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Excel skills?

marianna

Veteran

Hi, all. I've been a stranger for a while, but I know this forum has a wealth of knowledge so I'd like to ask your advice.

I've been approached regarding a possible promotion at work. I've had a few interviews and everything is pointing in the right direction. The promotion would be in a different department doing an entirely different job, and it is a step up in my career. The job requires "advanced" Excel skills, which I do not have, but the manager said he would teach me and it's easy to learn. Basically I would be working with numerous spreadsheets and would need to do VLOOKUP and pivot tables. I have some experience with pivot tables but no experience with VLOOKUP.

What are your thoughts on accepting a job under these circumstances? The manager is aware and is willing to teach, but it still worries me.

How difficult/easy is it to learn VLOOKUP and other Excel functions/formulas? Any thoughts would be appreciated...

Thanks in advance!

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19 replies

Latest reply was from marianna

Diana

Veteran

Vlookup is easy. I think someone showed me once and then I was doing it myself. I think using most excel functions is easy if you know what function you actually need. And even when I don't know what function I want, google usually has the answer. So I wouldn't sweat it.

rachylou

Veteran

I feel it's easy too... but you have to know yourself. If, for example, you learned Excel and didn't think twice about then opening up Word and typing away, I would sign up for a class.

Laurinda

Veteran

Youtube is your friend
Search on 'how to use vlookup'

crutcher

Veteran

If you don't find what you want here on our board, why don't you try Corporette.com...Someone there may have the information you are looking for...

anne

Veteran

I'm not all that up with advanced Excel, but I'd definitely go for the job, especially if the manager, know you don't know it and says he'll teach you - how can you lose?! He obviously wants you to do the job!

And I have also found googling very helpful to find online tutorials when I can't do something on excel or other software - plus as Laurinda said, there are Youtube videos on just about anything these days!!

Debbie

Veteran

I would go for it. When I took a new job last summer I had very little Excel experience. With online tutorials and a class I have done fine. I think,you would be amazed at how fast you pick it up.

ATLynn

Veteran

If you are an analytical and logical person in your work brain, you will have no trouble manipulating data with pivot tables and vlookup. Have no worries - with google as your friend, you can do anything. The first few assignments will take 4-6x longer than normal.

The more important question to me is: How much of the job is tied to the excel requirement and are you the type of person who will get personal satisfaction out of staring at spreadsheets all day? I come from nerd stock and went to an engineering school. I have worked in IT consulting for many years. I know my spreadsheets well. I could not handle a spreadsheet based job for very long. But many, many, many of my friends love the sense of calm and peace of all the data coming together beautifully in tiny boxes, and left higher profile gigs to do 9-5 data analysis work. .

Marley

Veteran

I have just enough Excel skills to get myself in trouble, so I cannot imagine what "advanced Excel skills" even means! And, VLOOKUP/pivot tables? Never heard of them. But for you, it sounds as though your manager has seen that you have the qualities and temperament to learn and perform those tasks - so, if everything else is a "go" - I'd take the job!

Gigi

Veteran

I don't know much about Excel, but if your manager doesn't have a problem with your not knowing some advanced functions, I would take the job. I think that your manager probably knows your capabilities and that you would be able to learn these things, so I would trust his or her judgment. Don't sell yourself short.

Glory

Veteran

I would not let this stop you at all. There are loads of tutorials online that you can take and quickly become familiar. You can do this prior to your new boss teaching you so that you have some knowledge before starting. It is just an app - your the boss of the app!

Jules

Veteran

I have some recent experience with this, down the pivot tables Even though I have a very technical job I am ironically slow at learning apps and GUIs. I would say absolutely take the job, however, I would take above advice to do some tutorials etc beforehand. That way when the boss shows you you will have some prior exposure which should help the information "take". Also, depending on how your boss explains things and your learning style, you might greater efficiency and proficiency from the tutorials... I personally learn better from reading/consulting documentation and then practising myself, than from having someone show me... which I tend to interpret as "it's easy! click here, click there, voila, you have no idea what I just did and I'm walking away now".

Gaylene

Veteran

Seriously, after teaching advanced computer courses to students (Word, Excel, Access, and networking) for years, I'd say it depends on your attitude more than anything else. If you like working with computers, and you are willing to spend a bit of time to understand why you need to do certain things in a certain way, you'd have no trouble getting up to speed in a day or two. The students who had difficulty were the ones who just wanted a sequence of "do this, then do that", rote learning without having to engage their brains. They preferred to yell at the machine instead of trying to figure out where the sequence broke down if things wouldn't work. There is nothing particularly hard or mysterious about ANY of the Excel functions or features, but some people just have a low tolerance for working with machines. Heck, I was an English geek with a minimal math background who ended up as a certified MS trainer in Word, Access, and Excel!

ETA: Actually, it's sort of like Angie telling us that we need to be the boss of our closets, instead of feeling bossed around by our clothes. You just need to realize you are the boss of that computer and bend it to your will.

marianna

Veteran

Thanks for the feedback, all. ATLynn brought up a really good point, and I've been thinking about this all day -- is this the type of job I want? Will I be happy looking at pages of data? I don't know.

So, lots to think about. I'm sure I could learn the skills, but would I enjoy the daily work? Not sure...

Thistle

Veteran

I use advanced Excel all day long. Vlookups aren't hard IF you're willing to learn.

I get where the hiring manager is coming from, though. If he likes you, if you'll be a good fit for his team, if you have the right personality and work ethic, etc. I'd want you in the role. I can teach you vlookups, especially if you're already using pivot tables, but I can't teach you the other stuff.

kkards

Veteran

honestly, after the first 5 or so vlookups are easy, and if you using an current version of excel, just use the built in formula builder. pivot table take a little practice, but once you get it, its not that hard either. like most things in life, the more you use the formulas, the easier they become.
as others have mentioned, i've found google to be an excellent source, in fact, i've copied entire formulas from something i've found on line, formulas that are way beyond my skill level if i was starting from scratch…..
also, i've found that every office has a google super user how is usually open to helping on more advanced formulas, and giving some basic training.
if this is a job you want, i wouldn't let not knowing lookups hold you back.

rachylou

Veteran

Right, I just realised my post above was completely garbled... I meant, if you open new apps and just start using them, I wouldn't worry. Otherwise, I'd take a tutorial and take the job.

Mander

(website)

Veteran

If you can get your head around pivot tables, then you can learn VLOOKUP! As others have said, it's more about your approach. If you want to learn the steps by rote and feel nervous about figuring out where something went wrong, then that can be a problem. But if you are able to just jump in and start playing with it, I think you'll be fine.

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

vlookup (and hlookup) are easier than pivot tables. I did a quick tutorial for our team and included a few data manipulation functions. Very easy to learn and use. I bought a book for the office on advanced excel techniques and a few of the group learned how to do amazing work with just a book.

If you think you would like the job then don't let something this small prevent you from taking it.

marianna

Veteran

Thanks again for all your thoughts and opinions. I am feeling better and more confident now. No job offer yet, but maybe in the next few days. If I get the job/accept the job, I will absolutely look at some online tutorials before I start training. Thanks!