Twenty-Four Months Dusty

I could not immediately recite where to change system limits on an OpenBSD box.

That bothered me less than the interview made it sound like it should.

The phone screen had focused on granular systems-administration questions. I had expected a role that mixed hands-on work with architecture and larger technical decisions. The interview sounded more like maintaining systems beside two other administrators with little input into the direction.

I asked for clarification. What was the actual title? What would I own? Was this the job we had discussed or a different one?

The answer was encouraging, but I also wanted to address the rusty parts directly.

I had spent most of the previous two years in a director-level role at Beatport. I still worked on the systems, but some commands and file locations that had once been automatic were now twenty-four months dusty in my head.

Give me a terminal and the problem would come back quickly. I could use the system, read the logs, search what I did not remember, and implement the change. Ask me to recite the location of a setting with no machine in front of me and I might hesitate.

I suggested a screen-sharing session. Let somebody watch me work instead of treating quick recall as the only proof that I could solve the problem.

That was the honest version. I wanted more day-to-day technical work again. I wanted to learn a new environment and improve its availability. I also wanted room to contribute beyond a ticket queue.

The interview did not need a fake answer. It needed a better test.