Who Am I?
A Christian
First and foremost, I am a Christian.
Many complain about "Christians" for being hypocrites -- and they are
right. I do not associate with individuals who say one thing and do
another.
In business, this means that I strive to be upright and honest in all my dealings.
If I say I will do something, I will do my utmost to follow through.
If I am in error -- if I have a wrong attitude, if
I have offended someone, if I have been unjust -- I want someone to
clearly point this out to me, and I want the opportunity to correct my
error.
In summary, I strive to be dependable, honest and trustworthy.
A Hard WorkerI like to work. Perhaps too much sometimes. Maybe I shouldn't advertise this because of the potential for abuse, but an employer would find out soon enough: I
like working. That
means I'll work over -- and even off the clock, if it's not against policy --
if I'm working on something. If some issue takes longer
than expected to correct, I'll stay as long as needed to get it done.
There have been a number of times an executive would have a computer
problem, and it would turn out that his computer was missing lots of
updates; I'd wait until he left for the day and install them, even if
it took until late in the evening. On occasion, I've even left for some
after-hours appointment and come back later to finish. Unless it came up, my boss only knew that the problem had been resolved, not that I'd worked late.
But With A Personal LifeAbove, I mentioned that I left for an after-hours appointment. That's because I like to do things other than just work. I do stuff with friends and family. I like games (mostly offline games, board games, cards, indoor sports -- anything with people, and not so much the geek-stereotypical video games).
I do not live in my parents' basement, and have not lived with them for almost ten years -- except for brief periods while home from college, and a few months before my after-college job started and I could get my own place. In fact, I currently own my home and have several pets.
Family, friends, church, charitable activities -- I tend to stay busy.
BalancedAs I said above, I strive to be dependable -- if I say I'll do something or be somewhere, I'll follow through, even if doing so keeps me busy. If I can't do what I said, I want to let them know as soon as I can, whether it be related to work or play. Which comes up regularly in jobs when I'm on-call 24/7; there have been many times I've had to let someone know I couldn't keep a personal appointment because a work issue has arisen.
What Can I Offer?
Technology Support
I have spent the past 16 years -- since 1993 -- providing technology support to a wide variety of organizations and individuals, and I studied computers in-depth -- hardware and software, including programming -- for ten years before that.
Whether it be PCs or Macs, stand-alone or networked, desktops, laptops, or servers, I probably have experience supporting it. My first personal PC-based experiences were with DOS 2.01, and my first work experiences were with DOS 4.01 and Windows 3.0. Since then, I have supported every desktop version and most server versions of Windows and most versions of Macintosh. To lesser extents, I have worked with AS/400, OS/2, Linux and Solaris (UNIX).
I have supported users and installed systems in a wide variety of environments, from cubical farms to manufacturing floors, from testing labs to executive offices.
Network Implementation and Administration
I have handled networking as long as I have computers, since my first job with computers involved networking -- everything from running 10mb coax cable to installing Novell NetWare servers and installing and configuring clients. More recently I have been involved with planning and implementing Cisco-powered VLAN configurations.
Server Administration
Just as a few examples: My first computer job involved setting up NetWare networks from scratch. My last salaried job involved regular administration on seven Solaris servers and interaction with additional Windows and SUSE Linux servers. My last contract job (other than a one-day project) involved documentation of and user management with several thousand Windows Active Directory objects and Exchange accounts.
ProgrammingAs I mentioned above, I programmed on my own before I even had formal education on the subject -- and before I even had a PC, for that matter -- I used BASIC on a TI-99/4A connected to my TV.
Since then, I have obtained three college-level degrees in Computer Information Systems and have studied a variety of languages from C to COBOL to Visual Basic (including scripting). My last salaried position offered the challenge of working with Recital -- a database management system running on Solaris which used a subset of C. I needed to not only create a variety of database structures, but the server-run user applications to access and manipulate them.
Flexibility
I like to get things done. If the job requires that I sit at a desk all day, I can do that. If users need hands-on support a half-mile walk away, I can do that. If power needs to be run, I'll be glad to do it myself. If a conference center needs A/V integration, no problem. If a video needs to be created, it just adds variety to the job. If I haven't done it before, no problem -- I'll figure it out. And I'll do a good job.
Personal Interest
Across the years, I have been surprised at the technologists I have encountered who don't
like technology. People who can't stand to look at a computer at home, because they have just spent all day looking at one at work.
I like technology. I leave work and go home to use my computer there too. I check my email -- and respond to people, when appropriate. I look stuff up, like recipes or suggestions on how to cook something I want to fix for dinner. I'll watch a TV show that I recorded in advance -- so I can skip the commercials.
And I like to have fun with technology. Most of my home entertainment electronics are connected to my computer. I have a WiFi radio, so I can listen to media off my computer in another room (or I can listen to radio stations from a city I may plan to relocate to, so I can learn more of the area). I have a computer in my kitchen. I have a computer in my basement. And I have a Windows Mobile device as a notepad that I keep in my pocket.
I have a blog with technology comments, though I don't make regular posts there. I make a post when something particularly interesting comes up. And I have this web page.
Conclusion
Whether your need is for a support technician, a programmer or a network engineer, or if you need something different but in some way related to computing technology, I'm up to the task. I'll do what you need, and I'll do it well.
If you think I can be of help in your organization, please don't hesitate to ask. I will readily relocate for a good opportunity.
My résumé, Word 2003 (DOC) My résumé, Adobe Portable Documemt Format (PDF)Email:
Michael@MichaelPollard.org.
Phone: 678-636-9748