Looks Good on Paper
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.
Looks Good on Paper
Same Work, Same Pay: Float’s Julia Fulton Talks Pay Transparency and Why Cover Letters Stink (S2E9)
This week Julia Fulton (Float) joins us on Looks Good on Paper to break down why hiring in 2025 has got to shift away from praising perfection, to rewarding potential. From compensation transparency to why she’s never read a cover letter, Julia breaks down what top teams are doing (and should be doing) differently in 2025.
In this week's episode we'll cover:
- Why sharing compensation upfront changes everything for candidates (and why everybody deserves to know)
- How hiring the "perfect fit" conceals the hidden bias that limits team growth
- What might help replace the CV - and why authentic responses matter more
👧🏻 Guest Bio
Julia Fulton is the Talent Manager at Float, a global, async-first company whose philosophy is all about doing your best work, while living your best work life. Float is fast on the rise, and for Julia, it’s all about championing the candidate experience, and having complete transparency — rooted in her own path into tech, and the belief that great hiring balances rigor with undoubtable humanity.
📄 About Looks Good on Paper / Willo
Looks Good on Paper is your weekly source for hot takes from modern talent leaders, recruiters, and powered by Willo, the async video platform helping teams hire faster-and more thoughtfully-at scale.
Chapters
00:00 – Intro to Looks Good on Paper & Julia Fulton (Float)
00:54 – Julia’s hiring philosophy and Float’s async global model
02:15 – Biggest hiring mistake: hiding compensation + key details
03:45 – The “Spider-Man meme” salary dance and why it’s broken
04:26 – Float’s radical transparency + public employee handbook
04:45 – “Same work, same pay” across geographies
06:38 – Candidate experience, no ghosting, and re-engaging talent
08:03 – Hidden bias: hiring perfection vs. growth potential
09:41 – Non-traditional backgrounds and the skills we underestimate
11:41 – If CVs disappeared: application questions & Loom alternatives
14:19 – Why generic cover letters (even AI ones) fail
16:18 – Letting candidates present in their strength format
17:38 – Role skills vs. interview skills
18:12 – AI in hiring: where it helps and where humans stay vital
19:49 – Going analog again: protecting voice and culture
20:37 – BoBo the cat cameo + wrap-up
Are you a talent leader and want to be on the show? Let us know!
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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
