I have been looking for work in my field of land surveying/field engineering tech and taking several exams.?

THESE ARE EITHER CITY OR COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE COMPETITIVE EXAMS AND THE "WRITTEN EXAM" IS WEIGHTED 100 PERCENT. I SCORED 91 PERCENT RANK #1 IN ONE CITY EXAM AND WAS TOLD I SCORED THE FOURTH HIGHEST IN THE OTHER CITY. WHILE I SCORED BETWEEN 90-94 WITH THE COUNTY TEST. I HAVE BEEN INTERVIEWED FOR ALL THREE POSITIONS DUE TO BEING HIGH ON THE LIST I GUESS. BUT IN EVERY CASE--AND SCHOCKING TO EVERYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT I SCORED--I HAVE RECEIVED A THANK YOU LETTER STATING THAT ANOTHER CANDIDATE WAS SELECTED. THIS IS CRAZY SINCE IN THE CITY WHERE I WAS FOURTH ON THE WRITTEN THERE WAS SIX OPENINGS. AND WHERE I GOT 91 PERCENT THERE ARE 12 OPENINGS CITY WIDE. I KNOW A FRIEND WHO SCORED 89 PERCENT AND WAS HIRED BUT I AM 10 OR SO YEARS OLDER THE HE. AM I BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST? I DONT THINK ITS POOR COMMUNICATION SINCE I WAS OFFERED A FAIRLY HIGH POSITION (SAME FIELD) LAST SEPTEMBER! THIS ONE I DECLINED....

Ok.. so you've had your hand spanked above for using all uppercase .. we'll skip that.

Speaking as both a surveyor AND as the one that has the final say in who gets hired for my City agency, there are a lot of things that influence the way that the scores come out.

1) we have two interview panels.. the first is from outside agencies and the second is the actual senior staff that will manage the survey crew. Both interviews test the applicant for his practical knowledge, is communication skills, and equally as important, his bull sh*t rating.

2) If you try to come off too strong or too intense, that can be just as deadly as being the person who just sits there and shrugs. A survey party is a team.. and, once it is established that you know one end of a transit/edm from another, that is what a good employer is looking for - a team member.

3) Passing the test just means you are good at taking tests. I have had staff that could not take tests to save their souls, but were great surveyors.. (heck.. wait a second.. that test part sounds like me).

4) Sometimes, not always, the unpublished fact is that the guy that is already working there has a lead shot at being promoted. Promoting from within is just good business.. it builds morale AND it saves re-training.. plus it opens up a new job at the entry level.

However, If you have been to this many exams, going in with a high score and coming out with a goose egg, then it sounds like you are somehow shooting yourself in the foot during that phase. You need to talk to one or two of the interviewers AFTER the job has passed you by. Explain to them that you are just trying to improve yourself and ask if there was any single facet of your presentation that the would recommend you work on. (This is a tough question to ask.. so be easy going on it or the person will just blow it off nicely with something like 'they were ALL good applicants..etc......'.

ok.. good luck and keep trying....

.

If you shouted at the interviewer the way you shouted at us [all caps], I am not surprised that you have not been hired. Most public employee offices are fairly low key. Dial the intensity back a notch and see if that helps.

As you should know, the exam is only one aspect of the hiring process.

You don't state your age, so the discrimination aspect is unanswerable here.

Personality, grooming, credit and criminal background, reliable transportation, and many other issues may have come to light.

I know that record keeping, precision, math on the fly, teamwork, and neatness is vital to the position. Perhaps one of those aspects needs to be better addressed.

I studied to be a surveyor in college and gave it up after having high scores, acceptable presentation, and a solid life established... there was still an obvious gender bias, so I abandoned it and went back to my art business.

You have a right to know why you were rejected and can, in a non confrontational way, ask them so you can "improve" your presence.

Consider applying to private companies. Government regulations could be the difference.

Presentation is everything.
(Writing in CAPS inappropriately speaks volumes by the way.)