Top 12 Interview Questions About Excel and Their Answers (2022)
For many jobs in the professional world, you need to know how to use Excel. Because of this, Excel interview questions might come up in a lot of job and industry interviews. Excel is an important business tool, and the questions give you a chance to show how good you are with math and technology.
In this article, you’ll learn what to expect from Excel interview questions and go over 12 common questions and their answers.
What to expect from questions about Excel
Excel interview questions give you the chance to show that you know a lot about the popular spreadsheet software used in offices all over the world. Excel is a popular program because it has features and benefits that people want. Because of this, Excel interview questions could come up in a number of interviews, for jobs ranging from IT to accounting.
Excel has a lot of important functions, and you should be ready to answer technical questions about Excel instead of questions about how you use it. Excel interview questions are probably only a small part of a larger interview strategy, so they will probably focus on the most important parts of the software, like formulas, functions, and data formats.
You should try to use a personal story to answer as many Excel interview questions as possible. When it makes sense, we’ll use the STAR method to answer interview questions in the next section to show how this formulaic approach can be helpful.
The STAR Interview Response Technique asks you to think about the following strategy when answering interview questions:
- Situation: Tell me about a hard situation that has something to do with the question.
- Task: Describe your role in the solution and show what you did to get it done.
- What was it that you were supposed to do?
- Resolution: Explain how your solution led to a good result.
- Answers to the most common Excel interview questions
Excel interview questions will be technical and will give you a chance to talk about your experience and level of skill with the business resource. Here are some common Excel questions that you might be asked during an interview:
1. What are some common ways that Excel stores data? How do you use them?
This kind of simple, basic question could be the first in a series of questions about Excel that get progressively harder. This question is set up to find out what you know about the software and how well you understand it.
Some other simple Excel questions could be:
- What are some of the most common formulas you have used?
- What does a certain symbol in Excel stand for? (For instance, “How does $ work in Excel?”)
- “What does it matter?” questions that ask to compare similar things
Example: “Here are the most common Excel data formats and how to use them. First, there are numbers that can be written with or without decimal points. Then there are percentages, which show a number as a share of a whole, where the whole is 100. You can also show dates in different ways. Depending on where you live, you can choose the one that makes the most sense. Last but not least, strings of text can also be a type of data format.”
2.In Excel formulas, what is the order of operations?
This is another question designed to see how well you know the basics of Excel and how well you understand math. This question can be answered in a simple way that shows the right order of things.
Instead of overthinking how to tie in a personal experience, you might want to be clear and direct here. These questions are meant to test your technical knowledge and make sure you have the critical thinking skills you need to find the answer.
“Excel formulas follow the PEMDAS method. This is an abbreviation for “Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction.”
3. Explain VLOOKUP in everyday language
A question that asks you to explain a specific function or formula can help the interviewer figure out how well you know important details that are likely to be important in the job you’re applying for.
VLOOKUP is a common function that lets users look up and combine data from other sheets into a column or table. It could be used by any professional who works with a lot of data and needs to be able to format it to show certain relationships and insights.
When you’re asked to explain a math concept in simple terms, you should make it easy for someone to understand, even if they don’t know much about math. This question also gives you a chance to talk about something you know from your own life to show that you understand the idea.
Example: “VLOOKUP is a popular Excel function that lets you combine data from different sets and sheets into one place from which you can draw specific conclusions.”
A VLOOKUP is made up of “lookup value,” which tells you what you’re looking up. The ‘table array’ gives a general idea of where the data is. The column index number (col index num) tells a function where in a table the data is. The range can be true or false to show whether the information returned should be an exact value or not.
When I was a bookkeeper, I used Excel to keep track of digital daily ledgers. Every quarter, I had to go through all of the general sales data and separate sales by transaction code.
I was able to do this successfully and more quickly with the help of a VLOOKUP. I saved so much time that I was able to sort the sales data in several different ways, which was more than what was asked of me. I was able to go above and beyond what was asked of me and give management other important insights.”
4. What are some things that VLOOKUP can’t do?
This question gives you a chance to show that you can think critically, which is an important soft skill for many analytical jobs.
By pointing out what doesn’t work, you show that you not only understand the function well, but also have the reasoning skills to describe its flaws. Some business leaders may expect you to be positive and skilled when you tell them about things like limitations. This is a good chance to show that you can talk about technical problems with tact.
“The main problem with VLOOKUP is that it’s easy to break. If you move columns to add new data, the column index number changes, and the formula has to be reapplied by hand.
5. How is a pivot table used?
When someone asks you how you use something or how you do something, it’s a good chance to give examples. Since this question is mostly about you and how well you know the subject, it makes sense to talk about how you have used it in the past.
A pivot table is an important part of Excel that comes up in the questions that professionals from all over the internet ask most often. This question lets you show how resourceful you are with Excel and makes sure you understand how this common practice works.
Example: “A pivot table is a must-have tool for summarizing, combining, reorganizing, sorting, grouping, counting, averaging, or computing data in a database.” As a database analyst, I’ve used pivot tables to compare how my retail clients shop during different times of the year.
For example, the Belcher Group wanted to know which of its brands sold the most during the summer. They had a campaign for back-to-school from July to August, and they asked me to find out which brand did the best.
I set up a pivot table with the brands in Column A and the months of July and August in Row 1. In the main part of the table, I used data from the sales database to figure out how much each brand sold each month. The Belcher Group used this information to find out which of its child companies did the best.”
6. What’s a spreadsheet?
Here’s a simple question that could lead to a series of more complicated ones. Since not all jobs that require you to use spreadsheets are technical—some may be financial or administrative, for example—a question like this lets you show your technical skills in a short answer that is both functional and technical.
“A spreadsheet is a digital book for keeping track of numbers. It is made up of rows and columns that make up cells that can hold information.”
7.What are some common things that Microsoft Excel can do?
Excel can be used in many ways, and there are a lot of ways it can help you in the job you’re interviewing for. If you know how basic Excel functions work, you can better understand the ones you already know, which can be helpful for the job.
Mathematical functions like SUM and DEGREE, logical functions like TRUE or FALSE, date and time functions, index match, and pivot tables are all common ways to use Excel.
8. What is the Excel ribbon?
Answering this question shows that you know how to use Excel and its tools and resources in the real world.
Example: “The Excel toolbar is on the ribbon, and it shows what can be used in Excel. CTRL + F1 can be used to turn it on or off.”
9. What is a macro in Excel?
People who use Excel often and in the same way may need to be able to understand and make macros as part of their job. To answer this question, you need to show that you know what macros are for.
“Macros let users automate simple tasks and instructions that they do over and over again. Macros can be written to be used or recorded and played back when needed.”
10.What are charts and how are they used in Excel?
In Excel, charts can be helpful in a number of ways. For one thing, they make it easy to understand important information. They also give people who read charts useful information about data and the relationships between pieces of data. Because of this, it may be important to show that you know how to use charts.
Example: “In Excel, charts are visual representations of data. They make it easy to use and understand data insights like relationships and trends.
9. What is a macro in Excel?
People who use Excel often and in the same way may need to be able to understand and make macros as part of their job. To answer this question, you need to show that you know what macros are for.
“Macros let users automate simple tasks and instructions that they do over and over again. Macros can be written to be used or recorded and played back when needed.”
10.What are charts and how are they used in Excel?
In Excel, charts can be helpful in a number of ways. For one thing, they make it easy to understand important information. They also give people who read charts useful information about data and the relationships between pieces of data. Because of this, it may be important to show that you know how to use charts.
Example: “In Excel, charts are visual representations of data. They make it easy to use and understand data insights like relationships and trends.
