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The best way to get an edge in the job market is through interviewing potential candidates. Interviewing can be a time-consuming process, especially when you’re looking for someone who’s good at Excel. With this free Excel test, hiring managers and recruiters will know if they should offer you the job or not before even meeting with you!
The questions are designed to be used in an interview setting and will allow the interviewer to assess how well the candidate can handle numbers.
When recruiting for particular roles, it’s critical to make sure prospective candidates are familiar with the position’s requirements. Excel abilities are essential for bookkeepers, accountants, and any financial role, among others. You can employ the proper individual for the position by testing a job applicant’s ability to utilize formulae, VLookup, IF statements, and other tools.
Use this free Excel exam if you need to test your applicants quickly. It shouldn’t take them more than 30 minutes to complete, and it can help you sift out unqualified job candidates so you can only employ those that fulfill your requirements.
Excel Skills to Put to the Test
On the surface, Excel and its related cousin, Google Sheets, are simple to use, but immensely tough to master. The credentials of the job candidate may differ depending on the position you need to fill. If you’re looking for someone to work in the front office and they need to know how to make basic spreadsheets and utilize the SUM formula, that’s a whole different Excel skill set than if you’re looking for a bookkeeper or financial administrator.
For your vacant position, you’ll need to have some Excel expertise. To build an accurate budgetary picture, a bookkeeper, for example, must know how to process accounts receivable and payable data. A financial manager may need to know how to make charts to indicate where this month’s income is coming from visually.
You should test interview applicants for the following Excel skills:
- Data entry
- Formatting data
- Manipulation of data
- Utilizing a formula
- Tables of pivots
- Making graphs
- VLookup
- Fill in the blanks
- Formatting that is conditional
Regardless of the level of role you’re recruiting for, I suggest testing for the fundamentals. Applicants must demonstrate that they understand the fundamentals of Excel. They may not be able to execute the more difficult duties necessary for this employment if they don’t have it.
Question Types to Ask on an Excel Test
Some employers like administering multiple-choice examinations to job candidates. These questions may sometimes reveal an applicant’s degree of Excel proficiency. Choosing the correct multiple-choice response, on the other hand, does not demonstrate that the candidate is capable of doing the job; rather, it demonstrates that they are aware of the correct answer.
Here’s an example of a real-world Excel question:
Create a pie chart with the heading “Percent of Sales” and the following labels for each piece:
- 62 percent of the business comes from referrals.
- Outbound sales account for 23% of total sales.
- Internet advertisements accounted for 8% of the total.
- Email marketing accounts for 7% of all marketing budgets.
This Excel exam for job candidates includes a task that requires the candidate to design a pivot table. This enables them to show off their present abilities.
How to Give an Excel Test to a Job Applicant
You must conduct the exam after you have established the abilities to test and the questions to ask. There are various alternatives available to you.
One approach is to send the Excel exam to each job candidate through email. Make sure you just send the test sheet, not the answer sheet, by email.
The most significant advantage of sending the Excel exam to the candidate is that you may assess their interest in the job without putting too much effort into it. They weren’t interested or qualified if they didn’t react to your email inquiry.
What I don’t like about sending the exam to the candidate through email is the possibility that they may utilize other resources. While I am a proponent of individuals utilizing the resources at their disposal, when administering an Excel exam to a candidate, you want to know what they know, not what they can Google.
A second alternative is to provide an Excel exam to prospective seekers in person. This enables you to see the candidate finish the exam and get a better sense of how long it will take them. This strategy allows you to discover what the candidate knows off the top of their head. The major disadvantage is that it takes time to arrange, so you’ll have to put in some effort. When done later in the application process, however, it may assist you to distinguish between the exceptional and the ordinary candidates.
Examining the Excel Test of the Job Applicant
After you’ve sent your Excel exam via email or had the candidate take it in person, you’ll need to schedule a time to grade it. You already have the answer sheet from our sample exam, so all you have to do now is compare it to the applicant’s responses.
You’ll need to compare each applicant’s test results. It’s critical that you give each candidate the same exam so you can compare apples to apples. Also, rather than focusing on the overall score, pay attention to the individual questions. Some candidates may have a lower overall score but are more skilled in the area you want.
Alternative Testing Methodologies
There are alternative solutions available if you don’t want to use the free Excel exam and answer sheet.
- Use Indeed’s Excel Test to see whether you’re a good fit.
- Purchase a Microsoft Excel Test
Indeed offers free screening tools for a variety of abilities, including Excel. You may have Indeed assess each candidate on their degree of expertise in addition to asking about their Excel abilities.
This is beneficial in two ways:
- Any candidate who fails the Excel exam will be instantly rejected by Indeed.
- You may view each applicant’s degree of competence if they pass.
There are businesses that will offer you an Excel exam and an answer sheet. You may either buy a particular exam that you can download and distribute to candidates, or you can buy access to a link that you can send to them through email. Sending a link is the most effective of these choices for you since you merely get the results and do not have to grade the exam yourself.
These Excel examinations, however, may be costly. Some, like IBM’s ProveIt, which begins at $5,000 per month, are incorporated into more complete HR software. EmployTest, a less expensive alternative, offers programs beginning at $149. Purchasing Excel exams might be costly, depending on your company requirements and how often you expect to recruit.
When Should You Give a Job Applicant an Excel Test?
The best time to administer your Excel exam depends on the position you’re recruiting for and the number of applications you get. The most natural moment to have job candidates perform an Excel exam is during the interview process as part of the application screening process. At this stage, you have the candidate’s commitment since they have learned that they are in the running for the position and have been chosen for an interview.
When arranging an interview, I prefer to send a test and offer the candidate a two-day window to return it. To begin with, completing the exam demonstrates to me that the candidate is serious about the job. Second, depending on the Excel exam results, it enables me to ask questions regarding their competence during the interview.
According to an SHRM article citing multiple studies, 50-60% of job hopefuls would not apply or withdraw an application due to its length.
This is why:
Over 60% of job applicants use their phone or tablet to apply, much outnumbering those who use a laptop or desktop computer.
Because job seekers are less likely to finish a long application or take an Excel exam on their phone, you should capture essential information now and save the Excel test for later in the process. It’s a good idea to ask one or two questions regarding an applicant’s Excel expertise, but you shouldn’t depend on their response without putting them through a test.
Conclusion
It’s possible that the testing approach that works best for you differs from that of another organization. Your testing methodologies may even differ from one job to the next. However, if Excel capabilities are required for the position, you must validate a job applicant’s Excel abilities. A practical test is the most effective method to accomplish so.
