#Microsoft excel spreadsheet test how to#
It tells me I have more work to do.” I was touch and moved to show him how to go about the tasks in the test. On a recent test I conducted, a test candidate said “Even if I do not get this job, I am happy to have seen this Excel test. He then sat the Job candidate down and completed the test before him in 7 minutes.Įxcel can be very humbling.
So on this test day, my Boss stared at the candidate and asked: “You said no one can finish this test in 30 minutes?”. For me, any candidate that finishes in 10 minutes would sure be the candidate of choice. My Boss then said, anybody good in Microsoft Excel will finish the test in 10 minutes. I was of the opinion that 15 minutes was too small and that 30 minutes is okay. Now this was very interested because, I came up with the questions and prior to test day, my Korean Boss and I were deciding on the time to be given to candidates for the test. His reason for poor performance was that “no one can complete the test in 30 minutes”. There was another occasion where the individual had spent 30 minutes, as given for the test, and the time was up. Excel 2007 and Excel 2010 are more that 75% alike. I remember a test session where the candidate said she performed poorly because she is not Used to Excel 2010 but Excel 2007. I have found that most people use a VLOOKUP function to do What the MATCH functions does proficiently. That shows that VLOOKUP has limits and beyond those limits, you should be prepared to work proficiently with excel. I my opinion, and one shared by many passionate users of Excel alike, VLOOKUP has its place and most often, for ad-hoc data retrieval and presentation. In the world of expert users of Microsoft Excel, using VLOOKUP is one way you tell that you are not an expert in Excel. When asked, how good are you with Excel Functions?, majority respond by saying, “I can use Vlookup ……”. VLOOKUP alone does not confer on you 7-1o Level of Proficiency The reason? He was not applying absolute referencing as appropriate to the question. In one test session, I notice the candidate using VLOOKUP function but not getting the desired result. You can see more on the requirements for Microsoft Excel specialist or Expert here.
And If you cannot recall, on the spot 40 Excel functions you can use proficiently, you are not yet an Excel Expert (Expert Level). If you cannot recall, on the spot 20 Microsoft Excel functions you can use proficiently, you are not yet an Excel Specialist (Specialist Level). Have this as a rule: If you cannot recall, on the spot 10 Microsoft Excel functions you can use proficiently, you are not yet an Excel User (User Level). Poor knowledge of the structure of Microsoft Excel functions and stretched application of such knowledge are likely the cause in this regard. In my testing experience, I have met with candidates who knew the right function to use for a task but could not reference the right inputs to get the desired result. You may be the guru in your current place of work but only to find that your current place of work does not offer as much spreadsheet challenge as your anticipated place of work. When asked “on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your proficiency in Excel?”, my suggestion is, say that proficiency is relative and that you will prefer a hand-on test to confirm you proficiency or you could admit that where you come from, you are rated high but you do not know how you would rate in other skill demands. However, the results after a hands-on test has always been between 0 and 3. Remember that question? - “on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your proficiency in Excel?” - The responses has always been between 7 and 9. I am yet to meet an individual who humbly accepts the fact that proficiency in Microsoft Excel is relative. I will like to share my observations with those who may be interested in it.
I have tested over 80 persons in my experience and hopefully, that number will still be counting in the near future. I have been privileged to test job candidates for Microsoft Excel proficiency in two of the companies I have worked and currently working in and my observations have been interesting.
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