Hiring Me

A Little More About Me

I’m organized and meticulous. I enjoy troubleshooting. I don’t panic. I have a knack for seeing both the trees and the forest.

The more I learn the more I realize how little I know. I don’t pretend to know everything. I have a lot of generalist and deeper than a tip-of-the-iceberg knowledge, but I am not a subject matter expert (SME) in all areas. My admin experience is self-taught through reverse engineering and study.

I’m house-broken, trainable, and available for adoption. In a healthy environment where I can contribute and learn, I’m a good return on investment. Sort of.

On Being a Good Culture Fit

I more or less am retired from the “rat race.” I am not much of a believer in the “generation gap” theory, but I recognize I no longer am a “good culture fit.” I am not a “yes man.” I have a low tolerance for baloney and treating people like field hands. If I were to return to employment I would look for a coaching or mentoring role, but only in certain environments.

I haven’t used Windows at home since 2009 and professionally since 2011. I can use Windows and work with others who use Windows, but I’m not warm and fuzzy about Windows. That is my comfort zone and preferences.

My first love is writing, but I’m not interested in using a Windows tool chain. Some years ago I accepted I was unlikely to return to professional technical writing because of the Windows tool chain presumption in many writing environments.

Can I support Windows? Yes, but do not ask me to use Windows as a daily driver or tool chain.

Likewise with computer administration. Linux matches my personality and mindset. I’m at home in a Linux terminal window and tinkering with config files. I am not interested in being called a Linux Admin because I maintain two Linux systems along with dozens of Windows systems.

Now for the nitty gritty.

The modern employment culture depicted in online job postings with nonsensical jargon is discouraging and degrading. “Meat market” is an appropriate term. Querying job postings is almost impossible without using applicant tracking system (ATS) screening software. Post personal information online when few people in this day of data mining and tracking give a damn about privacy? No thanks -- I have done well for decades with little more than phone calls and hand shakes. I have no desire to use third party services when I cannot control how personal information is stored or used. That includes instant messaging and video conferences.

Nor am I playing an insulting game of multiple interviews without knowing the package.

Online job postings make my eyes water. I get exhausted reading job postings with the following nonsense:

Required to be passionate or obsessed.
Applicants are expected to live to work rather than work to live.
Applicants are expected to work hard and play hard.
In “fast growing” environments people are expected to work 60+ hours/week and get paid for working 35 hours/week.
Being paid 35 hours/week to avoid benefit packages.
In “fast paced” environments people are expected to resemble a ping pong ball.
Managing multiple projects and interruptions is insufficient. Instead people are expected to defy the laws of physics to “multi-task.”
Do managers truly believe that “standing up” during meetings is productive?
Applicants are expected to be rock stars.
Getting along with most people is insufficient. Applicants are expected to be “team players” who roll over, lick boots, and wet themselves.
Postings filled with useless government cakewalk contract jobs.
Postings filled with bragging about receiving startup funding — companies where owners seek only to ride venture capitalists for the short-term and sell the stock.
Entry level job postings — then explicitly detailing experience that is far beyond entry level experience.
People are expected to consider employment as the means of defining who they are as people.

I don’t wear a tinfoil hat, but my privacy is important. My online presence is through aliases. I avoid tools and software provided by data mining and tracking experts. Creating online accounts is not going to happen. I never had Facebook or Linkedin accounts. I’m uncomfortable using my given name with online and cloud accounts (Google, Facebook, Slack, Skype, WhatsApp, Teams, Office 365, whatever). I’m an old fashioned email and telephone user.

I am not an automaton. I am not a dinosaur. I am not a grumpy old man. I do not shake fists at clouds. I am a human being with a dependable baloney detector. I expect dignity and respect because that is how I treat others.

Feel free to contact me if everything above is agreeable.