Current Events > I have an interview tomorrow for a work from home Excel job at a big company

(+) Yeah! (+)

I want this to go well so badly. I've been job searching for 5 months. I've been reviewing from this giant 900 page Excel analysis book I got from a college class and also refreshing myself on some of my college projects that I can explain.

good luck

Just vlookup everything

Smashingpmkns posted...

Just vlookup everything

from the job description

This position requires advanced Excel skills requiring Pivot Tables, VOOKUP's, Multiple Charts, Arrays, etc.

I thought INDEX + FIND combos were the way to go.

And there was a version of VLOOKUP that can search left in the newer version

what about your vba proficiency?

If it means I don't need to use a PC, I appreciate your sacrifice.

I have done a VBA project before but don't have an active knowledge of it. Good reminder to brush up

KaZooo posted...

And there was a version of VLOOKUP that can search left in the newer version

Yeah Xlookup, lets you do stuff like reverse the search direction or pick the nth match among other things. I think it's only not standard because maybe a lot of corporate Excel installs still aren't at thar version or something?

good luck tc

Just master pivot table magic and you should be fine.

VLOOKUP is also important of course, but not that complicated and impressive.

Also, I'm not sure, but I would expect that it could be helpful if you take a look beyond the excel.

I would assume that this data comes from some datalink table from some database, so maybe some SQL basics may also help you.

I'm not asking you to learn to manage multidimensional OLAP cubes on a DB server, but if you can drop some SQL keywords in there without looking confused it definitly can't hurt.

wfh cool
you wont have to hoof it to work

I kicked the interview's ass. The only issues was a lock of my hair kept falling out of place and over my eye, and my sign off was a little passive. If I don't get the position it's because God is punishing me

good job kickin ass, i hope u get it!

do it for the neko bois

so true

Create an ASCII self portrait in Excel that is so realistic you can use it to cover for you during the interview.

The hiring manager said I should hear back from HR by the end of the week, but HR actually just called me and said he'd like to do a 30 minute additional segment on Thursday. Then she asked me about my relocation plans and talked about how salary would work.

I asked if he mentioned any specifics, she said not really, but she thinks he'll want to show me the data he works with on a daily basis and explain it and "maybe see if I have something to say about it too".

I can't tell if this about to be a more technical interview or more like onboarding.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/0/7/AAcZIZAAE8ez.jpg

Bump, pretty nervous about today

Doe posted...

Bump, pretty nervous about today

You kicked it once, you will kick it twice.

What kind of company in 2023 asking for those qualifications doesn't publish what they pay their employees?

Instead of VLOOKUP, impress them by using INDEX MATCH to do the same thing but with more versatility.

Relocation? Isn't this wfh?

LeCh0nk posted...

Relocation? Isn't this wfh?

His cubicle will be his new home

Best of luck you can do it

If I got one you definitely can get one. Wfh job I mean. Just don't give up on it if they say no

Something I discovered is "know your worth and name your price," is a sack of crap, at least in all the industries I worked in.

Maybe I'm just not sought-after enough to have any negotiation power.

Solid_Sonic posted...

Something I discovered is "know your worth and name your price," is a sack of crap, at least in all the industries I worked in.

Maybe I'm just not sought-after enough to have any negotiation power.

Know your worth and name your price only works if you know someone with any kind of influence at the company, and they're willing to vouch for you.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/6/4/AAcZIZAAE86Q.jpg
It was the technical interview.

IDK exactly how I did. He was positive with me but I might have been too technical or not Excel-y enough.

He showed me a screwed up data sheet a supplier sent him and asked me how I'd fix it to put in their master sheet. I said that while I wasn't familiar with an Excel function that would do this, I could import the data into Python and use regex to separate each column by the spaces or dashes then append that reorganized data to the master. He said that's cool and advanced and something he's not as familiar with, and by the way this is the text to columns function in Excel that does what you described.

He also asked me how I'd get a grand total of quarterly contracts from this sheet and i said a Pivot table and managed to walk through it correctly but I felt awkward about it for some reason. I had to clarify the question with him a couple times because I wasn't sure if wanted the total from each quarter or the total of every supply line. But I guess he just wanted the grand total (well ok bro sum the column) but said the Pivot table was the correct idea and seemed positive.

He did seem to like my idea to use regression controlling by each supply line to figure out the average and variation of their per mile fuel charges. I asked if they had time series data and since they didn't I suggested we could approximate seasonality differences by sorting regions based on how harsh conditions change during winter. That was basically a "what ideas do you have to tackle this nebulous no-answer problem in the industry" and he seemed somewhat impressed.

By the end of my degree I've worked in stuff like Stata and R so I wasn't sure just what Excel could do in parallel and IDK if that came through. I'm downplaying it all, I think the interview definitely went well, it just wasn't a grand slam like the first one. He also had some technical difficulties sharing his screen so there were some awkward pauses and stuff that probably made us both feel uncomfortable. I guess I can just hope he doesn't have a better alternative lol

bump

Goodluck. I've been working from home with an international company with excel requirements for over a year. Finishing the job today actually.

It's freaking awesome being able to chill at home, play videogames and watch Youtube >_>

text to column is OK but still a pain

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

This guy did I guess *shrug*

In the first interview he said he wanted like a fresh set of eyes that learned new data tech in college so he may have been wanting to see ideas beyond Excel. I talked about regression analysis and how I can use Python so maybe those will be plusses

homie in here excelling in the excel interview

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


As someone who did job interviews on some trainees:

it was probably to be sure that the skills writen on the resumee are legit, and not made up.

I mean, if the job description says "working in excel, using data from various sources and pivot tables" you should at least be able to have an general idea and approach.

Doesn't have to be perfect at all.

Now I have an interview with the VP and Director on Tuesday morning

babynames.com

Doe posted...

Now I have an interview with the VP and Director on Tuesday morning

Discretely pass them a resume that has only your high school gpa and an Additional Skills section that says only knowledge of MS Excel.

My parents seem disappointed about the expected salary being 60-65k but I've been looking for a job for 5 months. When I have some experience at a major corporation then maybe the market will pick up and I can get a raise or go somewhere for a lot more

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Tell them that its an excel-lent opportunity.

Doe posted...

My parents seem disappointed about the expected salary being 60-65k

That's rather high for a starting salary for pure Excel work.

What is your degree? If you know Python scripting it sounds like youre overqualified for this role

TheGoldenEel posted...

What is your degree? If you know Python scripting it sounds like youre overqualified for this role

Tech has been getting absolutely killed, lately, so "Accept a role you're overqualified for" has become the name of the game. I know several senior devs that accepted dev, even junior dev positions just to have an income at all.

StealThisSheen posted...

Tech has been getting absolutely killed, lately, so "Accept a role you're overqualified for" has become the name of the game.

I disagree, having just job hunted earlier this year

there have been lots of big tech layoffs but the overall market is still very good. Now, certainly tougher for people with little to no experience, but its very easy to pigeonhole yourself if you take a role that doesnt give you relevant experience for future roles

$60-65k? Hopefully this wasn't a masters?

TheGoldenEel posted...

but the overall market is still very good.

Data is very conflicting on this. In August, for example, the number of job openings hit the lowest it has been in two years, and job posting volume was also down. It's fluctuated since, but is still on the lower end. And those big tech layoffs have been having a delayed effect, since it threw large numbers of people into the job search market.

I have a bachelors degree in business analytics. This job is an "analyst" title, the hiring manager does most of his analysis in Excel but that's not the only part of the role. I'd do stuff like make reports, brief the sales team or operations team about our recommendations, and do market research for examples. The job would have me responsible alongside the manager for a large portfolio of pricing quotes basically

Some questions, if you don't mind: Where do you live and is it in office? Is it your first analytics job?