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where it's less about finding a good fit and more about just getting a job. Any job. OK, not quite ANY job--I still have some absolute requirements--but I've recently applied for a couple jobs that I'm not terribly interested in. What WAS interesting is the response from the independent insurance agent who is hiring. Unlike so many jobs recently, this one didn't ask for 1-3 years' prior experience, nor did I need to be "proficient" in computer programs I've not even heard of. What I *did* need to do was take a two-part, computer-generated online test. The first part was an assessment of "sales/leadership skills" and was 85 questions basically assessing my personality. Some were repetitious and some were difficult for me to answer because there wasn't a "depends on the situation" option (example: "I like to keep busy"...well, yes, at work I do but at home, I have days where I just want to sit in the recliner and watch reruns of Big Bang Theory or Bob's Burgers and eat cookies). Some made me a bit uncomfortable--why do you care if I'm "the life of the party"?--but I understand it was to get the best determination of who I am.

The second part was a timed test of my math skills and attention to detail. 15 minutes to answer 24 multiple choice questions...it didn't say if I was allowed a calculator but I assumed not, so I did the math all in my head. Most of it was easy-percentages and "what's the next number in this sequence? and "if Bob's driving 162 miles and gets to his destination in 3 hours, what was his average speed?", etc. A few gave you a statement and had you find the exact matching statement below; the wrong options would have a missing comma or a single misspelled word or a word left out. But there were a couple of those questions where you have a long set up, questions where "Bob, Sue, Mary and Joe are a singer, an engineer, a banker and an apartment manager. Bob and Sue have lunch with the singer every Wednesday, Mary and the engineer golf together, blah blah blah, who's the apartment manager?" I remember doing those kind of puzzles--I don't even know what they're called--back in the day and while I almost always got them right, I didn't enjoy them. I wound up running out of time on the last question because it was one such question and it was taking me too long to diagram it and arrive at the right answer.

It all seemed like a lot of extra work for what sounded like a job mostly answering the phone. Also, it didn't tell me how I did on the second part, and I'm curious to know.