Free Excel Test for Interviewing Candidates

Jennifer Hartman is an HR Specialist and staff writer for Fit Small Business, with over 15 years of experience in account, payroll, and human resources. Charlette has over 10 years of know in report and finance and 2 years of partnering with HR leaders on freelance projects. She uses this extensive experience to answer your questions about payroll. When hiring for certain positions, you must ensure job applicants are well-versed in the qualifications for the function. For bookkeepers, accountants, and any finance position, among others, Excel skills are vital .
If you need a promptly means to test your candidates, use our free Excel test that mimics data that might be included in a sports baseball club ’ sulfur node database. Having your applicants use and manipulate that data allows you to evaluate their ability to use formulas, VLookup, IF statements, and more in 30 minutes or less. Armed with the results, you can weed out unqualified job applicants, so you lone hire applicants who meet your want qualifications.

Free Excel Test Directions

When your examination topic downloads the provide Excel quiz, they will see multiple tabs—Context & Tasks, Clubdata, and Fitness Table. For the function of completing the Excel skills tests, these tabs relate to a fictional adeptness : The Patagonia Exploration Club International .

Tab 1: Context & Tasks

The Context & Tasks tab includes the assorted accelerate Excel functions that will be tested and instructions for performing those tasks using data provided across all three tabs. The information in the leave column shows the skills and casualness required to complete the tasks in each stage .
Showing context tasks tab include the various accelerated excel functions.
The test consists of the stick to stages :

  • Stage 1: Standardizing the Dataset – This stage tests the individual’s ability to process data between different types of variables.
  • Stage 2: Conversions – This stage tests the individual’s ability to convert formulas (i.e., centimeters to inches) and use the VLOOKUP (vertical lookup) function to populate them.
  • Stage 3: Pivot Table 1 – This stage tests the individual’s ability to create a pivot table.
  • Stage 4: Pivot Table 2 – This stage tests the individual’s ability to take an existing pivot table and change its values, creating new value tabs.
  • Stage 5: Sorting and Pivotchart – This stage tests the individual’s ability to sort data within a pivot table or pivotchart.
  • Stage 6: Print Setup and Output – This stage tests the individual’s ability to create a header using Page Setup, as well as print the document to a PDF file.

Tab 2: Clubdata

The Clubdata tab key lists the demographic information of all club members of our fictional club, including mention, birthdate, sex, altitude, and weight, among other data. This data is used in the Context & Tasks pill to complete the Excel test .
Showing clubdata tab lists the demographic information.

Tab 3: Fitness Table

The Fitness table shows the PECI-SCORE, PECI-LEVEL and PECI-CODE. In stage 2 : Conversions of the Excel quiz, applicants will use data collected to calculate the PECI-SCORE, and use VLOOKUP to populate the PECI-CODE from the yellow journalism FITNESS TABLE check into their answers .
Fitness table shows the PECI-SCORE, PECI-LEVEL and PECI-CODE.

Excel Test Results: Grading

The Excel Test Results charge contains the test answers, then do not send this file to your job applicants. It is for grading purposes merely and should be used as a usher to examine how good the individual performed on their judgment. Pay attention to individual questions and not merely the final grade, as some applicants may score lower overall but have more proficiency in the area you need .
Scroll through the images below for data on what each results sheet illustrates about your campaigner .
Showing completed clubdata tab. Showing completed pivot tab. Showing completed recordcount tab. Showing completed allfemale tab. Showing completed allfemalesports tab.

How to Facilitate an Excel Test

The right time to give your Excel test can vary based on the job you ’ rhenium hire for and how many applicants you get. The most legitimate meter to have job applicants complete an Excel test is during applicant screen as separate of the interview process. You have the candidate ’ sulfur commitment at this luff as they have learned they are in the hunt for the job and have been selected for an consultation.

The examination can be administered by electronic mail or in person, depending on your preference .

If you choose to email the screen to your candidates, make certain you only email the screen plane and not the answer sheet. The biggest benefit to emailing the Excel test to the applicant is that you can gauge their interest grade in the military position without excessively much investment. If they don ’ t answer to your e-mail request, they probably weren ’ triiodothyronine that interested or qualified .
The downside to emailing the quiz to the applicant is that they could use external sources to complete the trial. When you ’ re giving a campaigner an Excel examination, you very want to know what they know—not what they can look up .
You may choose to give job applicants an Excel test in person. This allows you to see the applicant study through the test, giving you a better mind of how long it takes them to complete. This method lets you learn what the applicant knows off hand. The biggest downside here is that this takes clock to schedule and requires a invigilate to sit in with the candidate. When done later in the rent process, however, it can help you separate the outstanding applicants from the average .

Excel Skills to Test

Depending on the position you need to fill, the job applicant ’ south qualifications might vary. Hiring for a front-office position that needs to know how to create bare spreadsheets and use a SUM rule is an wholly different Excel skill set than hiring for a bookkeeper or finance administrator .
Certain Excel skills will be necessary for your specific open function. For example, a bookkeeper must know how to input accounts receivable and collectible data to create an accurate budgetary picture. A finance coach may need to know how to create charts to show a ocular theatrical performance of where this month ’ mho tax income is coming from .
here are some common Excel skills to test interview candidates for :

  • Data input
  • Data formatting
  • Data manipulation
  • Using formula
  • Pivot tables
  • Creating charts
  • VLOOKUP
  • Flash fill
  • Conditional formatting

It is recommended that you test for the basics, regardless of the level of position for which you ’ rhenium rent. Applicants must prove they have the foundational elements of Excel. Without that, they may not be able to complete the more challenge tasks required for the status .

Alternative Options to Our Free Excel Test

There are extra options available to provide Excel testing for your candidates. indeed offers a free Excel skills test that can be added as partially of your applicant riddle. additionally, you can purchase Excel tests from outside sources, where they will be administered and graded for you, or even create your own test alone to your commercial enterprise .

Indeed Excel Test

indeed provides exempt applicant screen tools for many skills, including Excel. In summation to the option to ask applicants about their Excel skills, you can have indeed test each campaigner on their level of proficiency .
By setting up the Excel test during the application process, indeed will mechanically reject any applicant who fails the Excel test. You can besides see the level of proficiency of each applicant who passes. The downside to using indeed ’ sulfur Excel test is that you will not have the ability to customize the screen in any way or evaluate an applicant ’ s test performance in person .

Purchase an Excel Test

There are companies that will allow you to purchase an Excel test, along with an suffice page. You can either purchase a specific test you download and send to applicants, or you can purchase access to a link that you can email to applicants. Of these options, sending a link is the most effective for you since you merely get the results back and do not have to grade the examination yourself .
Some are integrated into more comprehensive HR software and others are standalone tests. however, depending on your business needs and how frequently you plan to hire, purchasing excel tests can get expensive. several options include :

  • TestGorilla – Starting at free for five tests, with custom plans available
  • TestDome – Starting at $100 for five tests
  • EmployTest – Starting at $149 for five tests
  • ESkill – Starting at $1,200 for 100 tests

Create Your Own Excel Test

If you are creating your own Excel test, be certain to ask virtual questions that are related to the speculate duties of the put. Your questions should require applicants to create spreadsheets and test their ability to organize, cut, and manipulate numerical data .

Review our guide to pre-employment appraisal tools for other tools to help you evaluate your candidates ’ qualifications and experience .

Bottom Line

When Excel skills are significant to the position, you should verify a job applicant ’ mho aptitude. The best way to do that is through a hardheaded examination. Download our detached Excel Test template to test the Excel skills of your applicants. Grading the test can take time but it ensures that you know precisely what Excel skills each applicant has indeed you can make the right hiring decision .

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