You CAN search your database using the Verity engine. Verity itself will not search a database, but it will search an SQL query. Verity can, however give you somewhat mushy results. So you're using the Verity engine to search your big note fields. In the mean time, your client and the user were served, and you don't have to get up at 4 am to deal with it.
Redundancy often pays off, and is cheap to implement.
Users hate to fill out long forms that require them to divulge everything from their annual income to their dog's name. He has a point. Make it worth the user's while to fill up all the fields. But don't make it compulsory. Lastly, don't ever expect people to fill in their salary honestly.