A while back I applied for a job at eBay. As part of the interview process I was placed in a group and told to take a typing test which seemed very strange at the time. When I arrived at the location to take the test I noticed I was the only male in a group of five. A lady came out to greet us and explained that we’d only be given a very short practice test before the real test began.
This is where the weirdness starts. We all showed proof of ID and signed in to take the test and were about to be escorted to the room full of testing computers. At this point, this same lady huddled us together, and again, explained that if we’d be expected to type “at least 35 words WPM”. She then turned to me and said, “Are you sure you don’t want to go home and practice first?”.
I could not believe what I was hearing and some of the women I was with giggled. I told her that, although I appreciate her concern about my preparedness, I felt confident I could pass the test. So I went in with my group and took the short warm-up test and then took the test. At home and work I use a Microsoft Natural Keyboard with the spaced keys and this keyboard at the test was an older Compaq model which felt very numb and provided little feedback. When I finished the test I walked out of the room and the other members of my group had finished and were waiting for me to pickup my score. I approached the desk where the same women who felt I should practice more pulled up a printed sheet with my score and handed it to me.
It big black letters it said: Congratulations! You typed 79 WPM with 1 mistake. You have passed
Nordquist Blog 