A job description that lists “proficient in Microsoft Excel” can be confusing, even if you regularly use the spreadsheet software. As a result of Excel’s vast uses, how can you tell if you’re truly “proficient” enough to be considered?

Start by reading the job description carefully. As long as Excel proficiency is listed as a “required” technical skill. It is safe to assume it’s an Excel-intensive job with little room for learning in the field. You may be more qualified than you realize if the job description lists it as a “preferred” or “desired” skill

“Being proficient in Excel depends on what you need to do with it,”

A Business Intelligence (BI) analyst might use Excel to manage budgets and financial forecasts, while a project manager might use it to create schedules.

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Analyze data using Microsoft Excel

It’s easy to see why Excel is so popular. It’s a powerful, yet flexible program with a huge range of potential uses. Excel has thousands of functions for different things, and no one knows them all.

By taking our Learn Microsoft Excel for Data Analysis course, you will gain proficiency in several key Excel functions, such as importing and manipulating data and creating visualizations. Here’s what you need to know about Excel if you’re heading into a job interview or wondering if you’re qualified.

How do you define “proficient in Excel”?

Being proficient in Excel means knowing its basic layout and understanding its mechanics, such as formulas, functions, tables, and ranges. The majority of Excel spreadsheets involve numerical data, so you should be familiar with basic computations, such as calculating averages and finding maximum and minimum values.

When working with a large data set, Expert suggests knowing how to control and use AutoFill to be more efficient. Filtering a data set, so that you can see the data you’re interested in, is another way to prevent tedious scrolling. As well as knowing how to create charts.

A spreadsheet in Excel can be customized with different colours and fonts, just as in Microsoft Word. You’ll learn how to create and customize pie charts, bar graphs, and other data visualizations in Data Analysis with Excel. Formatting spreadsheets so they look clear and legible is an excellent skill to have. But don’t get too caught up in aesthetics. Since everyone has different style preferences, “People who use Excel a lot tend to get opinionated about what the most effective way to use it is.”

Excel interview questions you need to know the answer

Are there any Excel formulas or functions you particularly like?

This is an example of an Excel interview question that a recruiter or hiring manager might ask. In your spreadsheet, for example, you might say that you like INDEX and MATCH or VLOOKUP, which are two tools for finding specific data cells. “Each of these has its small finicky flaws that can get you into trouble if you don’t use them properly,” Expert advises.

Are you familiar with pivot tables?

An interviewer might ask you about PivotTables and how to use them. Essentially, a PivotTable is a tool in Excel that automatically restructures a table so you can quickly summarize data with categories and subcategories. The free Excel Basics course teaches you how to sort and pivot data.

Explain how to create a chart or graph in Excel.

A standout skill is visualizing data using Excel’s charting tools. This course on Data Analysis with Excel teaches you how to create and customize data visualizations (like pie charts and bar graphs) that accurately represent your data.

What is the best way to protect a worksheet or workbook in Excel?

You will be tested on your understanding of Excel’s security features to protect data from unauthorized changes. You’ll learn how to take data from various sources, clean it, inspect it, and then protect it before distributing it in the free course Data Manipulation in Excel.

Ada says that while these questions might seem oddly specific and designed to trip you up, they’re ways for recruiters to assess your comfort with the software and your ability to figure stuff out. According to experts, if someone doesn’t have a favourite Excel function, they probably haven’t used it enough.

How to become a better Excel user

Learn Microsoft Excel for Data Analysis is one of the best ways to brush up on your Excel skills. The course introduces you to Excel best practices and guides you through multiple Excel projects you’ll build (like this one).

Try our courses such as Data Analysis in Excel and Visualize Data with Excel if you need help with a specific technique. In most of our Excel courses, you can earn a certificate of completion, which you can add to your LinkedIn profile to show recruiters or potential employers that you’ve completed everything.

You can also practice by downloading a dataset. “Find the dataset you’re interested in, open it up in Excel, and start exploring,” Expert suggests. You should be curious about the dataset and ask questions about it. If you don’t know how to do something, use Google (or the BPA Mastery Forums) to find a tutorial.

The bottom line: Showcasing your technical chops is just as crucial as demonstrating your problem-solving skills and makes you learnable. It is just as important to be able to do what you need to do as it is to be able to figure out how to do it.

Take into account your work experience or proficiency in other programming languages. It would be easy to transfer the ability to Analyze Data with Python to roles that require Excel expertise.

Last but not least, before you press submit on your resume, have a look at these tips for writing a standout Data Scientist cover letter, and see how recruiters have improved their LinkedIn profiles.