Beyond Unicorns: Why The Future Of Tech Talent Is Enthusiastic, Inexperienced And Eager

Pax8 is helping channel partners build a winning culture that drives long-term success. Pax8 Chief Experience Officer Craig Donovan shares actionable strategies for channel partners to boost employee engagement, strengthen customer experience, and create a people-first culture that fuels long-term growth.

The channel ecosystem is racing toward innovation, automation and efficiency in terms of technology, but what about the people we hire? Many are attempting to search for unicorns: the perfectly skilled, fully formed hires who can jump in on day one and immediately deliver. But Craig Donovan, chief experience officer at Pax8, is pushing for a different kind of operational standard.

“We’ve got to stop looking for unicorns and start developing people,” Donovan said during Pax8’s breakout session “Shaping a Winning Culture” at the company’s Beyond 2025 conference in Denver this week. “I’d rather have someone who is super excited about the role and eager to learn than someone with every certification but no desire to grow with the team.”

The shift in mindset from hiring perfection to cultivating potential is a cultural game changer. And according to Donovan, it might be the only way forward.

The Myth Of The Ready-Made Engineer

Hiring in today’s IT channel is tough. But hiring for long-term growth? Even tougher. Donovan shared his experience hiring over 200 engineers during his career, noting that the most successful hires weren’t necessarily the most polished.

“There are people who come into interviews and say, ‘I don’t know this yet, but I really want to learn,’” he said. “Those are the people who outperform down the line.”

It’s a powerful reminder that enthusiasm, humility, and hunger often outpace technical know-how in the long run. And while tech skills can be taught, intrinsic motivation can’t be.

Soft Skills Are The Hard Skills Now

In the channel, we often talk about character and culture fit as a ‘bonus’ nice-to-have. Donovan flips that thinking entirely. At Pax8, candidates are scored on both technical aptitude and soft skills using a 10-point scale.

“You can teach technical skills. But if someone doesn’t have empathy or can’t collaborate, that’s a much harder gap to fill,” he explained.

One of his team’s go-to strategies is what they call the “ empty chair test”: Would you want this person sitting next to you during a stressful outage or critical client call? If not, no amount of technical brilliance will be achieved.

This approach does more than improve service; it improves morale. It builds teams that trust each other. And trust, Donovan emphasized, “is what makes a team high performing, not just technically competent.”

From Learning Management To Learning Culture

After hiring based on curiosity, the next step is to build an environment where an individual’s potential can grow. It’s not enough to hand new hires a LinkedIn Learning login and call it a day.

“You need a learning culture, not just learning content,” Donovan said. “Give your team room to stretch. Let them shadow new roles, run internal projects, and test ideas. That’s how you build mastery.”

This approach aligns with the principles in Daniel Pink’s book “Drive,” which Donovan referenced throughout the talk: people are motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Create space for those three, and your culture becomes your competitive advantage.

Hire For The Future, Not Just The Fix

Here’s the real takeaway: when we invest early in someone’s potential, we get better employees and better business outcomes. Donovan cited data showing that companies with high customer experience scores had 79 percent of employees who felt deeply connected to their organization, versus just 49 percent at lower-performing firms.

“The link between employee engagement and customer experience is undeniable,” according to Donovan. “If your people aren’t thriving, your customers won’t be either.”

That means it’s time to move away from the myth of plug-and-play hire. Instead, build teams full of people who are passionate, teachable, and mission driven. Because in a world of rapid tech and AI change, the one constant we can count on is people, and their capacity to grow.

The key take-away from Pax8’s chief experience officer : The best hire you’ll make this year may not know everything. But if they’re curious, committed, and ready to learn they’re already ahead of the curve.

The Inclusive Leadership Newsletter is a must-read for news, tips, and strategies focused on advancing successful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in technology and across the IT channel. Subscribe today!