How to Manage Your Time in a Timed Excel Test

These timed Excel test tips come down to one idea: spend your minutes where the points are. Read every question first, give each one a time budget, take the quick points before the hard ones, and keep a few minutes at the end for checks. This guide is for anyone with a timed Excel test coming up for a job, whether it's a 20-minute online test or an hour-long workbook.

Why people run out of time in Excel tests#

Most people who run out of time know enough Excel. They lose minutes in a few predictable ways:

• Getting stuck on one hard question while easier points wait further down.
• Scrolling and dragging with the mouse instead of jumping and selecting with the keyboard.
• Rewriting formulas for every row instead of writing one and filling it down.
• Fixing mistakes late, such as a range that wasn't locked, which breaks a whole column.
• No time to check, so a #N/A or a typed number costs points that were nearly won.

Each of these has a fix, below.

Before you start: the first two minutes#

Use the first minute or two to read, not to type. It pays back many times over.

1. Read every question. Note which ones look quick and which look hard.
2. Find the input cells. If a question says "the region in B19", note it. Graders often change inputs to test that your answers update.
3. Check dependencies. Some answers build on earlier ones, such as a percentage of a total you calculate first.
4. Look at the data. How many rows? Any blanks or odd values? Press Ctrl+End (Mac: fn+⌃→) to see where it ends.
5. Check the version. If XLOOKUP or FILTER shows #NAME?, the test runs on an older Excel, so use VLOOKUP and SUMIFS instead.

Set a time budget for each question#

A simple budget stops one question from eating the whole test. Use this rule:

Time per question = (total time − checking time) ÷ number of questions

The budget is an average. Quick questions take less, which banks time for the harder ones. Note the clock time at which you should be halfway, and check it when you get there.

Take the quick points first#

Go through the test in passes rather than strictly in order:

• Pass 1: quick wins. Totals, counts, a SUMIF, a lookup, a calculated column. Each takes a minute or two. The exercise on this page is a typical one.
• Pass 2: medium questions. Two conditions, a percentage of total, a flag with IF and AND.
• Pass 3: hard questions. Anything you're unsure how to do.

Every question usually carries marks, and an easy one is worth as much as a hard one in many tests. Banking the easy marks first means a hard question can't cost you them. The only exception is when a later question needs an earlier answer; do those in order.

Work faster with the keyboard#

Speed in Excel comes from moving and selecting without the mouse, not from typing faster. These save the most time:

The pattern that saves the most time: write the formula once in the first row, lock any fixed references with $, then select down with Ctrl+Shift+↓ and fill with Ctrl+D. Our list of Excel shortcuts that make you look fast in a test has more.

Also point formulas at cells instead of typing values. =SUMIF(B2:B8,G1,D2:D8) is as fast to write as =SUMIF(B2:B8,"North",D2:D8), but only the first one updates when the grader changes G1.

What to do when you're stuck#

Use a simple rule: once a question has taken about twice its budget, stop and move on.

Before you leave it:

• Write what you have. A partial formula or a helper column may earn some marks, and it saves time when you return.
• Try a simpler route. If one big formula won't work, a helper column with a simple calculation, then a SUMIF on that column, often will.
• Mark it. Colour the cell or note the question number so you find it again quickly.

When you come back after the other questions, you often see the answer straight away. If you still can't solve it, a clear note of your approach is better than an empty cell.

Use the last minutes for checks#

Keep the time you reserved, and spend it on the checks that catch the most lost points:

1. No error values. Scan your answers for #N/A, #VALUE!, #DIV/0! and #REF!.
2. No typed results. Press Ctrl+** (Mac: **Control+) to show formulas. Any answer that shows a number instead of a formula will fail an input-change check. Press it again to switch back.
3. Inputs update. Change one input cell, check that the answers change, then change it back.
4. Ranges cover all rows. Make sure a SUM or SUMIF reaches the last row of data.
5. Save if the test asks you to submit a file.

Practise under real time limits#

Timing is a skill you can practise. Set a timer for a practice workbook, use the budget table above, and note where you lost time. After a few runs, you'll know your own pace. Our guides to passing an Excel test for a job interview and what employers test in Excel assessments describe the question types to expect. For role-specific tests, see the Excel test for accountants, the skills for sales and operations and the Excel skills every fresh graduate should have.

Practise it#

Run the Interview drill: sales report against a timer: it's a full test-style task with revenue, totals by region and month, the top order and a % of total column. Before that, make the keyboard jumps automatic in Jump to the edge of your data. The exercise on this page is a typical quick-win question.