Employers Want Applicants Who Know Excel

Excel and the Workplace

The introduction of the article Microsoft Excel: Is It An Important Job Skill for College Graduates? by Formby et al. (2018) explains the importance of having Excel proficiency in the business world. Excel has been around a good long while, and it has basically become a most valuable tool for businesses because of its utility on a number of fronts: in creating charts, performing statistical analyses, conducting complex computations, organizing data, creating presentations, and more. Approximately 80% of middle-skilled jobs now require at least basic Excel skills, with advanced proficiency with Excel making job applicants more attractive to recruiters and employers (Cantor, 2015). Excel is, therefore, a particularly important tool to have for business graduates, as employers are likely to expect grads to have practical skills like data analysis that supports theoretical knowledge, too. For many companies, having advanced Excel skills could even be a prerequisite for employment, and candidates without these skills could end up being excluded from job opportunities.

Personal Thoughts & Plan of Action

It is clear, then, that proficiency in Microsoft Excel is not really an option—it is needed. As Formby et al. (2018) show, businesses use Excel for decision-making and data analysis, and possessing advanced skills is going to more likely open the door to better pay and career advancement than not. My plan of action to be successful in the workplace will involve having a strong command of Excel, with a special focus on advanced functions such as PivotTables, VLOOKUP, and data visualization techniques. I will seek out both formal coursework and practical exercises to build my competence in these areas. In addition to that, I will stay updated on new features and continuously practice with Excel so that I can be at the top of my game when it comes to using this tool in the workplace.