Between passion and technical acumen, passion always wins out,” says the 40-year-old CEO. “If you have enough real passion, you’ll typically learn the acumen.” If it’s the other way around, however, an employee may be unfulfilled by their work, or feel detached from the company mission — which are both crucial for an engaged, productive team, Goodwin says.
On a larger scale, employers are placing less importance on hard skills in the workplace in favor of qualities like adaptability, conflict mitigation, innovative thinking and public speaking, according to LinkedIn’s “Skills on the Rise 2025” report.
Passion can seem like a cliche, but recruiters agree that it’s more important than most people think. Nolan Church, who’s worked in talent acquisition in companies like Google and DoorDash and who’s currently the CEO of talent marketplace Continuum, even recommends including what you’re passionate about on your resume, at the very end under “interests.”
