Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing segments of information technology. The Commonwealth of Virginia has 30,000 cyber-related jobs open because of the lack of skilled candidates. The study is necessary because some business managers lack strategies for hiring cybersecurity professionals for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contracts. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies business managers in DoD contracting companies used to fill cybersecurity positions. The conceptual framework used for this study was the organizational learning theory. A purposeful sample of 8 successful business managers with cybersecurity responsibilities working for U.S. DoD contracting companies that successfully hired cybersecurity professionals in Hampton Roads, VA participated in the study. Data collection included semistructured interviews and a review of job postings from the companies represented by the participants. Coding, content, and thematic analysis were the methods used to analyze data. Within-methods triangulation was used to add accuracy to the analysis. At the conclusion of the data analysis, two main themes emerged: maintaining contractual requirements and a strong recruiting process. Contractual requirements guided how hiring managers hired cybersecurity personnel and executed the contract. A strong hiring process added efficiency to the hiring process. The findings of the study may contribute to positive social change by encouraging the recruitment and retention of cybersecurity professionals. Skilled cybersecurity professionals may safeguard businesses and society from Internet crime, thereby encouraging the safe exchange and containment of data.

Successful transition to civilian employment is a challenge for veterans. The purpose of this single case study was to explore critical aspects of hiring managers' decision-making process and to understand how these strategies and techniques affect the hiring of veterans. Tajfel and Turner's social identity theory and Lewin's organizational change model formed the conceptual framework for the study. The participants for this study were 8 hiring managers from a midsized company in the Upper Hudson Valley Region, New York. Data were collected using semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed and coded and 4 themes emerged: strategies used to fill open positions, specific recruitment and interview protocols, veterans' skills from military training, and lack of experience with hiring veterans. The study results may contribute to veteran's awareness of the skills that employers are seeking that veterans may be able to fulfill. The results of the study could create an opportunity for hiring managers to recognize that veterans represent a trained, ready-made talent pool. The social impact of the study could help hiring managers identify and design the required job description criteria to include the transferable skills of veterans.