I finished the last blog post about Nathan’s interview process at the point where I was wondering if there were any job openings at the Lampo Group that would be a fit for Nathan.
Nathan and I had tucked in the kids for the night and I decided to check out the Lampo site. He was doing something on the computer when I started reading a job description to him:
Our environment is fun, fast-paced, and hard-working. We don’t think of a team as just 4 people working together in a pod and being told what to do. Rather, our teams openly collaborate on projects, ideas, and timelines (not to mention banding together for the occasional sporadic human drum machine or round of harmonious human bagpipes).
Pushing the limits of technology is a part of the average work day. That means we expect our team members to push the envelope on their own skills as well. If you aren’t growing, you’re planting roots into your chair as the light from your screen transforms you into a mushroom… and well, who would want that!?
Then I read some of the “must-have” skills and Nathan lit up. Programming/ web/application development all the time? Then I decided that I should actually tell him what the company was and that they were in Tennessee. Bummer.
But he didn’t stop thinking about it. A couple of days later, Nathan sat down at the computer and filled out an application and submitted the requested code sample. He figured it was a long shot, but he would do it just for fun. This was about the same time as our anniversary and I decided I wanted Dave Ramsey’s new book EntreLeadership for my gift
. I read through the whole thing rather quickly. As I kept reading portions to Nathan, we became really excited and hopeful that Nathan would get a chance to interview. I knew my husband was awesome and that if they actually gave him a shot at an interview they would be impressed!
A week later, Nathan received an email requesting an initial phone interview. The kids and I jumped up and down in the kitchen when I saw the email. That kicked off a marathon interview process.
The Lampo Group has very low turnover. Excluding life changes like moving because of marriage or a spouse getting a job somewhere else or having a baby, the turnover is 4%. They want to keep it that way. That why they have a very lengthy interview process. The goal is to weed out the wrong people before they get hired. I think Nathan had about 9 interviews before he was brought onsite. He had interviews with the IT Recruiter, Director of Internet Development, Sr. Architects, and Web Team Leads. Before the process was over, I had to be interviewed, Nathan had to learn a new programming language and complete an assignment, we had to submit a budget that showed that we could live on what they were offering us, Nathan did a personality test and I had to have a spousal interview.
Here I am getting ready for my Skype interview:

When I proved to them that I was not crazy, they booked flights for us to fly to Tennessee so that Nathan could have a full day of interviews. Even after all those interviews, they had things to discuss! Last year, of all the applications that they received, they only hired 1%. I cannot tell you how proud I am of my husband. I knew that he was a rockstar. I’m so glad that other people have recognized it as well. Being at the Crown for so long had a lot of benefits, but it also caused Nathan to wonder about his talents and abilities. This has been so very affirming for Nathan. It’s nice to be wanted!
Tune in again when I share more fun stuff about the Lampo culture!
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