the price of popularity

When we left our hero, he was lamenting the loss of five additional comrades-in-arms, all victims of the grotesquely inefficient processes of a great American IT outsourcing company. While juggling his paltry 26 servers, the tentacles of the "leveraged work environment" were closing in, threatening to eliminate the greater share of his slacker time, but, more importantly, stretching the slender veneer of sanity left in his mind. "Soon," he mused, "I shall reduce these black boxes to a giant mp3 farm dedicated to ABBA and Barry Manilow."

Lest he get comfortable in that state of dreamitude, the harsh Keepers of Value Added Revenue (aka the project managers) have quietly assigned him to two additional projects, one a disaster recovery documentation effort wherein the hero bravely creates information templates, and another where he selflessly consolidates servers in Baton Rouge with the greatest of ease.

A hero's job is never done.

cover letter

How does this sound? Too stuck up?

To the Human Resources department of Big Time Law Firm:

Please accept this communication as application for the position of Systems Administrator, as advertised in the August 20 Bloom-Picayune.

Currently I am the senior systems administrator for the local division of Defense-Tron Corporation. My daily tasks range the gauntlet from the occasional workstation maintenance and user assistance, to full out server configuration and application management. While my resume is detailed in that regard, it does not convey the added value of  my presence as a information technology professional: my desk-side manner. I believe what I do well for a living is not a matter of superior knowledge, but instead a better acquaintance with the repetitive nature of computers. To that point, I always remind my users that it is rare for a person to not be able to deal with computers. Rather it is more likely a case of just not dealing with them enough.

As to why I am looking at the job market right now, I would simply reply that the time is probably ripe to search for new horizons in my career. Perhaps we can discuss that idea in an interview. My resume is attached to this email for your review.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,

Penguin in New Orleans