To all my fellow Americans, happy Independence Day!

Much has been written and blogged this day, and I have enjoyed reading what my fellow authors have had to say. No one has been more eloquent than Peggy Noonan in her excellent editorial in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. It is titled “A Cold Man’s Warm Words” with a subtitle of “Jefferson’s tender lament didn’t make it into the Declaration.” And what exactly was Jefferson’s “tender lament”?

The Declaration of Independence went through numerous edits. Jefferson was a prolific writer. The committee that was the Continental Congress expunged much of what he wrote to come up with what we now recognize as the Declaration of Independence. Yet, per Peggy Noonan’s article, the editors went one step too far in eliminating this tender phrase:

We might have been a free and great people together.

Fortunately for all involved, the United States and Great Britain have had an unusually close bond for the lion’s share of the 234 years that have elapsed since that fateful hot-and-humid summer day in Philadelphia, especially in recent decades.

So just what do we mean by independence? For that matter, what about dependence and interdependence?

I have had the privilege of enjoying season tickets to Portsmouth’s exceptional local gem, the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, for nearly a decade. Just yesterday I saw “Rent.” If you are anywhere near Portsmouth, N.H., run, don’t walk, to the SRT box office to get your tickets to “Rent.” It is a phenomenal performance.

Knowing that “Rent” was coming up, I noticed that the movie was playing on cable, so I recorded it and watched it the two nights before Saturday’s matinée performance at SRT. The music is loud and engaging. In the movie, however, the music often overwhelmed the lyrics, making them hard to hear. Fortunately, Seacoast Rep’s production was much more decipherable (although they would have been even better at 5 or 10 decibels lower … just a suggestion).

And what was the message? Well, for those who know “Rent,” part of the message is self-serving and narcissistic in the Bohemians’ desire to live lives of irresponsibility. And yet, as I ponder the play’s message this Independence Day, isn’t that part of what comes with declaring one’s independence from the powers that be?

True freedom comes with the recognition of shared responsibility—interdependence. A quote often attributed to Margaret Thatcher is, “Socialism is the best form of government until you run out of other people’s money.” This would seem to be the quintessence of irresponsibility, expecting others to pick up one’s own tab. With freedom comes responsibility, there are no two ways about it.

So, this Independence Day, vow to play your part in your own success. No one cares more about your success than you.

And do go see “Rent” at Seacoast Repertory Theatre. It is perhaps the best production I have seen there yet. Well done, Seacoast Rep! I love you!

Who hates to write? I’m beginning to think that fewer and fewer people enjoy writing these days. Face it, we all take shortcuts: in electronic communications, you is often shortened to u, are becomes r, and so forth.

Am I the only one who finds this irritating? Doesn’t anyone write in full sentences any more?

Lest I get sidetracked early on, the purpose of this post is to inspire you to find your inner author. There is great power in the written word.

As you know, one of the hats I wear is website developer. I am currently leaning heavily towards recommending WordPress as a content management system or CMS. Consequently, most of the sites I am developing these days are driven by WordPress. I tend to attract Web clients who don’t want to have to rely on an outside webmaster to make minor changes to their sites. With the Thesis theme that I recommend, this is especially easy to do.

Yet these same clients often balk at the idea of posting periodic blog updates, themselves. “You want me to write? I hate writing!” From a purely technological standpoint, I strongly encourage such clients to overcome their dislike of writing. I say technological, because search engines love blogs! Search engines are always searching for fresh content to index, and what better way to bring their focus back to your website with each new blog post?

Many of us underestimate our writing skills. I have a dear friend who loves storytelling, always has a great joke to share, and often has a message that many could benefit from hearing. As a gift a year or so ago, I set him up with his own blog, including registering his full name as his domain name. Sadly, he has yet to write his first post.

If you really dislike the physical aspect of writing (whether with pen or keyboard), how about purchasing an inexpensive digital voice recorder—or discovering the DVR features already built in to your smart phone—and simply recording yourself? You could then hire someone else to transcribe (and, ideally, edit) your message.

Regardless, I am convinced that every one of us has a message worth sharing with the world. I’ve always said I want to leave this planet a better place for my having been here. To the extent that I can inspire others to do the same, I shall achieve that goal.

Back to the power of the word. I have attended many conferences over the years. At one a few years back, one of the presenters made the claim that public speaking is the highest paid profession in the world. I was intrigued—so intrigued, in fact, that I ended up purchasing his public speaking seminar. What I learned were techniques to persuade the audience from the front of the room to run to the back of the room and part with their money to purchase my products. The only problem was that I had no products to sell.

What I realized in all of this, though, is that it is not public speaking that is the highest paid profession in the world, but sales. Public speaking simply emphasizes the power of using words to persuade. George Foreman said it best:

I learned something early in life. If you sell, you’ll never starve. In any other profession, you can find yourself out on the street saying, “They don’t want me anymore.” But if you can sell, you will never go hungry.

The sad thing in all of this is that I had already experienced the power of the word ten years earlier. In 1996 I took a lot of time out of my consulting business to learn the ins and outs of IBM’s database DB2 and its companion language SQL. From this I wrote The SQL Series of Courses. Those courses still earn me royalties to this day! I learned the power of producing a product once and getting paid again and again for it—i.e., the power of leverage. Yes, 1996 was a difficult year financially, but boy the payoff has been sweet!

Fortunately for me, I love to write. I have always been a good letter-writer. I’m sure this was due in part to growing up in a Coast Guard family and moving around a lot. I’d make close friends in one place only to have to leave them a few years later. But letters allowed me to maintain close friendships over the miles and over the years. To this day I correspond with friends from elementary school.

So what do you do if you don’t love to write? Resign yourself to a life without harnessing the power of the word? Hardly. I’ve already mentioned one technique you could use: record your voice and have someone else transcribe and edit your words. But if you think about it, why not just leave your voice recorded? Podcasts are becoming more and more popular. You could conduct teleseminars and webcasts. Streaming video is easy to add to a website. There are many examples right here in my own blog.

Just recently I learned an interesting fact. Who do you think makes more money: Singers or songwriters and lyricists? Actors or playwrights and screenwriters? Yes, there are some very highly paid performers, but in general it is the writers who make more money. They get royalties every time their song is played on the radio … and they tend to write many songs for multiple performers. It gets even better when a song they wrote gets re-recorded by additional performers.

We all have a message to share. I am finding that mine is a combination of demystifying technology® for my Web clients and demystifying prosperity™ for my fellow network marketers. What is your message? I strongly urge you to find your voice and experience the power of the word, written and otherwise.

Last night was Portsmouth Pro Musica’s first of two performances of Carl Orff’s masterpiece Carmina Burana. We sang it at Marshwood High School in South Berwick, Me. Before I get to my thoughts, I invite you to check out this hilarious YouTube spoof of the first (and last) movement, “O Fortuna,” titled “Misheard Lyrics: Oh Four Tuna”:

One of my fellow choristers emailed this to the rest of us just hours before last night’s performance. I watched it just before heading out the door, and I was in stitches. In the text of his email he advised us to watch our diction. Evidently his message stuck—or perhaps it was Priscilla French’s feedback during our warm-up—because the feedback I received after the concert was nothing short of glowing.

I had invited various circles of friends to attend either last night’s or tonight’s performance, and almost to a (wo)man they came up to me afterwards raving about how much they enjoyed the performance. More than one of them commented about how clear our pronunciation was. Of course, it helps to have a program with the lyrics and their translations printed in it. Still, the sincerity of their praise came through loud and clear.

It is not too late to hear us! Our second and final performance is tonight at Portsmouth High School, Portsmouth, N.H. Tickets are still available, although all five of the locations selling them around town were sold out. If you’d like to get the early price ($12.50, $10 senior/student), just give me a call. (I’m assuming my friends know how to reach me.) But hurry. And if you don’t reach me in time, just come and get tickets at the door. They’re still dirt cheap ($15, $12.50 senior/student) for what you’re getting.

I have had the great privilege of singing with Portsmouth Pro Musica (PPM) since the beginning of this year. I heard about PPM from a fellow chorister in St. John’s Parish Choir, with which I have been singing since our bishop Gene Robinson was installed in March 2004. Before then, the last time I had sung in a chorus was back in—wait for it—junior high school (circa 1967). Although raised in a musical family, I didn’t know I had a talent for singing, but evidently I do. (Thanks, Mom, for teaching me how to read music!)

When I was approached to audition for Portsmouth Pro Musica, everyone I spoke with was excited about the spring program, Carl Orff’s masterpiece Carmina Burana: Cantiones Profanae. Having never heard of Carmina Burana before, I googled it and found a 71-minute YouTube video of the entire performance. Upon hearing the first movement, O Fortuna, I realized I had heard it before. I knew then that I had to be a part of this.

It is powerful music. For four months we had been rehearsing with one or both piano accompanists, and the sound was already impressive. However, this past Sunday we had the opportunity to rehearse for the first time with the award-winning Portsmouth High School Percussion Ensemble, and I knew we had a winner on our hands. There were times I had tears in my eyes, the music was so moving and powerful. And it won’t be until this coming Sunday when we have our first dress rehearsal with our three Boston-area soloists, soprano Susan Consoli, tenor Matthew Anderson, and baritone Thomas Jones.

This concert is not to be missed! If you live nearby (and even if you do not), be sure to attend one (or both) of our performances next weekend:

• Friday, May 7, 8:00 p.m., Marshwood High School, South Berwick, Me.
• Saturday, May 8, 8:00 p.m., Portsmouth High School, Portsmouth, N.H.

Tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door (seniors/students $10 in advance, $12.50 at the door). I have tickets to sell, and tickets are also available at five locations in or near Portsmouth (see poster for details). But don’t wait. There was a huge write-up in today’s Portsmouth Herald, and tickets are sure to go fast. You will kick yourself if you miss this great performance.

So don’t!

A friend just sent me a link to a YouTube video this afternoon. It was amusing enough, but a link to another one caught my eye, so I had to click on it. The title is “The Mean Kitty Song,” and I’ve had cats so I know something about how crafty they can be. Moreover, the video has had close to 31 million hits! Check it out and have a good chuckle on me.

I’ll be back to more serious posts tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

Following is the text of the Forward Day by Day meditation for December 13, 2009, the third Sunday in Advent. Forward Day by Day meditations are written anonymously, otherwise I would love to credit the author. As it is, I shall credit Forward Day by Day itself and Forward Movement Publications.

This meant even more to me by the sheer fact that it was the meditation for that particular day. My mother died on Friday, December 13, 2002, and every December 13 as well as every Friday the 13^th since then, I hold her memory especially close and say a prayer for her. I know she is watching over me. I love you, Mom.

With that, the rest of this post is the author’s meditation on the Epistle reading for that day. I hope you enjoy it and find it as meaningful as I did and still do.

—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—

Philippians 4:4-7. Rejoice in the Lord always.

Really? Always? But Lord…

“Yes, always. I’ve noticed that you’re joyful enough when the flowers bloom and the balmy breezes blow. But why no joy when you lost your job, when your wife left you, and when you had to take a second mortgage on your home? Maybe you thought I’d left you then, that I am with you only amidst the flower blossoms and the warm breezes. But when Paul wrote about rejoicing in me always, he was chained in a prison cell. He rejoiced even there. Paul knew that I lay next to him on that cold stone floor while the mice and roaches crawled over him. He rejoiced not because happy things were happening (they weren’t), but because he knew I loved him. And I love you, too. In fact, I am closest to you when you are most debilitated, fearful, despondent, and helpless. It is then that I hold you most closely to my heart.

“Feel my arms around you. After crucifixion comes resurrection. So it was with me and so it will be with you, for I am with you and you are mine. I claim you for my own. I love you and I always will, come what may. Rejoice in me. Always.”

How blessed am I! As I write this (Wednesday afternoon, December 9, 2009), I am gazing out at the Pacific Ocean, waves crashing to shore in the Bahía del Descanso—the Bay of Rest. The weather could not possibly be more perfect: crystal blue skies, warm sun, and the sounds and smells of the ocean.

Sanoviv Medical Institute, about which you can read much more at sanoviv.com, is located in Rosarito Beach, Baja California del Norte, Mexico, about an hour south of San Diego. Its founder, Dr. Myron Wentz, chose the place for a variety of reasons, one of which was simply to be in Mexico where he is much freer to practice his state-of-the-art alternative therapies than he would be in the United States, such is the state of overregulation there.

But why Rosarito Beach? Dr. Wentz was fortunate to be able to procure the former Levi Strauss estate, which is situated on a cliff noted for its positive energy frequencies. (Yes, energy medicine is one of Dr. Wentz’s alternative therapies.) It could not possibly be a more beautiful location.

Yesterday was my birthday. My friend Nick has come to Sanoviv several times before and is here now for some follow-up treatments. He invited me to be here with him as his “companion.” Sanoviv has a wonderful companion program, where people not receiving treatments are able to accompany people who are for $100 a night. This covers lodging, all meals, even clothing (more later). As Usana associates, however, we were able to take advantage of a Convention special, where companions are able to stay for free during the month of December. So, as it turns out, it was cheaper for me to come here for five nights than it would have been for me to stay at home!

How blessed am I that this just so happened to coincide with my birthday!

Sanoviv’s primary focus is detoxification. We live in such a toxic world. Of course, industrial pollution is the most obvious example, but it actually goes way deeper. From the synthetic clothes we wear to the synthetic foods we ingest, our modern life styles are anything but healthful. So during our stays at Sanoviv, we are provided 100% cotton loungewear and foot-massaging sandals. The meals are absolutely delicious—and completely devoid of the most common allergens: gluten, animal meats, starches, etc. Everything is vegetarian, with fish at lunchtime.

There is no coffee in the morning and no alcohol in the evening. Martini man that I am, I thought this might be difficult for me, but it hasn’t been. I had a slight headache the second morning I was here, which I attribute to caffeine withdrawal, but other than that it has been a breeze. I can hardly wait to weigh myself Friday morning, as I know I have dropped a few pounds. (OK, I have a few more to shed, I know. Baby steps.)

So this is how I have spent my birthday. I received many wonderful birthday greetings on my Facebook wall. Thanks to all of you who wrote. How blessed am I to have so many beautiful friends!

Thank you, Dr. Wentz, for your vision that created both Usana Health Sciences and Sanoviv Medical Institute. And thank you, Robert Allen, for introducing me, quite by accident, to Usana while I was investigating real estate investing.

I used to think that 35 was old. Now I know that 55 is young.

It has been over a month since I last posted to my blog, and I feel I owe my regular readers a bit of an explanation. I have been fully ensconced in my job search, and it has gone anything but smoothly.

This is the first time in my life that doors have not automatically opened for me, and it is extremely disconcerting. Prior to my current job search, the last time I updated my résumé was way back in 1995, and that was a mere formality as I had already been offered the job in question.

Time and again seemingly ideal positions have come up, and when I submit my credentials I get the standard reply that others more qualified are in consideration. It’s hard to believe that there are so many others out there with my unique collection of skills, but evidently there are. Either that or my résumé is absolutely not presenting me accurately.

Last month I attended a Career Relaunch Forum at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. I drove down the day before to stay with my friend Nick in Passaic. The next morning I got up, took my shower, and had plenty of time to get to the event a half hour early, but when I went to open Nick’s apartment door, the handle would not work. I jiggled the handle and turned the latch for several minutes, all to no avail. I had no choice but to wake up Nick and enlist his help to get out of his apartment.

He had no more luck with his lock than I did. So he called a couple of his neighbors that had keys to his apartment, and one of them came up. We yelled back and forth through the door, but she was not able to unlock the door from the outside, either. Then Nick suggested to me, “You could always use the fire escape.”

My heart leapt up into my throat as I considered the implications of his words. I contemplated whether this was a sign that I shouldn’t attend the Forum. Just as quickly as I thought this, though, I realized that I didn’t want to have driven five hours for nothing. I decided that this was merely a speed bump on the road to my new career, and so I proceeded with the plan at hand.

Dressed in my suit and carrying a mug of coffee and my portfolio and newspaper, I opened his dining room window and crawled out onto the fire escape. I could feel my heart pounding as I looked down the 30 or so feet to the ground. Gingerly I descended the two staircases to get to the bottom level of the fire escape. From there I had to lower a ladder to make it the rest of the way to the ground.

At that point it occurred to me that there was no way I could carry everything I had brought and hold onto the ladder. So I tossed the newspaper and portfolio to the ground, determining that I could carry my coffee cup. (I have my priorities, after all.)

Now my heart was really pounding, because the ladder was absolutely vertical—no reasonable angle whatsoever. Rung by rung I descended, holding on (with one hand) for dear life. I finally reached the pavement below, my heart still pounding wildly. I shoved the ladder back up, picked up my belongings, and got in my car, hands shaking on the steering wheel, and I just sat there. After a few minutes I determined that I was able to drive, so I headed for South Orange. I arrived with no time to spare, but at least I made it.

The Career Relaunch Forum was good, and I made some connections there. (Sadly, in the month since then, none of then has panned out … but I didn’t know that at the time.) After it was over, I drove back to Nick’s place. The locksmith had been able to free him from his prison and installed a new (fully functioning) lock. Both of us decided to celebrate our respective victories by going into New York that evening for drinks and dinner.

We took the train into the city and were then on foot, going from place to place. At one point we were walking down Cornelia Street in the Village, chatting and not paying much attention to our surroundings. The next thing I knew, Nick had tripped and was falling … in super slow motion! His foot got caught on, of all things, a speed bump in the road. He completely lost his balance, and down he went, with me watching helplessly. Once time resumed to normal speed, I checked with him to be sure nothing was broken. He had scraped his elbow, but other than that and a bruised ego, he was all right. We had good laughs the rest of the evening.

This was a perfect metaphor for my job search: yet another speed bump, and this a literal one. One day at a time—that’s the only way I can live these days.

My frustration with the whole job-search process has continued, so much so that this past week I decided to stop looking. That’s right. I have pretty much given up on finding traditional employment. Certainly I will consider any offers that come along, and I plan to keep my résumé on CareerBuilder, Monster, and other popular sites. But I am done banging my head against a wall. Funny thing, the phone has started ringing with headhunters pursuing me. It’s amazing how we often find what we’re looking for once we stop looking so hard. Wish me luck.

So I’ll let them find me. I am a highly qualified professional, and any organization would benefit tremendously by hiring me. That is not narcissism, it is simply the truth.

Meanwhile, I have decided to capitalize on skills that I already possess in websites and Internet marketing. I have several opt-in pages on the ’Net, and I am polling my subscribers to learn what they would like to receive from me: training videos, downloadable PDF’s, physical products, whatever. I’m partnering with other Internet marketers, so stay tuned. As I develop the niches I’m marketing to, I’ll let all of you know.

One way or another, my skills and talents will pay off. My goal is and always has been to leave this world a better place for my having been here. Let me know how I can help you.

This is the text of my third speech at Ad Libs Toastmasters Club. By the end of the speech, you will know five things you can do today—while still employed—to facilitate your next job search.

—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—

Gone are the days of lifelong employment with a pension and a gold watch upon retirement. My grandfather and my father both enjoyed lifetime careers; I certainly have not.

This speech came about due to my own current job search. In my last speech, titled “The Accidental Professional,” I explained how my career has developed over the years due to a series of fortuitous accidents—doors of opportunity opening up for me. For the first time in my life, I am having extreme difficulty finding my next job. Sadly, as we all know, I am far from alone.

I actually had to dust off my résumé, which I hadn’t used since 1995. Not only did I have to update it with 14 years’ worth of career developments, I had to change its language and tone, which was appropriate for 1995 but not for 2009.

So with that, allow me to offer you five steps you can take while still employed to facilitate your next job search.

Step 1. Keep your résumé current. Because I had let so much time pass since last updating my résumé, my memory of projects I worked on and responsibilities I had was quite dim. Consequently, it appears that I did very little, especially since 2001 when I was let go of my last outside employment. Nothing could be further from the truth. Under the aegis of my own corporation, I have kept current with database technology, specifically DB2 and MySQL. I have branched out into Web services—Web hosting, domain registration, and website design. I have gotten involved with network marketing, which brings with it a whole slew of side benefits in the personal development arena. And I have studied investing, mostly stocks and commodities but also some real estate.

My hope was that these latter pursuits would by now have brought in enough income to pay all the bills, but I have not been so fortunate. Hence my current job search. But I would be in the job market even if money were no issue. Having worked alone for the past eight years, I yearn for the camaraderie of the corporate world.

Back to the point at hand. When I brought out my résumé to update it, I had no idea how long a process this would be. Several résumé workshops and networking events later, I think it is finally beginning to work with the automated keyword sniffers that companies are using these days. So I encourage you to keep your résumé current on an ongoing basis. Keep a log of your various projects and assignments, including keywords that future employers will be searching for.

Step 2. Set up and actively use a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn hasn’t been around the whole time I’ve been underemployed, but I was invited to connect with a friend on LinkedIn years ago, and it’s only been this year that I’ve become a power user.

LinkedIn is your online professional résumé. Keeping it current will help you keep your offline résumé current. Join LinkedIn groups that might be helpful—certainly professional groups (I’ve joined several DB2‑, database‑, and mainframe-related groups) but also alumni groups. Keep in mind, though, that LinkedIn is for professional networking; leave the social and cultural and political associations for Facebook. Which leads me to my third recommendation:

Step 3. Clean up your Facebook account. A prospective employer is going to google your name and see what comes up. I encourage you to do the same. Just because you’ve only listed your LinkedIn profile on your résumé doesn’t mean he or she won’t find your Facebook page or, for that matter, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, and what have you. Clean up references to you that might cause an employer to bypass you for someone else.

Step 4. Get recommendations from current colleagues. Have them write you recommendations on your LinkedIn account. I learned this step only because it has been so hard ten, fifteen, twenty years later to get recommendations from colleagues that used to think quite highly of my work. I’ve gotten some, just not all that I would have liked.

Step 5. Keep current within your industry. I have a friend who is a PeopleSoft developer, and she is having a terrible time finding a new job, because her former employer kept her using an out-of-date version of PeopleSoft. Participate in LinkedIn group discussions. Purchase and read technical books. Take adult-ed classes at night. Do whatever it takes to hone your skills.

—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—◊♦◊—

I hope this has been helpful. I’ve given you five concrete steps you can take to make your next job search much easier. If you are employed, thank your lucky stars—even if you dislike your current job. It’s a whole lot better than not having a job, especially in this market. And don’t think your current job will last forever. I made that mistake once; I’ll never make it again.

Lately I’ve been a-singin’ the Job Search Blues.

As my regular readers know, I am in the market to get back into IT. The bulk of my technical background is in IBM’s database, called DB2. I’ve been working with DB2 since 1987. Prior to that I was a mainframe programmer/analyst and consultant, with copious experience in COBOL and CICS that I have been able to draw on to this day. (For those of you whose eyes just glazed over reading all of this alphabet soup, buckle your seatbelts. It gets worse. But stick with me; the overall story is worth it and may still apply to you.)

Now, I haven’t been in a job search since 1995, and at that time my résumé was a mere formality, since the company that hired me had a business relationship with my former employer. Everyone knew and respected me, so the transition was a breeze.

In 2001 I was downsized, but since I was pursuing other income avenues I felt no compelling need to get back into another IT position right away.

Little did I know that I would actually miss the day-to-day challenges, the water-cooler camaraderie, and the satisfaction of a job well done. So earlier this year I dusted off my résumé and started pounding the virtual pavement. (Did I pick a great time to look for a job, or what?)

Instead of being a breeze, my current job search has been incredibly frustrating. I have no doubt that my skills and expertise would be a great asset to any potential employer. The jobs I am applying for are all great fits. Were the economic reality different than it is today, I am certain that I would have been hired months ago.

But the rules have changed, and I can’t blame everything on the economy. Evidently, no human being reads résumés any more. Instead, they all go through a keyword extractor, and if you don’t happen to use exactly the right combination of keywords, your résumé doesn’t get chosen for further consideration … this time perhaps by an actual human being.

Case in point. I applied at one company for a position ideally suited to my technical background: “Mainframe DB2 Domain Technologist.” I mean, really, could a job title more perfectly describe my background? Having submitted my résumé online for various other positions with this particular company—and gotten nowhere—I opted to apply for this “perfect” position through a friend of mine who actually works there. I emailed him my résumé and he forwarded it on through the appropriate channels.

Later that morning I received an email from him indicating that there was some concern that I did not in fact possess enough mainframe background for the position. I was astonished. I wrote back emphasizing that it was precisely because of the mainframe requirements that this particular position was a perfect fit for me. He passed that back on. I have heard nothing, and it has been several weeks.

So here is what I think happened in this age of keyword-sniffing software. But first some terminology background. DB2 has been around on the mainframe since the 1980’s. (Remember, I started in 1987—that was Version 1.2.) Then IBM developed a version for its PC operating system OS/2. Since OS/2 never caught on commercially, IBM decided in the mid-1990’s to open it up to Windows. It was at that time that I started learning DB2 on these lower-end platforms, which IBM began calling DB2 UDB. UDB stood for Universal Database, their moniker for that version of DB2 that supported advanced features such as user-defined distinct types, user-defined functions, and large objects. (Again, my apologies to my glazed-eyed friends. Please bear with me.)

Well, the term UDB began to supplant DB2, meaning DB2 that runs on Linux, UNIX, and Windows, as opposed to DB2 that runs on the mainframe. This, despite the fact that mainframe DB2 became DB2 UDB once it also started supporting user-defined distinct types, user-defined functions, and large objects. In other words, the term UDB was being misused and misunderstood. That is why now in Version 9 on all platforms, IBM has stopped using the term UDB entirely.

In my résumé and in my cover letter, I used the term UDB correctly, meaning as IBM used it. To me it included mainframe DB2. Sadly for me, to most hiring departments it only indicates the Linux/UNIX/Windows (LUW) platforms of DB2. Hence the keyword sniffer’s concern that I did not have enough mainframe experience.

How frustrating is that.

The saddest thing about the current state of affairs is that most companies must be bypassing exceptional talent due to poorly programmed keyword-sniffing software, not to mention nontechnical eyes perusing technical résumés. In their favor, the current economic reality is leading to a lot of applicants for the same position, so even discarding some highly qualified talent, there remain a lot of applicants to choose from.

As I said, didn’t I pick a great time to look for a job!

Anyway, wish me luck, everyone. Whoever ends up hiring me is sure to be very pleasantly surprised. That’s not arrogance. That’s simply the reality of thirty years of experience in this industry.

To be sure, I’ll keep you posted.