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Looks Good on Paper

Looks Good on Paper

Written by: Andrew Wood (aka Woody) Anita Chauhan
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About this listen

Looks Good on Paper flips hiring on its head. Hosted by Andrew Wood and Anita Chauhan, we dive into why CVs and "perfect fits" are overrated. Through fun, insightful conversations with industry experts, we explore how skills, potential, and real experience should be the focus of hiring... not what looks good on paper.

Quick, candid, and packed with actionable insights, we’re here to rewrite the rules of hiring, one episode at a time.


© 2025 Looks Good on Paper
Careers Economics Personal Success
Episodes
  • Why Hiring More People Is the Wrong Fix (And What High-Growth Companies Do Instead) (S2E12)
    Jan 14 2026

    Most companies think growth means hiring more people. According to Mike Bettley (Senior Director of Talent, StackAdapt), that mindset is exactly what leads to wasted budgets, bloated teams, and stalled growth.

    In this episode of Looks Good on Paper, Mike explains why hiring is the most expensive decision a company makes — and why adding headcount is often a lazy substitute for real strategy. Drawing on his experience at Google, Thomson Reuters, and OpenCare, Mike breaks down how high-growth companies decide who to hire, when to hire, and what problem each role is actually meant to solve.

    This is a must-listen for founders, hiring managers, recruiters, and talent leaders navigating today’s volatile job market.

    In this episode, we're covering

    • Why “we need more people” is usually the wrong answer
    • How to identify the real business bottleneck before hiring
    • When scaling too early creates long-term damage
    • Why company pedigree (Google, Meta, etc.) is a misleading hiring signal
    • Whether CVs still matter in an AI-driven hiring market
    • The skills talent leaders will need heading into 2026

    👤 About Mike Bettley

    Mike Bettley is Senior Director of Talent at StackAdapt, leading global hiring across a company that has grown from 800 to over 1,600 employees in just two years. His career spans Google, Thomson Reuters, and high-growth startups, giving him a rare perspective on what actually works at every stage of scale — from scrappy startups to global enterprises.

    👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbettley/

    About Looks Good on Paper

    Looks Good on Paper, powered by Willo, explores modern hiring, talent strategy, leadership, and how work is changing beyond what shows up on a résumé.

    Episode Chapters

    00:00 – Why hiring is more dangerous than people think
    01:40 – From Google to startups to StackAdapt
    03:10 – Why hiring is the most expensive business decision
    04:15 – The biggest hiring mistake companies keep making
    05:30 – Headcount vs solving real business problems
    07:00 – CEOs, hiring strategy, and the 80/20 rule
    08:25 – Why hiring too far ahead backfires
    09:25 – The hidden bias of company pedigree
    13:55 – Can hiring work without CVs?
    15:50 – Writing, communication, and AI-era skills
    19:45 – The skills talent leaders need in 2026
    21:40 – Final thoughts

    Show Resources

    • Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
    • CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
    • Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • The Real Reason CVs Are Failing: 8 Leaders Talk Volume, Bias, and What Comes Next (S2E12)
    Dec 18 2025

    What happens when you remove CVs from the hiring process? In our season 2 supercut, our leaders debate bias, volume, video, AI, and what truly helps candidates stand out.

    What You’ll Learn in This Episode

    • Why CVs feel both essential and outdated for modern hiring teams
    • How video, portfolios, and short‑form content change candidate evaluation
    • Where AI‑guided screening is improving fairness and scalability
    • What candidates really worry about when asked for extra materials (like Looms)
    • The growing expectation that employers must modernize, too—not just candidates

    🎬 Our Season 2 Supercut

    This episode brings together a range of hiring leaders—from high‑volume talent teams reviewing 35,000+ monthly applications to people‑first organizations like Clio, Float, Remote and PurposeMed—each sharing real‑world experience on what breaks and what improves when you move beyond the traditional CV. Their perspectives highlight the evolving landscape of candidate experience, modern screening tools, and the push for more equitable, human‑centred hiring practices.


    🎧 About the Show

    Looks Good on Paper is a Willo-powered podcast where talent leaders and founders share real hiring insights to help teams build fairer, more thoughtful hiring processes.

    👉 https://www.willo.video/

    📺 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/-pQoGAfacxI

    💬 Follow us on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/willovideo/


    ⏱ Episode Chapters

    00:02 — What if CVs disappeared tomorrow?

    00:26 — Vanilla resumes & missed opportunities

    00:43 — Bias, LinkedIn profiles & recruiter friction

    01:08 — The cover‑letter love/hate divide

    01:18 — CVs as structure vs. limitation

    01:38 — What makes a candidate stand out today

    01:55 — Beyond experience: solving ambiguity + panel comfort

    02:30 — Candidate choice & PurposeMed’s AI‑guided screening

    02:53 — Using AI to improve equity and conversation quality

    03:14 — Looms, burden, and candidate trust

    03:40 — A world without CVs: video as the new first impression

    04:14 — Employers must evolve if candidates are expected to

    04:34 — What CVs miss & layering deeper context

    05:00 — Closing thoughts: modern hiring, modern tools


    📌 We’ve got plenty more hot takes, so if you enjoyed this episode, follow/subscribe and leave a quick rating or review. Are you a talent leader and want to be on the show? Let us know!

    Show Resources

    • Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
    • CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
    • Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host
    Show More Show Less
    6 mins
  • Plan Earlier, Hire Smarter - Emergency Hires Can Really Sabotage Great Decisions (S2E11)
    Dec 10 2025

    Hiring rarely fails because teams don't care-it fails because decisions get rushed. In this episode, Tia Fomenoff (VP of People at PurposeMed) breaks down why reactive hiring, charisma bias, and burnout quietly undermine great teams-and how people leaders can plan ahead instead.

    In this episode we’ll talk about

    • Why waiting too long to hire turns roles into "emergencies"
    • How reactive hiring leads to burnout and poor decision-making
    • The hidden bias toward charismatic candidates-and how it shows up in interviews
    • Why introverted candidates often outperform louder ones
    • How PurposeMed is thinking about AI, automation, and human-first hiring for 2026

    👤 Guest Bio

    Tia Fomenoff is the VP of People at PurposeMed, where she's helping build an accessible, compassionate healthcare system for underserved communities through brands like Freddy, Freida, and Fourier. With a non-traditional path spanning nonprofit work, digital marketing, and scaling teams at Unbounce, Buffer, and Thinkific each from 20 employees over 500, Tia brings a people-first, practical approach to hiring, culture, and growth.

    👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiafomenoff/

    🎧 About the Show

    Looks Good on Paper is a Willo-powered podcast where talent leaders and founders share real hiring insights to help teams build fairer, more thoughtful hiring processes.

    👉 https://www.willo.video/


    📺 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/-pQoGAfacxI

    💬 Follow us on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/willovideo/


    ⏱ Episode Chapters

    00:00 - Welcome & intro to Tia Fomenoff

    00:47 - From nonprofit work to tech & people leadership

    02:48 - Why Tia joined PurposeMed

    03:41 - The biggest hiring mistake: waiting too long

    05:25 - Reactive hiring, burnout, and exhausted leaders

    06:09 - Planning proactively with hiring managers

    07:47 - Hidden bias: charisma vs substance

    09:56 - How introverted candidates get overlooked

    10:50 - Can you remove CVs from hiring?

    11:25 - Application questions, cover letters, and effort

    13:10 - Offering candidates choice in interviews

    14:45 - Hiring trends for 2026: AI with intention

    16:40 - Long-term sourcing and building pipelines early

    17:10 - Wrap-up and what's next


    📌 We’ve got plenty more hot takes, so if you enjoyed this episode, follow/subscribe and leave a quick rating or review. Are you a talent leader and want to be on the show? Let us know!

    Show Resources

    • Willo: willo.video - The most cost-effective way to screen candidates at scale. Interview candidates anywhere & at any time
    • CV Free Toolkit: cvfree.me/join - Break up with the CV and get everything you need to modernize your hiring approach with skills-based assessments
    • Anita Chauhan: linkedin.com/in/anitachauhan - Connect with the host
    Show More Show Less
    18 mins
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