https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog Practical hiring insight from Cheri Kruger on technical recruiting, cleared and defense hiring, AI and ML roles, and building engineering teams that stick. en-us Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/dod-skillbridge-employer-guide/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/dod-skillbridge-employer-guide/ SkillBridge lets you work with a transitioning service member for up to 180 days while the military keeps paying them. Here is how the program works, whether your company qualifies, and how to apply. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-defense-tech-startups-hire-cleared-engineers/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-defense-tech-startups-hire-cleared-engineers/ Defense tech funding hit records in 2026 and every startup wants cleared engineers. Here is who you are really competing with, where the pool is, and what wins a cleared candidate when you cannot outbid Anduril. Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT industry-trends Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/continuous-vetting-hiring-cleared-engineers/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/continuous-vetting-hiring-cleared-engineers/ Continuous vetting replaced periodic reinvestigations for millions of cleared workers. Here is what it monitors, what happens when an alert fires on your new hire, and how it changes a cleared search. Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/confidential-executive-search-founding-hires/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/confidential-executive-search-founding-hires/ Some searches cannot be posted: replacing a seated executive, courting an employed leader, hiring for a stealth startup, or landing a founding engineer. Here is how a confidential search actually works. Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/simplify-your-interview-process-4-step-framework/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/simplify-your-interview-process-4-step-framework/ Cheri Kruger's 4-step interview framework for engineering hires: one owner and one decision per step, why more than four rounds signals broken internal trust, and how bloated loops lose your best candidates. Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/volume-vs-quality-what-1500-placements-taught-me/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/volume-vs-quality-what-1500-placements-taught-me/ Cheri Kruger on why resume volume is a vanity metric, why a low submittal-to-hire ratio is the real signal of recruiting quality, and what 1,500 placements taught her about candidate quality. Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-veteran-engineers-with-security-clearance/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-veteran-engineers-with-security-clearance/ A founder's guide to hiring veteran software engineers with security clearances: why they are undervalued, where to find them, and how to write reqs and interview loops that do not screen them out. Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-relationship-based-recruiting-fills-hard-to-fill-roles/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-relationship-based-recruiting-fills-hard-to-fill-roles/ A real placement story: a Solutions Engineer role sat open for nearly two years until a years-long relationship with a passive candidate closed it. What that means for your hardest search. Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-i-went-boutique-recruiter-vs-agency/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-i-went-boutique-recruiter-vs-agency/ Kruger Recruiting founder Cheri Kruger on leaving agency recruiting to go solo, why a boutique recruiter for startups moves faster than a big agency, and how to choose between them. Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/engineer-hiring-mistakes-that-cost-you-the-best-candidates/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/engineer-hiring-mistakes-that-cost-you-the-best-candidates/ Cheri Kruger on the two mistakes that quietly cost companies their best engineering candidates: hiring for pedigree over potential, and interview loops with more than four steps. Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-new-hires-fail-in-the-first-90-days/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-new-hires-fail-in-the-first-90-days/ The real reasons new hires fail in their first 90 days, what the cost of a bad hire actually is, and what the best companies do differently, from 15 years of technical recruiting. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-cleared-software-engineers/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-cleared-software-engineers/ A practical guide to hiring engineers with US security clearances: what the clearance levels mean, how long the process takes, why cleared searches are slower, and how to recruit from a fixed talent pool. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-tech-recruiter-fees-work/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-tech-recruiter-fees-work/ A plain-language guide to recruiter fees: contingency vs retained vs engaged search, what percentage you pay and when, how guarantees work, and how to tell if a fee is worth it. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-to-hire-ai-and-ml-engineers/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-to-hire-ai-and-ml-engineers/ AI engineer, ML engineer, research scientist, or data scientist? A practical guide to which AI role you actually need, what strong candidates look like, what they cost, and why these searches stall. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/nearshore-software-development-latin-america/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/nearshore-software-development-latin-america/ Why US companies hire software engineers in Latin America, how to choose between contractor, EOR, and entity models, what it costs, and how to vet talent. A practical nearshore hiring guide. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT industry-trends Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/what-is-a-founding-engineer/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/what-is-a-founding-engineer/ What a founding engineer actually is, how the role differs from a senior engineer or a CTO, how much equity and salary to offer, and how to hire your first one. A guide for early-stage founders. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-to-write-a-job-description-engineers-actually-read/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/how-to-write-a-job-description-engineers-actually-read/ Most job descriptions filter out the candidates you most want to hire. A practical guide to writing a JD that pulls strong engineers in instead of pushing them away. Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT recruiting Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-strong-engineers-dont-apply-to-your-roles/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/why-strong-engineers-dont-apply-to-your-roles/ The best engineering candidates almost never come through job boards. A working playbook for sourcing, outreach, and the candidate experience that follows. Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT hiring-insights Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/five-signals-it-is-time-for-a-new-engineering-role/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/five-signals-it-is-time-for-a-new-engineering-role/ How to tell the difference between a normal rough patch at work and a real signal that you have outgrown your current role. A practical guide for senior engineers. Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT career-growth Cheri Kruger https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-engineers-in-latam-2026-playbook/ https://krugerrecruiting.com/blog/hiring-engineers-in-latam-2026-playbook/ After hundreds of placements across LATAM, the patterns that separate teams that scale from teams that quietly fall apart. A working guide for hiring engineers in 2026. Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT industry-trends Cheri Kruger