I managed to get myself out to two temp agencies last week. It was an interesting experience. In the first meeting, I felt sort of like a day laborer, trying to prove that I was worthy enough to be chosen for "the job". I was sized up, via assessment tests, and found to be both under-qualified and unrealistic. Nevermind the fact that I have spent a considerable amount of time as a learner, thinker, and multitasker - being given tasks, developing road maps, and following through. And nevermind the fact that there is a little thing called "training" and another one called "instruction". Bottom line, I strongly feel that, in an area such as the temp agency, one should not be held so tightly to the all-knowing assessment test, especially when said test tests areas that were not previously required knowledge in previous positions and/or academics. The "assessment" isn't really an assessment at all, but rather a grade-school type standardized piece of shit, put together to make you compete against your own god-damned brain cells. I don't know about everyone else, but I hate feeling as though I am a rat on a fricken wheel. And my second bottom line - If I were to get an assignment, and I was asked to perform a specific function in MS Word or Excel, then I'd either figure it out or asked to be shown once and I'd take it from there. The fact that I was holding a certificate that stated that I typed 53 wpm, but scored a big 35 wpm on their test is further proof why standardized tests are pieces of shit and why I politely told Ms. Lady that I was worth more minimally than she was trying to tell me.

If my education level, and my experience didn't place me in a higher bracket of worth, I would have never been recruited by agency number 2, and offered a position that was paying a salary that would have made Ms. Lady burst into laughter. Not that my meeting with agency #2 was THAT much better, but at least I was actually meeting about a position that was already on the table, and "assessed" accordingly. Now, I'm waiting to hear back from them about whether or not I measured up. I'm hoping I did, because, mama literally needs a new pair of shoes. Holes are not sexy when they're in your shoes, especially during impromptu Bay Area rain and hail storms.