What risks did you take, and where did they lead you in recruiting?

The job of recruiting is an art, not a science. And like all arts, it's hard to teach or even talk about.

When you're interviewing candidates for a job at your startup, it's easy to feel like you're on a roller-coaster.

For one thing, the stakes are high: you need this person to work out, and working out means more than just doing the job well.

A single hire can change your whole company's trajectory.

You also feel like you've got limited time and limited information to make a big decision. And the candidate is in an equally difficult position: taking a job at a startup means signing up to take a risk, and most people want to minimize their risks.

You're both trying to figure out whether the other party is trustworthy over the long term; how smart they are; how much they know about your business, and whether they'll be able to learn what they don't already know; and whether their values will fit with yours.

There is no formula for making this kind of decision, but here are some guidelines I've found useful:

Risk

What risks did you take, and where did they lead you?