Mr. Jenner. Having in mind the information related to you by Mr. Meller, that there was dire need for financial assistance here.
Mrs. Cunningham. Yes.
Mr. Jenner. And the other aptitudes you recorded on his ability you thought to do college work—those are not inconsistent with the classification you gave when you considered the whole problem that was facing you at the immediate time.
Mrs. Cunningham. Then I was talking about the potential only for the future, he had not even started college—a college training, by the record as I was giving it, sir, and because there is nothing as presented in the work history when I first worked with him which would indicate that he had ever worked at a professional or semiprofessional level that would give strength to a professional classification, and remembering, too, that the aptitude test is really only about 15 percent of the decision as to where this individual shall seek as of this time in this place——
Mr. Jenner. The other factors being for one instance—one, the ready labor market, and two, the immediate need, if there is an absolute immediate need, and what other factors?
Mrs. Cunningham. Previous work experience—a good work record within the present labor market can be a big factor. Any employer, as you well know, would much prefer to pick up the phone and call for a reference than to write to Podunk and maybe get a communication and maybe not, and they don't know really what that firm is or with whom he is communicating, and I would say in general, and this is a personal judgment, that the incoming person to a labor market has to take the lower pay, the less desirable job, until he gets a work record in the community, unless he is highly qualified and in one of the shortage occupations.
Mr. Jenner. And from your visit with this young man, he had not much of a work record, do I fairly state that?
Mrs. Cunningham. The work record when he came to me was limited in length of time as indicated on the application. It was mixed, as far as occupation was concerned in the semiskilled, in the sales, in the clerical.
Mr. Jenner. That is, he had a semimixed work record involving one or more of the three major groups you have now mentioned.
Mrs. Cunningham. Yes.