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

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

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