Looks Good on Paper

9 Leaders, 1 Question, Hidden Hiring Truths: Tech for Canada Conference + Season 2 Preview

• Anita Chauhan • Season 2

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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 “completely blindsided” by famous company names, Marianne Bulger (True Search) breaking down the “pedigree trap,” and Yauhan Mehta sharing hard truths about elite education bias. Meanwhile, Anuj Rastogi (Backstretch) delivers the ultimate reality check: “Often the best hire is not the one that was most obvious.”

This exclusive supercut compilation features candid moments captured during Tech for Canada Conference interviews, giving you a preview of the powerful conversations coming in Season 2 of Looks Good on Paper - launching this month! If you’re ready to break up with the CV and discover what really matters in hiring, these insights will change how you think about talent forever.


Featured Leaders:


Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dDPDXg-HSYQ?si=il1pVFl1ECK00URB

Season 2 launches this month!


Special Thanks:

  • StartWell for providing their incredible studio space for us to capture these interviews in-person:

Show Resources

Your thoughts on what is the number one hidden bias that companies unknowingly make when it comes to hiring? We get impressed way too easily. The single word answer to that is pedigree. We almost want to hire someone who's had a similar path to us. It's mostly based on our own experiences. Often the best hire is not the one that was most obvious. Culture fit rather than a culture add. Limiting beliefs around I think what humans are capable of doing. You're not aware of the biases that you actually have. Hire people as opposed to what you see on a piece of paper. This is Looks Good on Paper, a podcast from Willo about flipping the script on traditional hiring. I'm Anita Chauhan, and every episode I put big voices in hiring work culture through three quickfire questions, speed dating style to get the habits, trends, and ideas that matter. We're usually very impressed by people who are coming from famous companies. And we get completely blindsided and we feel like that person will come to our company, change everything, and really make us successful. And I think, sometimes we get impressed way too easily. The single word answer to that is pedigree. I know you, you look like me. You look like someone I know already. And therefore, you are the answer to my problem. Check mark. Check mark. You just missed out on someone who never went to these big companies, but could have completely changed your business. We still have this I would say almost ingrained opinion that we almost want to hire someone who's had a similar path to us. And it's so difficult because there's a huge shift from where people are coming from, the schools, the education, or just going straight into the workforce. And I think there's still this element of, well I did it this way. Every manager, every people manager, every leader within a company has only worked with teams a certain number of years. So depending on what kind of contents and what kind of books and types of resources that, that people have assumed beside just leading their teams, that could definitely like be the main differentiator. Companies often focus on fit. And I think they mean well by it. But what they mean by "fit" is do people like them within this culture. And a person who's likable isn't necessarily the best person for that company or that culture. Because a resilient culture needs friction, it needs conflict. What we were talking about. It needs people who will challenge, who will make uncomfortable assertions. When we are looking for a culture fit rather than a culture add at our organization. So we should really be thinking about is it complementary to what we have today? Limiting beliefs around I think what humans are capable of doing. Realistically, I think that sit within hiring managers and then are transferred probably into talent acquisition teams around it has to be from this particular tiny lane of experience that is the only people that could possibly understand how to do this job. I've worked with these people, right? And I've seen some of them can be the brightest of people. But just lacking people skills, lacking empathy, emotional intelligence. Really, you know, fighting with each other in that rat race to get the next promotion. You're not aware of the biases that you actually have. There are so many things that we pick up on through our experiences, and we use that to inform our decision making, but that in itself is a bias. That just messes with me on a daily basis of all the things I don't know I'm doing, right? You start spiraling when you realize like, oh, wait a minute. I don't actually, you go down a rabbit hole. There are so many new talented immigrants right now who are either unemployed or underemployed. These are people who can really contribute amazing things to the company, to the Canadian society. Often the best hire is not the one that was most obvious. Maybe they actually saw like their grandparent suffer through the healthcare system and they're so deeply moved and motivated by that, that they're gonna come here and they're gonna figure things out day in and day out. The initiative, the heart. And they can't put that on their resume or their CV. It's a privilege for us to have met them. For them to share their career aspirations. They probably tell us more in that process than they tell their best friends. That's a tremendous amount of privilege to hold in our responsibility. Phenomenal experience can come from anywhere, and 9 times out of 10, unless you need a medical degree because you're a doctor. Anything else I think realistically, genuinely can be transferred. And I really think that that limiting belief is probably the biggest bias of them all. Really important to hire people, as opposed to what you see on a piece of paper. Thanks for watching our Toronto Tech Week super cut. If this conversation made you rethink how you hire even just a little bit, you'll want to catch what's coming next. Season 2 of Looks Good on Paper powered by Willo is finally here... with bigger voices, sharper takes, and unfiltered conversations about the future of hiring and more. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube and on Spotify to catch all the latest episodes. Hope to see you there!

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Andrew Wood (aka Woody)

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