Hiring never seems to get easier as a founder. I’ve managed to fuck it up left, right, and sideways. So I took each of these fuckups and turned them into a list of questions I must answer before giving an offer. I call it my “Don’t fuck this up again you silly little man” checklist. 1) Is the job crystal clear (in terms of the 3-5 core responsibilities)? 2) Are the skills crystal clear (in terms of the 3-5 qualifications needed to do the job well)? 3) Are the deficiencies of the candidate clear? 4) Are the deficiencies a dealbreaker or is there a clear path to mitigate them? 5) Has this candidate been compared against another high quality candidate (such that the decision isn’t driven by feeling rushed or by emotion)? 6) Has this candidate demonstrated substance and not just salesmanship? 7) Does their comp make sense financially for the business? 8) If you have to fire this person in 6 months, what would the reason be? 9) How can you avoid that scenario happening?