Must have Excel Skills

Introduction

Microsoft first launched Excel in 1985, and initially, we solely used it for business purposes. But, with the advancement of time, Microsoft Excel is no longer just software. It has become a necessity for life, whether educational, official, business, or even personal purposes. It is a skill that every person in their profession should know and learn. Today, Excel is used in every domain by all the professionals in the world. Basic Excel skills are elementary to learn, and anyone can try to understand.

Must Have Excel Skills for Professionals

Keep on reading this blog to conquer the 20 most apparent Excel skills for professionals. 

Data Filters

Data Filters may seem to be an essential excel skill to some, but if you don't know how it works, you'll need to acquire this skill to stand out from the mass. When you know how to utilize data filters, you can sort, search and hide crucial bits of data in a spreadsheet anytime you need to.

Data Sorting

Excel lets you sort the data in your spreadsheets. For example, alphabetical order or reverse numerical order. It is a tricky technique to master because you can accidentally sort one row or column and not another in some situations, which will mess up a spreadsheet. These tricky activities are necessary to take a proper well-organized Excel Course.

Pivot Tables

These tables summarise and allow you to count, sum, and average amongst other calculations according to your required data. It becomes even easier to crunch information and create reports that your business needs when you know how to do this. 

SUMIF/SUMIFS

This handy little Excel function sums cells that meet specific but multiple criteria. We often use it when adjacent cells meet criteria based on dates, text, and numbers. In other words, it’s a way of sorting data on a spreadsheet efficiently.

COUNTIF/COUNTIFS

The Microsoft Excel COUNTIF/COUNTIFS is a function that counts the number of cells in a range that fulfills single or multiple criteria. We can use COUNTIFS as a worksheet function where we can enter as part of a formula in a worksheet cell. 

Excel Shortcut Keys

If you understand how to use shortcuts in Excel, you will be able to complete your tasks faster. These are a few keys that we can access directly from the keyboard rather than through the mouse. We can save a few minutes using this shortcut, but your work requires daily work on spreadsheets. Mastering these shortcut keys will save you a lot of time. Example: Ctrl+C -> Copy, Ctrl+V -> Paste. These are direct shortcuts, and you need to know to save some time.

Charts

Another must-have skill is creating charts that are great ways to present the data you collated using Vlookup(Vertical Lookup). There is such an emphasis on information right now that it makes sense that the ability to create charts is a highly sought-after Excel skill.

Cell Formatting

Making the data in a cell look correct so that it doesn’t mess up formulas or formatting is vital. It’s a fundamental Excel skill but one that you’ll use daily. When you learn how to format cells in bulk, it will save you plenty of time and help you to look efficient and on top of your game. 

Managing Page Layout

Like Cell Formatting, managing the page layout is a good Excel skill. Page layout ensures that your spreadsheets and other data look and even print as you need them. Working on the page layout makes you look efficient and organized.

Data Validation

Data Validation is used to control what we can enter in a cell. For example, a numerical validation could assure that you don't enter incorrect values or a date falls within a specified period. It is a fun tool with many uses which will help you stay in control of any spreadsheets you create or work on.

Workbook

A workbook is a collection of spreadsheets contained in a single file. It’s a convenient way to store all related spreadsheets in a single place. It’s another fundamental Excel skill necessary for any entry-level role.

Vlookup

Knowing how to make a Vlookup table is a valued skill that anybody who uses Excel needs to know. Using the Vlookup table, we can collate data from multiple sheets and workbooks into a perfect central location for creating reports. It is a vital Excel skill for any analyst, an alluring career right now, but it’s also applicable across the board.

Pivot Charts

Pivot Charts are another form of a chart in Excel. They allow you to simplify complex data to be easy to digest. Pivot Charts are equivalent to traditional charts. Pivot Charts have categories, data series, and interactive filters to access more information quickly.

Flash Fill

Flash fill is the ability to fill information quickly instead of individually. It saves time and frustration. It may not appear to be a lot, but if you are working full time as an analyst, you’ll spend a lot of time working with data. It will save you a lot of time.

Quick Analysis

The quick analysis automatically saves your time for creating charts. It comes with practicing, we cannot understand it in a one-day course. You need to practice this skill regularly.

Power View

Power View is a data exploration and visualization tool on steroids. It pulls and analyses vast quantities of data from external files and is a handy and essential Excel skill in 2022. Powerview can build interactive, presentation-ready reports, which we can even export to Powerpoint. 

Conditional Formatting

Knowing how to use conditional formatting functionality lets you quickly identify data points of interest. You’ll discover multiple rules and unlimited applications for this feature, making it essential if you want to be up there with all of the exclusive 2022 excel skills.

Moving Columns into Rows

It’s a common event when working in excel where you might be working with data in rows, but you need it to be in columns or vice-versa. Knowing how to do this little thing is another time-saving savvy Excel skill you need in 2022.

IF Functions

The IF and IFERROR formula are pretty convenient to use in Excel. They allow us to calculate one way when something is true and another when it is false using conditional formulas. For example, you can recognize test results of 50 points or more by labeling the cell report Pass if the score in column B is greater than or equal to 50 and Fail if it is less than or equal to 49.

It is to calculate something and store it in a cell based on specific criteria or data in another cell. We use it a lot for performing data validations for comparing the data and calculating output based on requirements.

Auditing Formulas

Formula auditing in Excel allows us to graphically display the relationship between formulas and cells, auditing the procedures and checking for edits or errors. This feature makes auditing formula precedents and dependents easy, including object dependencies. It has numerous uses in the workplace, and although it’s an advanced skill, it’s easy to grasp with the right kind of training.