What level of Excel does this test measure?

It spans beginner through expert in one sitting. The early questions cover things every spreadsheet user meets — absolute references, SUMIF, why a number displays as hash symbols. The later ones go into lookup that survives a colleague inserting a column, pivot tables, data validation and worksheet protection. Your score places you in one of four tiers, and the tier names are deliberately the ones job postings use.

Do I need a particular version of Excel?

No. The questions are about spreadsheet skills rather than menu positions, and where a newer function appears the older approach is also credited — the lookup question accepts INDEX with MATCH as readily as XLOOKUP. Nothing here depends on Microsoft 365 in particular, and nothing depends on Windows over Mac.

Is this the same as an employer Excel test?

It samples the same four areas most employer screens sample, in the same scenario format, which is why it works as preparation. It is not a copy of any specific employer test, and a good score here is not a certificate. What it does tell you is which of the four areas you would lose marks in, which is the useful thing to know a week before an assessment.

How long does it take?

About six minutes. There is no timer on individual questions — the test measures whether you know the right move, not how fast you can click. You can think about a question for as long as you like.

Do I have to sign up?

No. You can take the test and see your score and category breakdown without an account. Creating one is only useful if you want the result kept so you can compare a later attempt against it.

Will I see which questions I got wrong?

You get a score for each of the four areas, so you can see where the losses are concentrated, plus recommendations aimed at the tier you landed in. The test does not publish a per-question answer sheet, because the questions rotate and a published key would make the score meaningless for everyone using it to prepare.

Can I use this to screen candidates?

Excel skills are a defensible thing to screen on when the job genuinely requires them, and this is an objective right-or-wrong test rather than a personality measure, so it does not carry the fairness problems typology tests do. If you want to send it to applicants and collect results in one place, that runs through the hiring side of JobCannon rather than through this page.

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Test Your Excel Skills

Test your Excel across formulas, lookup, data handling and presentation. 30 scenario questions, instant score by category, free with no signup.

30 questions6 min

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The basics

What is the Excel Skills Test?

This is a scenario-based Excel test: 30 situations of the kind that actually come up in a working spreadsheet, each with one right answer. A dragged formula that quietly returns zero. A lookup that works for some rows and not others. A column sorted on its own, separating every person from their salary. You pick the response that solves it.

Keep reading

The 30 questions cover four areas — formulas and calculation, lookup and reference, data handling, and formatting and presentation. Those four are what a job posting means when it lists Advanced Excel without saying which parts, and they are also what an employer screen tends to sample. You get a score in each one, so a weak area shows up as a weak area rather than as a lower total.

It takes about six minutes, there is no signup, and nothing about it is a memory quiz. Every question describes a problem and asks what you would do about it, because that is the difference between knowing a function exists and reaching for it under time pressure.

Closely related on JobCannon: Computer Literacy Test, Typing Speed Test, Numerical Reasoning test, and Aptitude Test.

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