need to learn it all... quickly!

[ziploc_chik]

I've got a job interview for an office administration position in a week's
time. I've said that I'm familiar with all Microsoft Office applications
which is a bit of an exaggeration as I have never really used Excel that much.

I have been using the MSN tutorials online and I'm finding them very
user-friendly, and easy to follow. However, there are almost forty different
lessons and I won't have time to do them all. During my interview I have
been told I will be sitting a 20 minute test on Excel... which of the lessons
would you suggest as the most necessary to study??

Kind thanks.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

Book - Excel for Dummies
But what happens when you get the job and do not know how to make a pivot
table?
best wishes

 

[macropod]

So let me get this straight - first you lie about your ability/qualifications, then you come along here asking for help with
cheating to hide the lie. You've got a hide!

 

[Don Guillett]

Do you really think it fair to yourself or your employer to apply for a job
you are unqualified for.

 

[Don Guillett]

Here is a book that you should find useful.
http://www.amazon.com/Integrity-Courage-Meet-Demands-Reality/dp/0060849681

 

[FloMM2]

ziploc_chik,
What you need is a little sincerity, once you fake that you got it made.

 

[ziploc_chik]

Oh please.... spare me. Everyone fibs a BIT on their resumé. I've taught
myself the basics of other Microsoft software in an evening. I'm sure Excel
basics can't take more than a week. I'm a clever cookie. ;P

 

[macropod]

Everyone fibs a BIT on their resumé.
No, not everyone, and those who do deserve to be caught.

As it is, if you get away with it, you may well be denying someone more deserving than you a job and denying your prospective
employer the services of someone who does have the ability & experience - and then costing them extra when they have to fire you and
go through the recruitment expense all over again.

 

[Gordon]

Oh please.... spare me. Everyone fibs a BIT on their resumé.

There have been a couple of instances in the UK recently where people have
not only lost their jobs through fraudulent CV's but have also been
prosecuted in the courts for deception....you have been warned.

 

[John C]

You know, you are right, I've always wanted to be an airline pilot. Perhaps I
can tell them how good of a pilot I am, and they will hire me....

Sad thing is, if you go through temp agencies, they have the software setup
so you can go in and actually train to use the software.

 

[Jacinthe]

Aside from the ethical issue (and if I was an employer, I'd probably know how
familiar you were with Excel based on jargon and terminology, not just
ability to write a formula or format a cell) ... it is certainly possible to
learn Excel in a week, but I'm doubtful of the retention of such learning.
If I were you, I'd go through as many of the tutorials as I could.

And FYI, you can get a tech job without the knowledge of a program, even
being honest about it. My last job required ADVANCED Crystal Reports
knowledge. When I started, I knew how to spell Crystal Reports, and that was
the extent of it. I told them this and still got the job ... based on my
honesty and willingness to learn - two employee traits that are highly
desireable. Just some thoughts.

 

[Don Guillett]

Just one of the things wrong with our society today.
"Everyone fibs a BIT on their resumé"

 

[CTURNER82]

I'm encouraged to see people actually taking a stand for good workplace (and
life) ethics. Our company was damaged by a liar ("fib" is a cute word for
something so ugly) and like someone mentioned earlier, our time was wasted,
other qualified applicants missed out on an opportunity, and now it's hard to
trust people and open up to potentially another fraud. I also think it's
insulting to those who are experts at Excel (which I'm definitely not!) to
assume you can learn it all in a week.

 

[John C]

Not that I am condoning what this person did, all that we've said, there may
be mitigating circumstances. Long term unemployment, the hiring company had a
lack of other qualified candidates, job necessary to support sick family, etc.

I am not condoning the fib, but in this economy, I know that desperate times
may call for desperate measures.
Let he/she who has no sin cast the first stone....

 

[CTURNER82]

Sorry, but I think there are such things as right and wrong, regardless of
circumstances. I sincerely hope that you're never affected the way my
company was. Best wishes!

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

All resumes from men I have seen claim they are either power user or
intermediate while hardly anyone is.
For instance IMHO a power user should easily be able to make a pivot table
and a pivot chart, have some sort of clues with regards to VBA and be able
to use
array formulas. I would say most people are beginners even though they
regard themselves as intermediate because they have learned how to insert
new columns, copy and paste and use autosum. I have had classes where the
advanced class had people that shook their heads when I showed them the
power of array formulas or pivot tables, they had no idea one could do these
things in Excel. Men in general tend to consider themselves power users much
more than women which is trait you can see everywhere. It's also interesting
that most white collar jobs require Excel and Word knowledge while in
reality it is not necessary since Excel at least is hardly used to it's
potential in a majority of those jobs and anyone can learn what's necessary
for those jobs in 10 minutes.

--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[John C]

Like I said, I don't condone it, I wouldn't do it, but the saying goes that
until you have walked in another person's shoes.

For example, I would never steal anything, however, if I were starving, had
no money, and no hope of getting money in the near future for food, could I
still say I would never steal something and thus starve to death? I don't
mean to be so dramatic, but you really can't say what you would or wouldn't
do unless you were under the same circumstances.

Just an FYI, I know that I have lost out on 2 positions in the past because
someone else with supposed similar qualifications was chosen over me, then,
after I was employed elsewhere, those companies had to go back and hire
again. So I have been on the wrong end.

 

[CTURNER82]

I'm sorry to hear you were wronged that way. I agree that we should put
ourselves in other people's shoes and not judge people too harshly, but at
the same time we still have to try to do the right thing. I didn't mean to
start an argument or take the thread in a combative direction. If I've
offended anyone I apologize. I would like to encourage ziploc_chik to be
honest with her interviewer about her capabilities. Say that she's
unfamiliar with Excel but is a quick learner and is willing to commit to
courses or training, just like she said in the post. I think having an
interview scheduled means she already has a lot going for her, (she must have
already made a good impression and seems very confident,) and they'll respect
her even more for being upfront. (Which would be better than discovering
later that she "fibbed a bit".) Best of luck, ziploc_chik! Best wishes!

 

[Gord Dibben]

So.........what you just said John, is

I would never steal anything "but I might if I needed it"


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

 

[John C]

Exactly. I was one of the first to decry ziploc-chic's stance, and then as I
saw the thread grow, I thought to myself, what could be the situation here.

I feel bad for the beating ziploc took, and that I took part in.
I like to think that my moral/ethical value is of a high enough standard
that I would never do what ziploc did, nor will I ever steal.

But tell me, if you are literally starving, and had no money/nor chance of
money to get groceries, would you steal a loaf of bread? If your kids were
hungry? I'd like to say that I wouldn't, but I am not in that desperate of a
circumstance, and I have many friends if I was in dire need. Again, I didn't
mean to get all grim on this post, but not a single one of us are in ziploc's
shoes, and all of us, bar none, have said we would never do that (and I think
what I had the most problem with was the flippant remark made by ziploc), but
until we are there, until we are the ones on the cutting room floor, with
nothing in the wallet or the bank, no food in the fridge, can you tell me
honestly, you wouldn't steal a loaf of bread?