Excel appears in job adverts for admin, accounts, sales, logistics and NGO roles. You don’t need to be an expert — a handful of core skills covers most everyday office work.
Five formulas to know
| Formula | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| =SUM(B2:B10) | Adds a range of numbers | Total sales for the week |
| =AVERAGE(B2:B10) | Finds the average | Average daily sales |
| =MAX(B2:B10) / =MIN(B2:B10) | Highest / lowest value | Best and worst day |
| =IF(B2>=50,"Pass","Fail") | Returns one value if a condition is true, another if false | Pass/fail marks |
| =COUNTIF(C2:C50,"Paid") | Counts cells that match | How many invoices are paid |
Skills beyond formulas
- Freezing the header row so titles stay visible
- Sorting and filtering lists
- Formatting numbers as currency or percentages
- Creating a simple bar or line chart
- Setting a print area so reports print neatly
Practise with a real example
Create a simple monthly budget: list your income and expenses, use SUM for totals, subtract to find the balance, and add a chart. Doing one real task teaches more than reading ten tutorials.
