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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.
61 Episodes
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Jim Miller, VP of People & Talent at Ashby, joins Anita to unpack what’s really broken in modern hiring—from over-indexing on referrals to misusing AI in recruiting. If you’re a founder, talent leader, or recruiter, this one’s a playbook episode. What you’ll learn in this episode: Why over-relying on employee referrals can quietly damage quality of hire, talent density, and cultureHow Ashby designs job postings and closing dates to review 100% of applicants fairlyA practical framework for...
Clio’s hiring engine: real talk with Alyssa-Marie Lefebre (Senior TA Specialist, Clio). How a 1,700-person legaltech scales recruiting without losing the human. In this episode you’ll learn: The difference between culture fit and culture add—and how to interview for it.How to kill ambiguity bias with clear interview guides and prep.Why CVs/LinkedIn are useful and a “map of biases”—plus fair alternatives.Tactics for true candidate care at volume (prep calls, feedback loops).The TA stack behind...
Summary: Golden Ventures’ Alison Kaizer joins host Anita Chauhan to talk about why early-stage founders keep hiring the wrong people, and how to fix it. From AI aptitude to structured interviews to CV-free hiring, this quick-hit episode challenges every old rule of recruiting. You’ll Learn: • Why resume and pedigree bias still plague startups. • How AI aptitude outweighs tenure and titles. • The difference between experience and problem-solving ability. • How to build a CV-free interview...
What if your best hire lists 4 years on paper, but delivers 8 years of outcomes? Miovision’s Global Talent Acquisition Manager Justin Krulicki, breaks down why tenure and industry bias are quietly derailing your hiring process, and how a 90-second video intro can beat a CV before you even read it. In this episode you’ll learn: - Why “years served” is a weak signal, and what better metrics to use - How to cleanly structure interviews into Technical ▪ People ▪ Values (without overlapp...
What if your best hire doesn’t “fit” your culture—they add to it? Microsoft Canada’s Kree Govender shares a practical stack you can try this month: - hire culture add (not clones), - test with the Three A’s: Attitude, Aptitude, Assimilation (to change), - run STAR interviews with independent panels to avoid groupthink, - use AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to surface hidden bias, - and swap vanilla CVs for 90-second video/audio intros that actually show how people think. In this...
Anuj Rastogi is a sales and revenue leader turned talent strategist who helps purpose-driven founders and HR leaders scale their teams. As Managing Director at BackStretch, he's seen firsthand how companies unknowingly sabotage their hiring by chasing the "obvious" candidate. In this conversation, Anuj breaks down the three critical hiring mistakes that even progressive companies make—and why the person who looks perfect on paper is often the wrong choice. From a retail worker who became a to...
Daneal Charney is a fractional HR executive and leadership coach who has seen hundreds of tech companies navigate their hiring challenges. After 10 years in the Toronto tech ecosystem, including her role as Executive in Residence at MaRS, she now helps fast-growth companies build high-performing leadership teams. In this episode, she breaks down the three biggest hiring mistakes that keep companies stuck in broken patterns. Daneal reveals why we consistently hire based on what we can see rat...
What happens when 9 of Canada’s top hiring leaders get brutally honest about bias? During Tech for Canada Conference, we captured raw, unfiltered insights from executives at Microsoft, Deloitte, True Search, and more. From “pedigree bias” to companies getting “completely blindsided” by famous names, these behind-the-scenes conversations reveal the hidden forces sabotaging your talent strategy. The most eye-opening revelations include: Simon De Baene (Workleap) admitting companies get “complet...
David Hiford, Lead Talent Acquisition at Hitachi Rail, challenges the dangerous assumption that experience always equals competence. With nearly four years in recruitment across New Zealand and the UK, David has witnessed firsthand how companies miss out on exceptional talent by refusing to consider career switchers, from engineers becoming project managers to military personnel transitioning to civilian roles. In this episode, David reveals the hidden conformity bias that's creating homogeno...
Derek Polowyj from Eden Scott brings a unique perspective to hiring, having studied recruitment as part of his graduate apprenticeship while working full-time in deep technology recruitment. His academic approach combined with real-world experience recruiting for everything from space tech to AI companies gives him fascinating insights into why traditional hiring keeps failing. Derek reveals the "red pen exercise" that transforms bloated job descriptions into focused requirements, exposing ho...
Joshua Sklüt, Chief People Officer and co-founder of MyStandard, joins us to discuss how traditional hiring methods are fundamentally broken. As the creator of the first employment and talent acquisition service built on Web3 technology, Josh argues that platforms like LinkedIn have become "the Tinder of recruiting" - focusing on superficial details rather than actual ability to do the job. Josh reveals the biggest hiring mistakes companies make, from reactive hiring decisions driven by despe...
Adam Gellert, founder of Linkus Group and the talent marketplace Hipo (previously HiredHippo), joins us to share insights from his two decades in the recruiting space. With a mission to build the greatest marketplace of pre-vetted diverse, high-potential candidates, Adam is reshaping the job application process with a focus on candidate experience. His expertise spans from helping startups hire their first employee to supporting companies scaling to 250+ people. In this eye-opening conversati...
In this provocative episode of 'Looks Good on Paper,' hosts Woody and Anita explore the demise of the traditional job advertisement with Christine Spagnuolo, founder of The Sorelle Group and a veteran headhunter with 18 years of experience. Christine boldly declares job ads a "waste of time" and "outdated, broken system," explaining why she hasn't posted one in over a decade. Christine dismantles the "post and pray" approach, revealing how it creates fatigue for both employers and candidates,...
We sit down with Martin Hauck, a fractional HR consultant at the Purple Umbrella and the founder of the People People Group, a community of 5,000+ HR, recruitment, and operations professionals across North America. Martin brings his extensive experience in reimagining recruitment processes and building supportive HR communities. In this episode, we explore why traditional hiring practices often fail and how companies can make meaningful improvements to their recruitment strategies. Martin sha...
We sit down with Theo Smith, celebrated recruiter and co-founder of Neurodiversity World, a company that helps clients create inclusive and thriving neuro inclusive work environments. Theo is also an award-winning author of Neurodiversity at Work, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and a podcast host of Neurodiversity with Theo Smith, where he share lived experiences and expertise on neurodiversity. In this episode, we deep dive into how recruiters and talent leaders can help create a better proce...
Welcome to Looks Good on Paper! The podcast that's flipping the script on traditional hiring. Join hosts Anita Chauhan and Andrew "Woody" Wood as we explore, prod, and encourage a deeper look into current hiring practices (and learn from the greats along the way!). In this introductory episode, we set the stage for the podcast's mission by discussing why CVs—dating back to 1483—and the so-called "perfect candidate" can be misleading. We break down three core issues with traditional CV-focuse...
In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Artimese Braddy Lawrence, Coordinator of Human Resources at Tyler ISD, the largest school district in Northeast Texas. Artimese discusses the broad range of recruitment responsibilities in the school district, from hiring teachers to custodial staff and bus drivers. Within the educational sector there are some unique challenges, including finding quality candidates who are genuinely interested in working with children. We e...
In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Joe Atkinson, Founder at PURPL, a peer-to-peer learning platform built by talent acquisition for talent acquisition professionals. They specialize in upskilling recruiters with practical, time-efficient & industry relevant training. The episode delves into Joe's journey from his passion for startups to identifying a gap in professional training for recruiters. PURPL emerges as a solution, offering a platform for recruiter...
In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Robert Garner, Director at Abstraction Labs, a recruitment website design & development firm. We discuss his transition from a career in recruitment to becoming a software developer and eventually starting his own web design business. Robert shares his diverse experiences, from selling recruitment advertising and working in media recruitment to launching a job board and moving into talent acquisition and software developme...
In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Ahva Sadeghi, CEO/Co-founder at Symba, an innovative onboarding and talent management platform. She highlights how Symba has grown from its initial conception of remote internships to focusing on new hire readiness in order to allow individuals to be productive from day one. She shares insights into the challenges faced during the initial years of launching her startup and how customer feedback played a crucial role in expan...
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