Basic Excel Skills Employers Want and How to Get Them

Key Takeaways 

• The most important basic Excel skills include navigating the ribbon, entering data correctly, writing formulas and functions, sorting and filtering data, creating charts and sharing workbooks. 
• Employers look for candidates who can use Excel to organize data, perform calculations and present findings clearly. 
• You don't need to be an expert. Mastering a core set of Excel skills for beginners builds a foundation you can grow from throughout your career. 
• Listing specific Excel skills on your resume (rather than just "proficient in Excel") signals real competency to hiring managers. 

Why Basic Excel Skills Matter for Your Career 

Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used applications in the business world. It is an essential tool for organizing and analyzing data, and many jobs require proficiency in its use. Perhaps even more importantly, employers are looking for problem solvers and organized leaders. Basic Excel skills signal that you have invested in the tools to bring both job-specific and these "soft" skills to your performance. 

Excel consistently ranks among the most requested software skills in job postings across industries, from finance and healthcare to marketing and operations. Whether you are applying for your first role or looking to advance in your current position, the Excel skills employers look for go beyond simply knowing the software exists. Hiring managers want to see that you can organize information, perform calculations and draw conclusions from data. Basic Excel competence signals analytical thinking, attention to detail and a willingness to solve problems with the right tools. 

So, what counts as "Basic Excel Skills"? The following is a breakdown of the fundamentals that support many useful tasks and make you a stronger candidate in any field. 

The 5 Basic Excel Skills Every Professional Needs 

Before diving into the details, here is a concise overview of the five core skill areas that form the foundation of Excel proficiency. Job descriptions and interviews most often mention these basic Excel skills. 

1. Data entry and formatting - Knowing how to enter, organize and format data correctly is the starting point for everything else in Excel. This includes understanding cell types, layouts and tools like AutoFill. 
2. Formulas and functions - Writing basic Excel formulas such as SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX and MIN allows you to perform calculations and analyze data without manual effort. 
3. Sorting and filtering - These tools let you quickly organize and narrow down large datasets to find the specific information you need. 
4. Chart creation - Turning raw numbers into visual graphics like bar charts and pie charts makes data easier to interpret and share with others. 
5. Printing and sharing workbooks - Knowing how to prepare Excel files for print and share them in the right format ensures your work reaches others in a professional, readable form. 

The sections below cover each of these areas in detail with practical tips for building your skills. 

Learn the Excel Ribbon 

The ribbon is the toolbar at the top of Excel that organizes all tools and features into tabbed categories. The ribbon serves as the primary navigation interface across all Microsoft Office applications. Its genius is that you don't have to know where every command is located, you just need to have a good general sense of how Excel groups the categories of commands. You might not have ever noticed the Subtotal command, but if you recognize that applying a Subtotal is going to perform an action on your Data, you should quickly think to look for it on the Data tab, for example. 

Study what kinds of commands each tab contains and quiz yourself to find ones you are using or learning about. 

Master Entering Data 

Entering data is a fundamental skill in Excel, and it is more nuanced than it first appears. Getting the hang of how cells, columns and rows work and interact can take some practice. And once you are comfortable selecting cells and typing or copy/pasting data into them, you will quickly become aware of how much more there is to prepare useful spreadsheets such as: 

• Layout - How you organize your rows and columns of information directly impacts how easy it will be to add calculations. Certain kinds of analysis, such as PivotTables and charts, will also require specific data layouts. 
• Data types - You must set each cell to the correct data types so that when you begin analysis, you are comparing apples to apples...or numbers to numbers and dates to dates, for example. 
• AutoFill – Shortcuts such as AutoFill and FlashFill aren't just helpful tricks, they are essential tools for entering data correctly and efficiently. 

Practice by preparing several worksheets to solve specific tasks. Pay attention, then, to how your data layout impacts your calculations and practice using AutoFill to complete them as efficiently as possible. Solving real problems, even simple ones, will shake out the basics you need to learn to complete the task. 

Understand Formulas and Functions 

Formulas and functions form the backbone of Excel but can also challenge beginners the most. It simply takes some practice to begin thinking about calculations in terms of cells, functions and arguments. 

Begin by creating a simple formula, such as using the Excel SUM formula to add two rows or two columns of numbers. Use AutoFill to see how Excel adjusts formulas as they populate across the spreadsheet. Then, apply a more complicated formula that adds additional calculations. Until you trust yourself, practice with calculations you can confirm in your head or with a calculator to catch and correct formula writing bugs. 

Finally, repeat the above for the most common functions including SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX and MIN. Make sure to know the functions common in your area of work such as Text functions if you work with a lot of text data, or date functions if you handle a lot of time-sensitive data. 

Sort and Filter Data 

Sorting and filtering is essential for viewing and understanding large sets of data. Open a large spreadsheet, one with multiple columns and many rows. Then, use sort and filter techniques to answer specific questions. Example A shows a transaction report that sorts by the Amount column. This can answer the question "what were my most expensive transactions this year?" 

Example B shows the same file that filters to answer the question "what did I spend on Building Maintenance this year?" This sheet filters to show only the Bld Maintenance group and then sorts by amount. 

Starting with a question you want answered is the best way to learn and understand how Excel's tools and features work. 

Create Charts 

Excel charts and graphs are a great way to visualize data that is otherwise difficult to interpret. Graphics can, in fact, provide the most important step between gathering data and understanding it. As before, start with a set of data to practice on, then use charts to answer specific questions. This example builds on our previous data and answers the question "What am I spending the most on in Building Maintenance?" 

Print and Share Workbooks 

Finally, you should know how to print and share your Excel files. Unlike word processing tools that always have printouts in mind, Excel prioritizes onscreen analysis instead of paper. Printing can be confusing and cumbersome to pull off. 

Practice with medium size spreadsheets – not too big, but large enough for at least two or three sheets of paper. Adjust print area, page orientation, margins and scaling settings to produce readable, pleasing printed versions of your data. 

And assume that you will regularly share workbook files with others. Save an example file into several file formats and make sure you know when and why you would use each one. 

In Summary 

Mastering basic Excel skills is all about being confident enough to learn the next thing you need to know. Build a solid foundation from the above list, and you'll be able to claim Basic Excel Skills as a resume item and demonstrate the ability to learn whatever job-specific tasks your employer throws your way. 

These fundamentals also set the stage for intermediate and advanced Excel work. Once you are comfortable with data entry, formulas and functions, sorting, charting and sharing workbooks, you will find that more complex features like PivotTables, VLOOKUP and conditional formatting build naturally on what you already know. 

If you need additional help reaching this level of confidence, or if you simply learn better in a guided setting, Pryor Learning has many Excel courses at all levels to get you there, starting with Excel basics training. 

How to List Basic Excel Skills on Your Resume 

Knowing Excel is one thing. Communicating that knowledge to a hiring manager is another. When listing Excel skills for resume purposes, specificity matters. A line that reads "proficient in Microsoft Excel" tells an employer very little. Instead, call out the exact skills you can perform. 

The table below can help you identify where your skills fall and choose the right language for your resume.

Here are a few example resume phrases to consider: 

• Basic: "Organized and analyzed departmental data using Excel formulas, sorting and chart tools." 
• Intermediate: "Built PivotTable reports and used VLOOKUP to consolidate data across multiple sources." 
• Advanced: "Automated monthly reporting workflows using Excel macros and Power Query." 

Keep in mind that demonstrating Excel skills during an interview or through a skills assessment is increasingly common. Be prepared to back up what you list on your resume with hands-on ability. 

Jobs That Require Basic Excel Skills 

Excel is not limited to a single industry or role. A wide range of positions list basic Excel proficiency as a requirement or preferred qualification. Here are some of the most common: 

• Administrative assistant - Uses Excel to manage schedules, track office supplies and organize contact lists. 
• Accountant - Relies on Excel for bookkeeping, reconciling accounts and preparing financial summaries. 
• Data analyst - Works with large datasets in Excel to identify trends, clean data and build reports. 
• Project manager - Tracks timelines, budgets and task assignments using Excel spreadsheets and charts. 
• HR coordinator - Manages employee records, tracks time-off requests and compiles headcount reports. 
• Marketing coordinator - Analyzes campaign performance data, manages content calendars and tracks budgets. 
• Financial analyst - Builds financial models, forecasts revenue and prepares variance reports. 
• Sales manager - Monitors pipeline data, tracks quotas and generates performance dashboards. 

If your target role appears on this list, investing in your basic Excel skills is one of the most practical steps you can take to strengthen your candidacy. 

What Comes After Basic: Intermediate and Advanced Excel Skills 

Once you have a solid handle on the basics, a clear path of growth opens up. Intermediate Excel skills build directly on your foundation and include: 

• Excel PivotTables for summarizing and analyzing large datasets 
• VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP for pulling data from other tables 
• Conditional formatting for highlighting key data points visually 
• Data validation for controlling what users can enter into cells 

Advanced Excel skills take your capabilities further and are often required for specialized roles in finance, analytics and operations: 

• Macros and VBA for automating repetitive tasks 
• Power Query for importing and transforming data from external sources 
• Power Pivot for building data models across multiple tables 
• Dynamic arrays for creating flexible, spill-range formulas 

You don't need to learn everything at once. Each new skill you add makes the next one easier to pick up. Pryor Learning offers intermediate and advanced Excel courses in multiple formats so you can continue building at your own pace.