50 Questions To Help You Ace an Interview Test on Excel Jamie Birt Updated March 10, 2023 Some jobs ask applicants to take tests to gauge their ability to use popular software, like Microsoft Excel. If you have an upcoming job interview with an Excel test, it can help to study some common test questions you might encounter.In this article, we discuss Microsoft Excel software, describe how Excel interview tests work, provide interview test tips and list 50 questions you may find on an Excel test during a job interview.Related: How To Include Excel Skills onYour Resume What is Microsoft Excel? Microsoft Excel is software that allows users to create spreadsheets. These spreadsheets can organize, track and manipulate numeric data for users. Here are some job titles that often require skills in Excel:* Accountant * Auditor « Administrative assistant* Financial analyst* Data journalist* Retail store manager * Cost estimator* Project manager * Teacher* Loan officer+ Data entry specialistRelated: 6 Simple Ways To Improve Your Data Entry Skills How do interview tests on Excel work? Acompany can ask applicants to take an Excel test during the interview process. The test can help employers screen job candidates for their skills. This can be an opportunity for you to show a business your spreadsheet abilities. Some companies provide multiple-choice or interactive Excel tests while others useonline tests to evaluate applicants’ abilities. An interactive test can require you to use Excel to answer questions. You can ask a company which type of test it uses if the information isn't available on the job posting. Interview test on Excel tips Here are some tips you can use to complete your next Excel interview test: Research. If you have an Excel interview test coming up, you can research Excel uses for the job title to get an idea of what information you'll need for the test. Some jobs may require a basic knowledge of Excel while others may look for applicants with more advanced skills. Study. You can take online practice tests to ready yourself for a pre- employment interview test on Excel. Take courses. There are several online courses and instructional videos that can help you familiarize yourself with spreadsheets. Learn the layout. An Excel test may require you to know the names and locations for the different areas on the screen, like the ribbon. Studying the layout and terminology of Excel can help you perform better on multiple-choice test questions.Related: 4 Most Common Types of Tests You Can Face During an Interview Basic Excel job test questions Below are some of the most common questions on basic program use that can appear on an Excel test for a job interview, along with their answers. Shortcuts are applicable for PC users:1. What data types and formats are available in Excel? Excel stores data in one of three formats: text, floating point numbers and integers. The data can be presented in the following formats: Accounting * Date * Time Currency Number Percentage Fraction Scientific Special * Text Custom 2. What does a red triangle at the top right of a cell mean? The red triangle is a sign that someone has placed a comment placed on the cell. You can hover over the triangle to read the comment. 3. What shortcut can you use to add a new row or column in Excel? You can use the shortcut CONTROL SHIFT + and select an option from the dialog box to add a new row or column to a spreadsheet in Excel. You can also use the shortcut ALT + | + R to add a new row above a selected cell.4. What shortcut can you use to select a row or column in Excel? To select a row, you can use the shortcut SHIFT + SPACEBAR. To select a column, you can use CONTROL + SPACEBAR. 5. What shortcut can you use to delete a row or column in Excel? You can select the rows or columns you want to delete and hold down the control key while pressing the minus sign (CONTROL + -) and select the option to delete rows or columns in an Excel spreadsheet. 6. How can you prevent someone from copying a cell in a spreadsheet? You can create a password to protect the data on a spreadsheet from being copied or changed by clicking Review > Protect sheet > Password on the Excel ribbon. 7. What are some functions you can use in Excel? A function in Excel is code that a computer can use to calculate values used inside a formula. A formula is a user-written statement for Excel to calculate. There are over 400 functions available in Excel. Here's a list of some of the most useful available Excel functions, along with the calculations they perform: SUM: This formula adds the values in a row or column. You can use it to display the total of a group of cells. AVERAGE: This function calculates the average of the values in a row or column. VLOOKUP: You can use this function to find and list data in Excel. COUNT: The count function can count instances of values.« TRUE/FALSE: This is a logical function that can help you verify Excel data. « DATE: This returns a numerical value of the date. Excel has many useful date functions. 8. What is a pivot table? Apivot table is an Excel spreadsheet that provides a summary of the data in a different table and displays the data meaningfully. For example, if you have an Excel spreadsheet that tracks monthly sales for a small business, a pivot table might use the data from the first table to calculate the number of sales and the amount of profit from the sales from the month or the year. 9. How can you freeze a pane in Excel? Excel's freeze panes option allows you to view one area of a spreadsheet (for example, the bottom of the sheet) when you scroll to another area (for example, the top of the sheet). Options to activate freeze panes are under the View tab on the ribbon in Excel. 10. How can you format spreadsheets with borders, colors, themes and effects? You can use options on the Home tab and the Page Layout tab of the ribbon to customize the appearance of an Excel spreadsheet.Related: 12 Excel InterviewQuestions and Answers To Help You Prepare Advanced Excel job test questions Apotential employer may provide example scenarios for you to solve with more advanced Excel techniques on a test. Here are some questions and answers for more advanced Excel test questions for a job interview:1. What is a Power Query, and how can you perform it? A Power Query is a data analysis tool that allows you to connect and refine spreadsheet data. You can perform a Power Query by clicking Launch Power Query editor under the Data tab on the ribbon. Within the query, you can refine, manipulate and analyze data. 2. What is the purpose of Flash Fill, and how do you activate it? Flash Fill is an Excel feature that can be used to quickly fill cells with data based on user behaviors. Flash Fill is often turned on by default, so to use it you can begin typing. If Excel identifies a pattern, the program will suggest data for the cell. You can press enter to accept suggested data in Flash Fill. If Flash Fill is turned off, you can activate it by selecting Tools > Options > Advanced > Editing Options and clicking the checkbox that says "Automatically Flash Fill." 3. How can you validate data in a spreadsheet? Excel offers data validation features under Data Tools on the Data tab in the ribbon. You can select what type of data is allowed in a cell or group of cells. You can add input messages so others can see what type of data belongs in a cell. The data validation features also allow users to create error messages when certain criteria aren't met. 4. How do you create a macro in Excel? You can use a macro to automate repetitive tasks in Excel. To create a macro, you can click on Record Macro under the Developer tab. (Sometimes the Record Macro button is under the View tab on the ribbon.) You can add a name, description and shortcut for the macro. Then, perform the action or group of actions that you want to automate. Click stop recording to finish the macro.5. When might you use a SUMIFS function? You can use the SUMIFS function to find the sum of data if the data meets a certain condition or criteria. For example, if you created conditional formatting for cells in Excel and wanted a sum of cells with a particular format, you might have a formula that looked like =SUMIFS(D1:D100,B5:B11,"purple"). 6. What formula would you use to apply a red background to cells with even values? You can click on Conditional Formatting in the Home tab of the ribbon, then select New Rule and click "Use a formula to determine which cells to format." You might use a formula like =ISEVEN(A3) and select a red background color to format even cells. 7. How can you create a formula that references cells in other rows and columns? First, you can click on the cell where you want to add the reference. Then click on the cell you want to reference. A formula that references information from other cells might look like this: =D5. 8. When might you use the CONCATENATE function? You can use the CONCATENATE function to combine data from more than one cell into a single cell. For example, if a table had separate columns for first and last names, the CONCATENATE function could be used to combine the data into a column with the first and last name.Related: Advanced Excel Skills:Det n_ and ExamplesUpgrade your resume Showcase your skills with help from a resume expert More Excel test questions Here are some more questions you might encounter on an interview test for Excel skills: What are the report formats on Excel? What keyboard shortcut can you use to increase the number of decimal places? How can you edit the formula in a cell? What is a .csv file and how can we use it? How can you split a column into more columns? What is a nested if function? How can you resize a row or column? What is the maximum number of rows and columns that you can have in a spreadsheet? How do you create a drop-down list? How can you wrap text in a cell?What is a NameBox in Excel? What do formulas in Excel always begin with? What shortcut activates AutoSum? How can you group rows in Excel? What formula can you use to round numbers? How can you create charts in Excel? What charts are best for the purposes of this job? How can you lock cell references in a formula? Where and how can you perform a what-if analysis in a spreadsheet? How can you remove grid lines from an Excel worksheet? What do the AND and OR functions do in Excel? What is a dashboard in Excel and what are the best practices for using one? What can you do to reduce the size of an Excel file? What is conditional formatting and how is it applied? How can you filter data in Excel? What function can you use to determine whether a day is a weekday? How can you find out how many spreadsheets are in an Excel workbook? How would you append a table with data from another table? What is a forecast sheet? How can you create one in Excel? What shortcut can you use to open the Find and Replace window? How can you add a new spreadsheet to a workbook in Excel? How is the formula palette used?« How would you outline a group of cells in Excel? Please note that none of the companies mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.