Should you put your typing speed on a resume?

Put typing speed on your resume when the job asks for it, or when you hold a result an employer can check. It is not a skill every resume needs. The figure does the most work when it matches a posted bar. US federal typist announcements, for example, ask for a qualified typist, defined as 40 words per minute on a five-minute sample with three or fewer errors ¹. If you meet that bar, say so and name the test conditions. If the posting does not mention typing, a speed figure adds little.

Employers accept a signed, dated result, not a printed certificate

The State of Iowa requires a typing score to be signed and dated within the last six months by an authorized person ². The score comes from a five-minute timed test, and it reports gross words typed, errors and net words per minute ³. A certificate printed from a website often has no signer and no date, so it may not meet that rule.

Iowa's rule is one state's rule. It shows what a checkable result looks like, not what every employer wants. We did not find a government-wide standard for typing certificates.

Name the test, because the figure depends on how it is scored

Commercial tests do not always score the same way. The eSkill test calculates net words per minute by multiplying gross words per minute by accuracy ⁴. A "WPM" on one certificate can therefore be gross, and on another it can be net. Write the test's name next to the number, and say whether the figure is gross or net, so a reader can tell what they are looking at.

Be wary of paid offers that promise a job

Some typing courses and certificates are sold with a promise of work. The Federal Trade Commission says that if someone asks you to pay to get a job, that is a scam ⁵. Practising on a free or paid typing test is a reasonable way to measure your speed. A fee that is presented as the route to a job is a warning sign.

Put the figure in context

In an online study of volunteers, the average computer typist typed 51.56 words per minute ⁶. A figure above that average is not automatically impressive to an employer. A posted bar is a better yardstick than the average, because it tells you what the employer is testing.

It depends on the job

• When the posting names a speed or a test: list it, with the test name, the date and the conditions, because the employer will check it.
• When the posting does not mention typing: leave it off, unless the work is mostly typing, such as data entry or transcription.
• When you have no dated result: do not list a number you cannot show. You can say you type quickly, but a claim without a test has nothing to back it.

We did not find a study showing that listing typing speed helps a resume get past screening. The case for listing it therefore rests on the posting, not on any measured effect.

What to do

1. Read the posting for a stated speed, a typing test, or a qualified typist requirement.
2. If it asks, take a timed test under the rules the posting names: sample length, error limit, and gross or net.
3. Keep the result with its date and the test's name, so you can show it if asked.
4. Add one line to the skills section, with the unit and the test. For example: "Typing: [your net WPM] net words per minute, five-minute timed test, [test name], [month and year]."

For government and federal posts that test typing, see typing speed for government jobs. For remote data entry and live chat roles, see typing speed for data entry and live chat jobs. Our guide to typing speed requirements for jobs covers how each employer tests the skill, and our overview of typing speed explains the subject. Check the typing accuracy entry before you decide which number to show.