PreVisor Excel test

[Will17]

I need to take this before a job interview next Friday. What can I expect? My Excel skills have improved dramatically in the last 3 or 4 months. I'm confident I won't have an issue with it, but just curious about what's on it.

 

[alansidman]

Will--
found this on line

<DT class="menu-row selected">Microsoft Excel 2007</DT><DD style="DISPLAY: block" class=closed>You will be asked to perform in a simulated environment that resembles the actual application.
Description: Microsoft Excel 2007 is the spreadsheet component of the Microsoft Office 2007 suite. The Excel 2007 - Essentials assessment contains only basic and intermediate questions. This assessment evaluates the candidate's experience in sorting and filtering data, entering basic formulas, modifying cell formatting and content, inserting and labeling charts, using templates, saving workbooks for earlier versions of Excel, viewing and printing workbooks, and managing workbooks and worksheets. You will have 25 minutes to complete 20 questions.
</DD><DD style="DISPLAY: block" class=closed>

</DD><DD style="DISPLAY: block" class=closed>Alan
</DD>

 

[Smitty]

Welcome to the Board!

If you goto Office online, they have some Excel training classes up for free. Pretty basic, but it might help.

Looking at the criteria for the test that Alan posted, I'd think that you'll be able to handle it. Just go find your areas of weakness per what he posted and study up on them at Office online.

HTH,

 

[Will17]

Thanks guys. That seems pretty easy. I've taken the ProveIt Intermediate (or is it "normal"?) test and that was pretty easy (and that was before my Excel skills improved so much). They said this will have some basic, intermediate, and advanced stuff on it, so I was just curious about what they mean by "advanced".

 

[SydneyGeek]

"Advanced" is a matter of degree. A lot of 'Advanced' Excel courses cover VLOOKUP, IF, and maybe SUMIF / COUNTIF
They don't go near INDEX, MATCH, LOOKUP, SUMPRODUCT (although some skim through SUMIFS).
Pivot tables are also commonly part of an 'Advanced' course, along with using Solver. And near the end, there is often a very brief section on recorded macros

Denis

 

[MrKowz]

"Advanced" is a matter of degree. A lot of 'Advanced' Excel courses cover VLOOKUP, IF, and maybe SUMIF / COUNTIF
They don't go near INDEX, MATCH, LOOKUP, SUMPRODUCT (although some skim through SUMIFS).
Pivot tables are also commonly part of an 'Advanced' course, along with using Solver. And near the end, there is often a very brief section on recorded macros

Denis

If that is considered "advanced", it just makes me wonder what level we here, on the forums, have attained...

 

[sous2817]

At my last job they had an Excel proficiency test that I barely passed...they asked questions like "Without using the mouse, how would you go to the last used cell". They were looking for the specific key combination to do it. I argued that there are a lot of ways, and the way I did it (using F5 -> Special -> Last Cell) was just as correct as pressing Ctrl+End. I guess my point is a lot of these tests don't really test more than "this is how the tester would do it".

It may not hurt to also have a portfolio of things that you have done so if given the chance you can show off your skills more than just what the test limits you to.

 

[Jon von der Heyden]

If that is considered "advanced", it just makes me wonder what level we here, on the forums, have attained...

The final stage: 'obsessed'

 

[MrKowz]

It may not hurt to also have a portfolio of things that you have done so if given the chance you can show off your skills more than just what the test limits you to.

Good point. Possibly the biggest reason I landed this job is because I demonstrated expert excel skills by explaining the program I developed for the company I left. I don't think an employer is too interested in how "effecient" you can make code, or even what the code itself is. They are generally more interested in the end result and what kind of accuracy/time improvements you can make.

That being said, most employers will be confused if you try to even remotely explain what an array-entered formula is. If you say the words "VLOOKUP", "Pivot Tables", "IF-Then Statements", and "Formatting", you are already one large step ahead of most competition.

 

[sous2817]

Good point. Possibly the biggest reason I landed this job is because I demonstrated expert excel skills by explaining the program I developed for the company I left. I don't think an employer is too interested in how "effecient" you can make code, or even what the code itself is. They are generally more interested in the end result and what kind of accuracy/time improvements you can make.

This is more of what I meant. I've learned that my manager(s) don't really care how efficient and reusable the code is behind the scenes, they just care how pretty it is. So even if you can show / explain something like "I took 200k rows of data, summerized it like this [Flashy graph / dashboard], and allow the end user to change the reports by moving slider bars and adjusting the values in dropdown boxes", probably wouldn't hurt.