Zhenya Kruglova

Head of Talent Acquisition at Lemon.io

About the author

Zhenya Kruglova is a talent acquisition strategist with nearly a decade of experience designing scalable hiring systems for startups, marketplaces, and tech companies across Europe and Latin America.

As Head of Talent Acquisition at Lemon.io, she leads the vetting process for top-tier engineers—making sure clients get the right talent quickly and with confidence.

With a foundation in education and mentoring, she brings both empathy and structure to her role, overseeing recruitment and talent matching teams while shaping the overall strategy behind Lemon’s developer vetting process. Her focus is not just on matching skills, but on aligning values, goals, and team fit to build partnerships that last.

Experience

At Lemon.io, Zhenya has spent 7+ years leading recruitment and vetting operations, building the foundation for a trusted marketplace of developers. She developed scalable hiring systems, trained internal recruiters, and built processes that help companies find their ideal tech partners — quickly and reliably.

Before Lemon.io, she led large-scale educational and mentoring programs, launching two major online platforms and managing distributed product teams.

Today, Zhenya continues to advise startups and scaling teams independently, helping them optimize hiring strategies for long-term success.

Great hiring isn’t just about skills. It’s about chemistry, shared values, and mutual trust.

Zhenya Kruglova

Zhenya’s latest articles

data scientist

From Good to Elite: What Makes a Top 1.2% Developer

For Employers The Hiring Process
Elite developers aren't defined by impressive resumes or years of experience—instead, they possess a rare blend of deep technical insight, forward-thinking problem-solving, and the ability to transform challenges into lasting improvements. This article reveals the key traits that set the top 1.2% apart, offering practical tips to identify developers who not only write code but also architect scalable, resilient systems for the future.
Zhenya Kruglova
Feb 6
5 min read

Beyond the Algorithm: Why Your Technical Interview Process Is Broken

For Employers The Hiring Process
Traditional technical interviews often overemphasize algorithm puzzles at the expense of real-world problem-solving and business context, filtering out truly exceptional engineering talent. This article exposes the flaws in today's interview processes and offers a fresh approach that evaluates practical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to build real products.
Zhenya Kruglova
Feb 6
8 min read
How to hire for a startup in a world of BigTech companies

Why Big Tech Names (and Certificates) Don’t Guarantee Technical Excellence

For Employers The Hiring Process
Big tech names and shiny certificates might catch your eye, but they often mask a troubling gap between theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on problem-solving. This article cuts through the credential hype to show why true technical excellence is defined by deep understanding, adaptability, and effective communication—qualities that can't be captured on a piece of paper.
Zhenya Kruglova
Feb 5
9 min read