95% of businesses utilize either Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which means no matter where you work there’s a good chance you’re going to have access to Microsoft Excel. You’d be surprised how often Excel pops up, even in jobs you wouldn’t expect outside of the traditional finance & business you might imagine. The reason why Excel is so universal is because of its versatility, you can do A LOT with it, summarizing data, project management, budgeting, financial modeling. 

Excel is a blank canvas for data analysis, and learning how to work within it is more of a requirement for entry-level careers.. Even if a job position doesn’t explicitly list Excel as a requirement, it’s likely an expectation. Being able to showcase Excel training and digital literacy on a resume is a quick way to show versatility and readiness. A question I hear often is, “Do I need to learn Excel in this new era of AI?” My answer: yes, now more than ever. AI is making it easier to use Excel for everyday tasks, which means Excel usage across industries will continue to grow. Those who have strong foundational Microsoft Excel skills will be able to do much more, and achieve results faster than those who rely solely on AI tools. 

Think of it like using a calculator: calculators make math easier and faster, but you still need to understand the math behind the numbers. The same applies with AI and Excel. To verify that AI produced the right result and communicate how you got there, you need a solid understanding of Excel fundamentals first. Building these skills is key to career readiness. 

So how do you go about building up your Excel skills? The easiest way is to get into the Excel software and start building things – different formulas, formatting, tools. Structure helps, but this is where the self-plug comes in. Denison Edge’s Intro to Excel program will give you all the tools you need to start your career using Excel. That being said, there are TON of resources out there for your learning journey. Excel case studies  online can give you some good projects that help you learn and apply tools. You can even download data sets from the web, get them into Excel and start to play around with them using some of the formulas you learn. 

Think about ways you can use Excel for your own life to get in practice, for example budgeting! Unlike a lot of other learning you may have done up to this point, learning Excel is way less book learning and reviewing slides and way more getting into excel and practicing using these items.

Excel is a cornerstone of the working world, and entry level jobs more than ever are calling for you to be skilled in it. Through case studies, classes and real-world applications you can get yourself in a position to be ready and demonstrate your skills so that you can excel wherever you apply!