Excel, who hasn’t heard of Excel?

While it was created in 1985, It’s still the program of choice for many enterprises to this day.

I’ve used excel for most of my professional career, and while I’m fairly proficient, I wanted to test my skills by getting this certification.

In this article:

  • I’ll list the resources that helped me
  • The material that were in the exam and what’s measured
  • Places to get certified in Canada

From google, to online learning platforms, to good old youtube, every corner of the internet will have some form of educational material on Excel.

This series of videos from Mike that I found helped me a lot, it was directly applicable to the exam in my case and I liked that it was exercise based so that I was able to go at my own pace.

Microsoft Excel certification exam (Part 1)

I also used Microsoft’s Learn:

Excel help & learning

Exam Format

It’s 50–60 minutes in length and It was fairly fast paced, with a secure login to Pearson VUE’s portal where you have a number of exercises to solve.

These are the topics that will be measured:

Customize options and views

  • Manage the Quick Access toolbar
  • Display and modify worksheets in different views
  • Freeze worksheet rows and columns
  • Change window views
  • Modify built-in workbook properties
  • Display formulas

Manage Tables and Table Data

Create and format tables

  • Create Excel tables from cell ranges
  • Apply table styles
  • Convert tables to cell ranges

Modify tables

Prepare workbooks for collaboration and distribution

  • Set a print area
  • Save and export workbooks in alternative file formats
  • Configure print settings
  • Inspect workbooks and correct issues
  • Manage comments and notes

Manage Data Cells and Ranges

Manipulate data in worksheets

  • Paste data by using special paste options
  • Fill cells by using Auto Fill
  • Insert and delete multiple columns or rows
  • Insert and delete cells
  • Generate numeric data by using RANDBETWEEN() and SEQUENCE()

Format cells and ranges

  • Merge and unmerge cells
  • Modify cell alignment, orientation, and indentation
  • Format cells by using Format Painter
  • Wrap text within cells
  • Apply number formats
  • Apply cell formats from the Format Cells dialog box
  • Apply cell styles
  • Clear cell formatting
  • Format multiple worksheets by grouping

Define and reference named ranges

  • Define a named range
  • Reference a named range

Summarize data visually

  • Insert Sparklines
  • Apply built-in conditional formatting
  • Remove conditional formatting
  • Add or remove table rows and columns
  • Configure table style options
  • Insert and configure total rows

Filter and sort table data

  • Filter records
  • Sort data by multiple columns

Perform Operations by using Formulas and Functions

Insert references

  • Insert relative, absolute, and mixed references
  • Use structured references in formulas

Calculate and transform data

  • Perform calculations using AVERAGE(), MAX(), MIN(), and SUM()
  • Count cells using COUNT(), COUNTA(), and COUNTBLANK()
  • Perform conditional operations using IF()
  • Sort data using the SORT() function
  • Get unique values using the UNIQUE() function

Format and modify text

  • Format text using RIGHT(), LEFT(), and MID()
  • Format text using UPPER(), LOWER(), and LEN()
  • Format text using CONCAT() and TEXTJOIN()

Manage Charts

Create charts

  • Create charts
  • Create chart sheets

Modify charts

  • Add data series to charts
  • Switch between rows and columns in source data
  • Add and modify chart elements

Format charts

  • Apply chart layouts
  • Apply chart styles
  • Add alternative text to charts for accessibility

Ready to get certified?

In Canada, It was actually really tough to find a location willing to help me take the exam, because when I took this exam, Microsoft’s own partners were catered only to USA applicants for this exam and so I had to find local alternatives.

Here are some options:

If you’re enrolled into a School of Continuing Studies at a University or some colleges, you might be able to take advantage of free or subsidized options like so:

If the above doesn’t apply to you, you can do what I did and reach out to:

https://workingskillscentre.com/

They were able to help me take the exam — good luck and send me a message if you have any questions.

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