Well there's news to report on the job front, but since this blog is much younger than my state of unemployment, I'll back up and give a little 'history' first.

I was fired from my job at Opsware Inc., effective April 28 of this year. There was no warning, I was simply called in for my semi-annual review and told that, "the company has decided to let you go." Now, to their credit, they did give me a transition period of about six weeks, from mid-March, on half-hours with full pay. And to be fair, I have to confess that my work had not been up to my usual standards for a good while, in consequence of my dissatisfaction with the company's working environment — in which I was far from alone. However, I remain convinced that my termination had at least as much to do with my being the oldest, and one of the most highly paid, developers on staff, and my being assigned to a project that had been terribly managed from the beginning and was currently far behind schedule and only getting farther behind, as with my own personal shortcomings. But, be that as it may, the result was that on hearing the dreaded phrase, I suffered literally two seconds of shock, followed immediately by a great sense of satisfied calm, and even relief. I did express some wonder at the lack of warning, but it seemed clear that by objecting too strenuously I could only hope to effect one of two negative outcomes, the latter even worse than the former: I could lose my job without benefit of the transition period, or I could win my point and have to keep working there!

So, content to accept this fate and wait on God to answer the needs of our family, I have spent the last 19 weeks rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting my resume, posting it on various web sites, contacting headhunters, submitting unemployment claims, rewriting my resume, taking classes, studying reference books, adding web development skills to my repertoire, talking to headhunters, and rewriting my resume. Doing everything, in short, related to seeking gainful employment except interviewing. (Did I mention rewriting my resume?) It has been extremely, and increasingly, frustrating. I have found several job postings for which I seemed to be perfectly qualified, and yet I have not gotten so much as an initial phone screening. This modern — nay, let the crotchety old man in me come right out and say, "new-fangled" — way of employment recruiting / job hunting is so utterly impersonal. I have always been able to interview well. I am certain that if I could just get some face-to-face contact — or even voice-to-voice, I could land a position fairly quickly. But businesses just don't want to operate that way anymore. Many won't even accept a hard-copy resume, which I've used to advantage in the past to stand out in the crowd. Moreover, I've come to believe that most employers are only interested in hiring young people who don't know or care how to prioritize their lives, and will happily work themselves to death and call it success. I don't fit that description anymore, and it's obvious even on digital paper.

Frustration and faith don't go together though. So I've struggled to reject the one and cling the other. And now, at long last — on my calendar, if not on God's — the fruit may be ripening. A good friend from church who is in the executive recruiting business has put me in touch with a small local manufacturing firm who needs help in selecting, procuring, implementing, and using a major software package for the operation of their business. This is rather different from the software development I have done in the past, but it answers a desire I've had for some time to be able to offer my long and varied IT experience in the role of an 'expert' to those who simply lack the technical expertise to satisfy the needs that they recognise. I had a good conversation with the president on the phone just yesterday and we have scheduled a meeting on the premises for Monday morning. Real contact with real people. What a concept!

This job was first presented to me as a full-time opening, but, lacking direct experience in the manufacturing sector and with the software they need to implement, I decided to offer myself as a consultant, so that I can acquire the foundation I need in our initial meeting(s). It may transpire that I get their software problem solved and they will be done with me, or we may return the full-time idea if they seem to have enough of the right kind of work for me. However it works out, it is certainly a blessing from God — and a relief from frustration as well, in spite of my best efforts at faith and trust.

So whoever among you may feel so led, please pray for a fruitful meeting on Monday morning; especially that I will prove to be of genuine value in addressing the needs of this business. And even more importantly, join me in praising our Lord for His grace and providence, and thanking Him for once again demonstrating His faithfulness by providing in the "nick of time" (from our perspective, that is, "at the proper time" from His). Also, while we're on the subject, let's lift up another brother, Tom, who is now unemployed for the second time in just a few years, and whose financial situation is consequently much more severe than our own.

To be continued...