Got this email in last night and it really underscored just how off-target some of the job opportunities that have come my way really are:
From: diceletter at dice.com
Subject: NATO Windows Systems Engineer – Mons, Belgium
To: Mark TurnerHi Mark,
I scanned through your resume and thought you may be a fit for one of our open positions NATO in Mons, Belgium
The System Engineer will require experienced IT security professionals to be part of this leading edge capability for Cyber Defence. Working as part of an incident management team you would be part of the operational support at the sharp end of the NATO Computer Incident Response Centre (NCIRC).
This role entails 220 work days a year and a 7.6 hour workday. Plenty of time to see Europe – and hour drive from Paris and Germany. You get 25 paid days of vacation a year (five weeks) plus 16 additional paid holidays ? that?s 41 paid days off to explore Europe
You can find more information and apply online via the following link if interested:
Please visit
[link redacted]You may also just reply to this email or give me a call at [number redacted].
Thanks!
[name redacted]
Now, I’m sure NATO could use some help. Russia has some top-notch hackers and the current nationalistic fever over there is causing some of them to target NATO infrastructure. However, while I’ve got Windows skills so do many thousands of other IT people. My resume doesn’t highlight my Windows prowess because I prefer to admin the Linux world. Regardless, the bigger issue is that Mons, Belgium is decidedly not Raleigh. I’m sure it’s a wonderful city; my brother lived in Belgium for a time and enjoyed it. However, when I’m not even looking at jobs in Durham I’m certainly not going to consider Belgium.
How any employer or recruiter could decide I’m a good fit for a Windows Sysadmin position in Belgium boggles the mind.