Classy Llama shouts from the rooftops about how much they value culture, transparency, and open communication. I think they doth protest too much. I found their one-man hiring team and HR department, such as it is, to be wildly unresponsive and extremely unprofessional with slow and unclear responses (when they promise the opposite) and ultimately taking an approach of just ghosting candidates who they’ve been otherwise positive towards throughout. I personally experienced this, and afterwards, spoke with two other professionals who were treated the same way. They get to take an interesting defense to this poor tactic by hiding behind, “Well everyone inside loves our culture, so if you don’t like something about us it just goes to show you weren’t a good fit.” Fair point, and having seen how they handle the HR process, I’m relieved I wasn’t a good fit. I’m actually curious whether company leadership knows how poorly their HR reflects on them as a company, but based on some of the questions and responses from company leadership, I wonder whether they would even care. Development, technology, and e-commerce are a small world, especially in a community of this size. If I’m ever in a position as a customer to need the services they offer, I’d genuinely go literally anywhere else because I’d be afraid that their HR is just an extension of how they might handle other aspects of their business.

Classy Llama's interview process is thorough, and may seem intrusive to some. They take great care to dig deep into the person, not just check boxes on a skill sheet. But rest assured it's because they're working to ensure a job fit AND cultural fit. My interview process was pretty typical: phone screen with recruiter/HR, phone conversation with hiring manager, then video conference with leadership. There were a couple extra pieces that included a psychology type test (Enneagram) and questionnaire meant to explore some motivations and other interests. The process and their genuine interest left an impression. I will keep a close eye on their openings and keep in contact with the team because they're good people doing great work, and it's definitely a place where I could see myself. I simply had two other offers that more closely aligned with some short-term professional interests.