How to Earn a Microsoft Excel Certification

Data analysis has moved well beyond a nice-to-have for businesses of all types and sizes. With modern organizations relying heavily on data-backed decision-making and agile analytics, individuals who understand how to organize and manage data are crucial for making effective business decisions. 

Earning a Microsoft Excel certification demonstrates your expertise in advanced spreadsheet techniques that support data management and analysis. While many people can click and type into random cells in spreadsheets, not everyone can pivot table their way to professional presentations or leverage functions to dig into the truth behind the data. 

Learn more about the benefits of a Microsoft Excel certification and how to prepare for and earn one below.

What Is Microsoft Excel Certification?

Microsoft offers an official Excel certification that helps you demonstrate your proficiency to potential employers. The certification is valuable because while anyone can list “Excel” on a resume, employers often don’t know if that means basic familiarity or advanced expertise. Earning a Microsoft Excel Certification removes the guesswork by clearly validating your proficiency.

Before earning the certification, though, you must pass a comprehensive exam that tests your ability to apply Excel skills in real-world scenarios. If you’re looking to prepare, Git offers excel courses and certification prep to build and hone the skills needed to get certified.

Microsoft’s Excel certification is recognized by employers across all industries and globally. It’s a credential you can carry with you no matter where your career takes you.

Types of Microsoft Excel Certifications

Microsoft offers numerous Excel certification exams. Take time to review each certification and choose an option that aligns with your personal and career goals.

A few certifications you may want to review include:

• Exam MO-211: Microsoft Excel Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps). This exam tests your ability to create and manage workbooks and worksheets, including formatting data, using advanced formulas and macros, and leveraging charts and tables. This certification is seen as an expert-level credential. Check out this MO-211: Microsoft Excel Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps) course with helpful downloadable resources and practice activities.
• Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate (Microsoft 365 Apps). This exam tests your ability to manage Excel assets, including data cells and ranges, tables, and basic to intermediate formulas, functions, and charts. It’s considered an intermediate-level credential.
• Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Expert (Office 2019). This exam will test your excel skills at an expert level. It is recommended that candidates have 150 hours of experience before taking this exam, and be ready to tackle custom business templates, multiple-axis charts, amortization tables, and inventory schedules.

Prerequisites for Microsoft Excel Certification

The certification process involves a rigorous exam. Before you dive into that process, ensuring you have a solid foundation in Excel is a good idea. The Microsoft Excel certification typically costs around $100, so it’s important to be well-prepared before taking the exam. While some employers may cover the cost, you’ll want to avoid spending time and money on an attempt you’re not ready for.

Some things you should know before going into the Microsoft Excel certification process include:

• Basic Excel skills. You need a strong understanding of how worksheets are organized, how to manage rows and columns, and basic formulas. For example, you should be able to create a visually pleasing table with many rows and columns and set up math formulas to automatically sum, average, or otherwise calculate critical data values. For preparation, check out the course Microsoft Excel – Excel from Beginner to Advanced. 
• Intermediate skills. You should also know how to convert raw data into visual elements like charts and graphs and summarize and explore data via pivot tables.
• Advanced skills. When preparing for an advanced Excel certification, you should practice functions such as VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, and other Excel-based data analysis tools.

The certification exam typically involves multiple-choice questions and practical applications. Take time to practice relevant skills to be efficient during the exam. You should also read about these skills and pay attention to technical names for formulas and functions, so you’re more likely to recognize them in written questions. 

Preparing for Microsoft Excel Certification

While the shine of a new certification on your resume may be enticing, jumping into the deep end without practicing your swimming strokes isn’t recommended. Microsoft suggests having a combined 150 hours of Excel instruction and hands-on experience before taking the expert-level exam.

Every person is unique, so you should consider your learning style, comfort with Excel, and test-taking ability when approaching the exam. However, some ways you might prepare for this certification include:

• A Microsoft Excel certification course. Enroll in a comprehensive Excel course for structured learning and guided lessons on Excel’s features, formulas, and advanced tools. Organized courses may be a good choice if you’re just starting with Excel, learn better when guided by an expert, or want more accountability on your journey to Excel certification.
• Practice exams. As you build confidence in your Excel knowledge, take practice tests that simulate exam conditions. Practice exams help you identify areas where you need improvement. To shore up that knowledge, you can explore additional courses, practice, or study guides. 
• Hands-on experience. Put your newly learned knowledge to work on real-world Excel projects. If you’re working in a job where Excel might be helpful, let your boss know you’re interested in taking on some of that responsibility. Consider how your Excel skills might be useful in a volunteer capacity, such as organizing youth rec team information or managing the contact list for an animal rescue. You can also practice Excel skills by creating worksheets relevant to your hobbies or household — use them to manage your budget or keep track of your book collection.  
• Study guides and tutorials. Self-starters can learn a lot and reinforce their Excel skills with online study guides and step-by-step tutorials. For example, if a practice test reveals gaps in your pivot table knowledge, you can explore free excel courses to strengthen your skills before committing to a more in-depth learning path.

Microsoft Excel Certification Exam Format

The format and length of each exam are different. Microsoft provides this breakdown:

• Associate and expert-role exams: 100 to 120 minutes to take the exam, depending on whether labs are involved. However, you should expect it to take 120 to 140 minutes to complete the entire process, including reading the instructions and accepting the exam agreement.
• Microsoft Office Specialist exams: You’re allotted 50 minutes for each exam. Microsoft notes that you should expect the entire process to take about an hour.

Exams include multiple-choice questions and a section that requires you to complete hands-on tasks within Excel. The goal of the hands-on section is to test your ability to solve problems in Excel, which simple knowledge questions can’t adequately measure. 

Expect tests to cover topics such as formulas, data manipulation, chart creation, pivot tables, and Excel functions.

Benefits of Earning a Microsoft Excel Certification

Earning a Microsoft Excel certification takes time and a commitment to mastering Excel skills. However, it can open doors, helping to advance your career. Here are a few benefits a Microsoft Excel certification might bring:

• More confidence in your skills. Passing the rigorous exam can instill confidence in your skills, especially if you haven’t used Excel in a work environment yet. After an exam, you know you have a strong grasp of Excel and how to use it in real-world situations. That confidence can shine through when you discuss your skills in interviews.
• Increased employability. Employers often value certified professionals, as the credential helps them understand your level of expertise before they make a hiring decision. As data becomes increasingly critical to all business processes, professionals who can accurately and efficiently manage data analysis and reporting are more likely to find job opportunities. 
• Higher salary potential. While the relationship between earnings and credentials is complex, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that professionals who hold certifications tend to make more than their counterparts who don’t.
• Improved job performance. Earning an Excel credential requires a high level of competency in Excel use. This typically leads to higher levels of production and more efficient workflows.
• Career advancement. Your advanced knowledge of Excel could unlock new roles in your own company or help you seek a more attractive position elsewhere. 

Industries and Roles That Value Excel Certification

Excel can be an important tool in almost any industry, but some sectors and job roles rely on it more than others. Some areas where your Excel skills might shine brightest include:

• Finance and accounting. Excel is an essential tool for financial analysis and tasks such as budgeting and forecasting cash flow.
• Marketing. Marketing teams use Excel to track KPIs, manage campaigns, and analyze data.
• Data analysis and research. Excel’s advanced data management tools make it a core tool for organizing, analyzing, and presenting data.
• Project management. Teams use Excel to track project timelines and manage resources.
• Operations. Ops managers and teams use Excel for various tasks, including tracking performance metrics. 

Career Opportunities With Microsoft Excel Certification

Some jobs where Microsoft Excel certification may be valued include:

• Administrative assistant. Admin assistants often use Excel to manage schedules, organize data for teams and customers, and create reports. 
• Data analyst. Data analysts and researchers leverage advanced Excel skills to analyze large sets of raw data and turn them into visual presentation assets.
• Financial analyst. Excel offers tools for building financial models and creating a wide range of accounting and finance reports.
• Project manager. You can use Excel to build project schedules, track milestones, create and manage project budgets, and align resources within your project plan.

Invest in Your Career Growth Today

Earning a Microsoft Excel certification can help you open doors for future possibilities. A Microsoft Excel course is a great way to step toward that certification.

Start preparing for your Microsoft Excel certification today and unlock new career opportunities in data management, analysis, and more.