The Rest of the Story

On Wednesday I took a pre-interview assessment with the State of Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, or ODJFS for those in the know. I told everyone it was a civil service exam because that was easier to explain.

Anyways, I showed up at the proper place at the proper time. I sized up the competition and thought I had a pretty good shot. And then I saw the test. Like any good test-taker, I scanned all of the questions first. So, I knew I was in trouble right away.

I know nothing about state welfare laws. Turns out, though, that's a big part of the work at ODJFS. Who knew?

Really, though, these were tough, in-depth questions. This isn't the type of thing you learn, it's the type of stuff you pick up working the entry-level position and then use when you test up to the higher level.

So I answered the first five questions as I struggled to decide whether or not to waste my time with the exam. I mean, I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of the other testers.

The first five were based on a section of law which was included with the test, so I answered those and the multiple choice at the back (I mean I can take a multiple choice test on almost anything). So I had maybe 20 points out of 54 - assuming, of course, that I got 100% on the ones I'd answered. I needed 45 points to get an interview.

I decided to re-read the remaining questions. Once I had done that I decided to turn the test in and walk out. I had already wasted 30 minutes of my life, why waste an additional 2 hours making questions up for a job that I was clearly not qualified for?

I mean, what would I have done at the actual interview? Hard to tell.

I left the testing room and decided that I didn't really want to work for ODJFS anyways. The acronym is hard to type. Plus, why would I want to work for an organization that makes their employees jump through hoops?

I think it was the pay. Yeah, the pay is definitely the answer to that last question...