Learn Excel Fast for a New Job: A 7-Day Plan

You can learn Excel fast for a job if you skip what you don't need yet and practise what you do, every day. This 7-day plan covers the skills most office jobs and Excel tests use: formulas, SUM, references, IF, SUMIF, VLOOKUP, sorting, filtering and pivot tables. It is written for new hires, career changers and anyone with an Excel test coming up. Each day takes 30 to 60 minutes.

Can you really learn Excel in a week?#

Yes, the working core. You won't be an expert, but you can become useful. Most daily office work uses a small set of tools again and again: adding up columns, looking up values, totalling by category and summarising with a pivot table.

The trick is to learn by doing. Type every formula yourself on a small table and check the result. If you want a realistic view of the longer road, read how long it takes to learn Excel.

Before you start: what does your job need?#

Read the job advert again and note every Excel word in it. Then match it to this table.

If the company uses Google Sheets instead, most of this plan still applies. See Excel vs Google Sheets in job tests for the small differences.

The 7-day plan to learn Excel fast#

Follow the days in order. Each one builds on the one before.

Day 1: Move around and enter data#

Learn the grid: cells, rows, columns and cell names like B3. Practise Enter and Tab to move as you type, Ctrl+Z to undo (⌘Z on a Mac), and Ctrl+Arrow (⌘+Arrow) to jump to the end of your data. Format numbers as currency and percent.

Day 2: Formulas and SUM#

Every formula starts with =. Practise =B2+C2, =B2*C2 and then SUM:

=SUM(C2:C7)

On the practice table in this page's exercise, that gives 6,250. Learn AutoSum (Alt+= on Windows, ⌘+Shift+T on a Mac) and the SUM function guide. Finish with absolute references: a $ sign, as in $E$1, keeps a reference fixed when you fill a formula down.

Day 3: IF, COUNTIF and SUMIF#

These answer "only the rows that match" questions. SUMIF adds the numbers where a condition is true:

=SUMIF(A2:A7,"North",C2:C7)

The result is 3,500 (1,200 + 800 + 1,500). COUNTIF counts instead: =COUNTIF(A2:A7,"North") gives 3. Then try IF: =IF(C2>=1000,"Target met","Below"). The SUMIF function guide has more criteria examples.

Day 4: VLOOKUP#

VLOOKUP finds a value in the first column of a table and returns a value from another column in the same row. If you want Fay's sales from the exercise table, use:

=VLOOKUP("Fay",B2:C7,2,FALSE)

The result is 1,500. The FALSE means exact match, and you almost always want it. If you have Excel 2021 or Microsoft 365, learn XLOOKUP too. The VLOOKUP function guide covers the common #N/A causes.

Day 5: Sort, filter and tables#

Sort a list by one and then two columns. Turn on filters (Ctrl+Shift+L on Windows, ⌘+Shift+F on a Mac) and filter by text and by number. Turn a range into a table with Ctrl+T (⌘T) and see how formulas fill down by themselves.

Day 6: Pivot tables and a simple chart#

Select your data, choose Insert > PivotTable, drag a category to Rows and a number to Values. In under a minute you get a total for each group. Then insert a column chart from the pivot table.

Day 7: Take a timed test and fix the gaps#

Take a full timed test, then redo every question you got wrong. The basic Excel mock test is a good first benchmark. Reading common Excel test questions and answers also shows you how questions are phrased.

How to make the practice stick#

Short, hands-on sessions beat long reading sessions. A few habits help:

• Type, don't copy. Your fingers need to learn the commas and brackets.
• Use tiny tables. Six rows let you check the answer by eye.
• Say what the formula does. "Add column C where column A is North" helps you remember the argument order.
• Repeat yesterday for five minutes. A quick review before new work keeps it fresh.

What to skip for now#

Skip anything your job advert doesn't mention. For most new starters that includes macros and VBA, Power Query, complex charts and array tricks. They are useful, but they won't help you in week one. Learn them once the core feels automatic and you see a real need at work.

What to do in your first weeks at work#

Keep learning on real tasks. When you see a report you don't understand, click a cell and read its formula in the formula bar. Ask a colleague how a key file works. Write down any function you meet twice and practise it that evening.

If you are a recent graduate, the Excel skills fresh graduates need lists what employers expect at entry level. If you still have an interview ahead, read how the Excel test for a job interview works.

Practise it#

The plan works only if you do the typing. Start with your first formulas in a live spreadsheet, then practise VLOOKUP exact match, and build your first summary in the Pivot tables 1 lesson. Each lesson checks your answer instantly, so you know you have it before moving to the next day.