What constitutes an “Excel Power User”?

[MarkAndrews]

Most of the people in my office can perform the basic functions, a few can use Vlookup (Only because they have been shown) if I throw anything else into the mix they are puzzled, eg Hlookup, Sumif, Offset, Indirect, Sumproduct, match, If incorporating ISERROR, ISBLANK etc

I find it amusing as some of them are quite bigheaded with the vlookup thing, especially on the phone to colleagues and other companies

I like to think that I know my stuff, but the fact is that I am forever evolving with my excel skills, more so now with the more VBA work I’m doing

 

[TinaP]

I checked out Aaron's user scale and, frankly, I think there are too few classifications.

Sub-Novice: Thinks they know Excel. Cannot write a formula to save their life. When given a list of numbers, will add them on the adding machine and enter the sum at the bottom of the list of numbers. (I've seen this happen.)

Advanced Intermediate: Knows array formulas exist, but needs the Conditional Sum addin to create one. Knows one website to visit for help. Knows what they don't know but wants to learn.

Sub-Expert: Knows several websites to visit for help as well as who the regulars are and those who are experts in different fields. Builds simple addins. Can look at a worksheet or macro, figure out what the original designer's intent was, and fix it since others have overwritten the formulas. Knows how to protect the worksheet so formulas won't get overwritten again, yet the worksheet remains usable. Every business needs a sub-expert, but few truly have them.

 

[ExcelChampion]

I guess what I was driving at was don't use labels like "Expert" or "power user", but instead, tell them, in plain English, what you can do with Excel. That way, it is clearly defined and not up for interpretation.

 

[hatman]

I guess what I was driving at was don't use labels like "Expert" or "power user", but instead, tell them, in plain English, what you can do with Excel. That way, it is clearly defined and not up for interpretation.

Though that is often not vey easily or well done on a Resume. Perhaps in a cover letter, or a Curriculum Vitae... but typically Resumes are better received when brief.

 

[Lewiy]

I find it amusing as some of them are quite bigheaded with the vlookup thing, especially on the phone to colleagues and other companies

It’s incredible how dangerous a little VLOOKUP knowledge can be to the uninitiated!! Granted, it was the first step I took towards realising the real power of Excel, however, it does seem to make people suddenly think that they are experts!!

I had a temp come in at work the other week to help me out with some backlog stuff. I gave her a spreadsheet to do a bit of analysis on and before I’d even explained fully what I wanted her to do, I was hit with “Could we do a VLOOKUP here?”. The tone of her voice was definitely one of “I’m trying to impress you here and I’m hoping that by using the word VLOOKUP I might confuse you”. As if!! I proceeded to create a simple Pivot Table and that wiped the smile off her face. I’m not normally one for shunning anyone who shows a genuine interest in learning Excel and I’m more than willing to help. But when people start to get arrogant about it, I think they do have to be put in their place.

 

[ExcelChampion]

I guess what I was driving at was don't use labels like "Expert" or "power user", but instead, tell them, in plain English, what you can do with Excel. That way, it is clearly defined and not up for interpretation.

Though that is often not vey easily or well done on a Resume. Perhaps in a cover letter, or a Curriculum Vitae... but typically Resumes are better received when brief.

But I would think defining your skills in the resume (which is what a resume is for) is better than saying you're an "Expert" and then directing the reader to a website to read up on what constitutes an "Expert". That's all I'm saying.

My opinion, clearly define your skills...that is what will make you stand out. If it takes a little extra room or an extra page, then so be it. A potential employer, though busy, I'm sure, is wiling to read your entire resume if he/she finds it intriguing from the start.

 

[Greg Truby]

...when people start to get arrogant about it, I think they do have to be put in their place...
~Lewiy

Just an observation from an ol' timer... generally speakin' it's better to be real nice 'bout that sorta thing. Make sure you don't forget to keep your ego in check. I am *by far* our most skilled Exceler. And yet, Excel is such a large, complex and robust product that I certainly do not know every nook and cranny. There have been two occasions where coworkers who don't know 5% of what I know about Excel, have shown me something I'd not seen before. And there have been many times that someone here that has maybe a hundred - or maybe just a dozen - posts to his (or her) credit, mentions something that I've not seen before (not frequently, but often enough to keep me humble).

And yeah, I agree w/ Todd. Try to give a specific or two about your level of Excel ability. Remember, the resumé's job is not to get you the job. The resumé's mission is to get (a) demonstrate that you meet enough of the qualifications to get past HR and into the hands of the person hiring and (b) prompt the person hiring to call you so you can take it from there.

 

[hatman]

And yeah, I agree w/ Todd. Try to give a specific or two about your level of Excel ability. Remember, the resumé's job is not to get you the job. The resumé's mission is to get (a) demonstrate that you meet enough of the qualifications to get past HR and into the hands of the person hiring and (b) prompt the person hiring to call you so you can take it from there.

True, and yet it's a fine line to walk. Too verbose, and the person reading it might be inclined to file in the Trash Folder... too little, and you have undersold yourself, or failed to communicate your level of expertise. I suppose it also depends upon what your selling point is, and I failed to make that distinction in my earlier post.

If you are looking to fill a position where Excel usage is the main crux of the job function, then by all means, MOST of your resume should be focussed on your abilities there. The flip side is someone who has Excel skills in his back pocket, but is applying for a completely different job. Take my Resume, for example: as a degreed MEchanical Engineer, my resume focusses on those skills, however, I also happen to (believe that I) have sufficient Excel Skills to mention them on my resume... but to focus on them too heavily detracts from my main skill focus. That's why I choose a breif mention, which may or may not get noticed. When I get in-house, that's when I blow my boss's hat off whith the tools I can build for the department/company... usually in my copious amounts of free time when I am not performing my primary job function.

 

[TinaP]

Just an observation from an ol' timer... generally speakin' it's better to be real nice 'bout that sorta thing. Make sure you don't forget to keep your ego in check. I am *by far* our most skilled Exceler. And yet, Excel is such a large, complex and robust product that I certainly do not know every nook and cranny. There have been two occasions where coworkers who don't know 5% of what I know about Excel, have shown me something I'd not seen before. And there have been many times that someone here that has maybe a hundred - or maybe just a dozen - posts to his (or her) credit, mentions something that I've not seen before (not frequently, but often enough to keep me humble).

Amen to that! I visit the forums and learn more every day.

 

[Lewiy]

Just an observation from an ol' timer... generally speakin' it's better to be real nice 'bout that sorta thing. Make sure you don't forget to keep your ego in check.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that kinda guy. Like I said, I’m more than willing to help people out and increase their knowledge of Excel (I wish I’d had someone on hand when I was learning – other than the board of course!). Obviously I don’t want to be too good a teacher or else I might have some competition

It’s just that some people are far too big for their boots. I have no problem if someone of lesser ability wants to learn more, but if they think they already know it all (and I don’t think there’s many people around that even come close) then sometimes it can take a reality check to get them thinking. If this subsequently sparks a desire for knowledge, then we are all winners. I’ve been there, I thought I was pretty much on top of most things that Excel could do until I started to find problems which I thought must have a simple solution but I couldn’t solve them. And I hate it when I can’t do something, it’s very frustrating. I was at this stage I knew I needed more help and that’s where MrExcel came in......