Wow, ouch. That hurts. Especially since I wrote about insecurity in the article...

To be clear, I'm not arguing that skills tests shouldn't exist. You're right, there has to be a filter that candidates can write code.

My problem is with a 2.5hr timed assessment. It's over the top and not respectful of my time.

To be clear, I'm interviewing 4 places. Have passed other (more reasonable) skills tests at 2 of them, and turned down this one. So, at least in my case, your analysis about "fixed mindset" and shying from a challenge is way off.