Radik Makhmudov

A Technical Interview I Want to Remember

I’m writing this down while the details are still fresh. Not because I’m afraid I’ll forget the day itself-I probably never will-but because memory has a way of smoothing out the rough edges, and sometimes those edges matter the most.

On June 23rd, I had a technical interview for a Senior Cloud Support Engineer position. I genuinely wanted that job. Not just because of the salary or the company. I wanted my profession back.

Over the last few years, life required me to take on whatever work was available while continuing to study, build labs, and work on infrastructure projects during evenings and late nights. Every new Linux skill, every storage lab, every networking exercise happened on my own time.

I wanted to get back to a place where learning new technologies wasn’t something I squeezed into the end of the day—it was simply part of my job again.

I’d spent weeks preparing. Linux, Networking, Storage, Virtualization, Hands-on labs.

For the first time in a long while, I felt ready. Then life happened.

A few days before the interview, I was continuing another migration of 21 virtual machines from KVM to Proxmox. (The entire project consists of almost 70 virtual machines. 4 PVE + 2 PBS).

One of the hosts was using an LACP bond with a bridge on top. Everything had been stable for days until two production microservices suddenly stopped working.

I moved the services to older hardware to keep users online and started troubleshooting.

What I expected to be a quick investigation turned into an all-night debugging session.

Eventually I traced the issue back to an L2 switch behaving in ways that made no sense. I upgraded the firmware, rebuilt the LAG configuration from scratch, and everything came back to life.

I looked at the clock and It was around 6:00 AM. I went to bed. I woke up around eleven, had breakfast.

Thought to myself that, despite the lack of sleep, I’d solved a difficult production issue.

Then it was time for the interview.

Bluetooth headphones, Zoom, Camera, Microphone – everything looked ready. Until Jeff started talking. My Bluetooth audio kept cutting out.

After struggling through the first minute, I apologized and asked if I could reboot my laptop. Windows immediately decided it was the perfect time to install updates. I force-powered the machine off and hoped it would boot again. Fortunately, it did.

Unfortunately, Bluetooth was still unusable. I switched to the laptop speakers and we moved on.

The interview task arrived as a ZIP archive containing instructions and a private SSH key.

I launched MobaXterm. Instead of a terminal, I got file errors. Not exactly what I wanted to see with people watching.

I remembered I had another SSH client on a local file share, copied the key over, and then… blank. I couldn’t remember the command-line option to specify an identity file.

Normally I’d type it without thinking. This time Jeff had to remind me. Then he reminded me that the private key needed 600 permissions. Ironically, I’d already thought about that.

I just convinced myself I could skip it because I felt pressured by time.

That was another mistake.

Then they asked me to share my screen and explain everything I was thinking while I worked.

I had my laptop connected to a 27-inch monitor. Normally that’s comfortable. That day it wasn’t.

Dragging windows between displays caused delays, the cursor disappeared and everything felt slow.

And then my brain decided to make things even worse.

A completely unrelated thought appeared: “Did I actually save my KeePass database after changing all those root passwords yesterday?”

That was the moment I lost my focus. Jeff continued giving hints.

I continued typing. But I wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. Eventually Jeff said our time was up. I apologized for the chaos. Thanked both engineers and disconnected.

The first thing I did afterward was open KeePass. Everything was there. The passwords had been saved. I took a deep breath.

Almost immediately, the laptop seemed perfectly normal again.

The displays behaved, the cursor stopped disappearing and then I noticed something unexpected. My SSH session was still alive.

I finished the task. Started the web service. Verified that everything worked.

About a minute later, the SSH session was closed from the other side.

I don’t know whether that interview helped or hurt my chances.

What I do know is that it taught me something I’ll probably remember for the rest of my career.

That day wasn’t about Linux. It wasn’t about SSH. It wasn’t about permissions or networking – I knew those things.

The real challenge was managing myself under pressure.

• Lack of sleep.
• Technical issues with my own equipment.
• Time pressure.
• A production incident only hours earlier.

Each problem was small. Together they became something much larger.

Looking back now, I don’t think this story is about a failed interview.

It’s about someone trying to find his way back into the profession he loves.

And regardless of what happened after that interview, I know one thing for certain.

I never stopped moving in that direction.

One of the best indicators of a properly configured mail server is consistent positive DMARC feedback from other providers — and that’s exactly what I’m seeing from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and others.

I’ve configured my mail system with best practices:

• SPF — to validate sending IPs;

• DKIM — to sign emails with a cryptographic signature;

• DMARC — to enforce policy and unify SPF + DKIM checks.

My domain also includes reverse DNS records, working postmaster and abuse addresses, and automated DMARC report aggregation for ongoing monitoring.

The result: my emails are reliably delivered, rarely flagged as spam, and seen as trustworthy. This is especially important for customer communication, booking forms, and service confirmations.

✅ If your DMARC reports show SPF and DKIM as “pass”, you’re in great shape.
📬 If not — everything can be configured from scratch, and I’d be happy to help.

While I’m currently seeking a new opportunity in IT, I stay active and productive — for myself and for future clients. I’m not just waiting: I’m sharpening my skills, automating routine tasks, and most importantly, working on my personal project: itbumper.com.

The site is already live and functioning. Through it, you can:

• explore the services I provide;

• book appointments for computer repair, Wi-Fi setup, video surveillance, IT audits, and more;

• review service policies and document templates;

• contact me directly without calling — I usually respond quickly to messages.

This project is more than just a website. It’s how I stay sharp, move forward, and offer real value — even during times of transition.

If you’re curious how I’ve implemented certain features on the site or have suggestions for improvements — feel free to reach out. I’m always open to feedback and ideas!