Yep, cook's civil service exam. For example, to work at the University of Illinois, you have to go through a long process of applying, taking the exams, attend a session on how to get a job at the University, waiting for your score, waiting till you get to the top of the list, interviewing, take a drug test, joining a union, etc. It's different at different Colleges. At the U of I they had three levels of cook, two levels of supervisor and I think two manager levels. You could take an exam for each level and take them again and again until you achieved a score you liked. All non-faculty staff had to take a civil service exam, whether it was Secretary, Clerk, Maintenance, or whatever.
Kuan