Which Excel functions have you used on a regular basis so far? Can you describe in detail how you’ve used Excel as an analytical tool in your projects?

If you are an Excel expert, it would be difficult to list all the functions you have experience using. Instead, concentrate on highlighting the more difficult ones, particularly statistical functions. If you have experience utilizing the more challenging functions, hiring managers will presume you have experience using the more basic ones. Be sure to highlight your pivot table skills, as well as your ability to create graphs in Excel. If you have not attained these skills yet, it is worthwhile to invest in training to learn them.

If you’re an Excel pro, there is no need to recite each and every function you’ve used. Instead, highlight your advanced Excel skills, such as working with statistical functions, pivot tables, and graphs. Of course, if you lack the experience, it’s worth considering a specialized Excel training that will help you build a competitive skillset.

Example
“I think I’ve used Excel every day of my data analyst career in every single phase of my analytical projects. For example, I’ve checked, cleaned, and analyzed data sets using Pivot tables. I’ve also turned to statistical functions to calculate standard deviations, correlation coefficients, and others. Not to mention that the Excel graphing function is great for developing visual summaries of the data. As a case in point, I’ve worked with raw data from external vendors in many customer satisfaction surveys. First, I’d use sort functions and pivot tables to ensure the data was clean and loaded properly. In the analysis phase, I’d segment the data with pivot tables and the statistical functions, if necessary. Finally, I’d build tables and graphs for efficient visual representation.”