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Anonymous A
on May 01, 2019
Global
I want to receive updates regarding this question via email.

How do I master excel within a few weeks?

I will be starting a consulting gig within 1 month and I need to master excel before going in. Are there any online courses that provide complete training with interactive worksheets and lots of data to actually practice?

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Top answer
Vlad
Coach
on May 01, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

You need to learn the following:

Basics

  • Fast excel - throw away your mouse and put some tape on your touchpad. Do everything with your keyboard!
  • The main formulas (especially vlookup, column, etc)
  • Pivot tables
  • Nice formating
  • Modeling - you need at least to know how to structure your sheets (Inputs, outputs, sources, versions, etc)

Advanced skills include:

  • Financial modeling (making proforma statement)
  • Valuation of projects / companies

The best offline courses are Training the street.

Best!

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Guennael
Coach
on May 01, 2019
Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews

Wallstreet prep is probably the best. To "excel" however, you will need to work on a project and actually creat models: just going through a course will never replace hands on experience.

Is one month enough time? Absolutely! Good luck, happy learning

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Clara
Coach
on Dec 26, 2019
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hi!

Super recommended that you do a refreshment on the basics, any in the internet will do. 

Cheers!

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Deleted user
on Jun 08, 2020

Dear A,

Congratulations to your offer!

It would be helpful for you to learn the business-focused Excel features.

In business, about 80% of your work will come from 20% of the functionality of the Microsoft Excel.

The core skills of a competent business Excel user are something like:

  • Formatting & basic formulas
  • Mouse-free Excel navigation
  • Vlookups & conditional statements
  • Data analysis - filtering, sorting, and analyzing data
  • Data visualization - tables, charts, and dual axis charts
  • What-if-analysis
  • Pivot tables

If you can do these things, you’ll outperform 95% of people in the workplace.

To learn these concepts, you could:

  • Learn the concepts online for free
  • Take an online course

If you’re looking for something free, I’d recommend Googling & Youtube-ing those topics on my list. Tons of free material online. On Udemy you can also find some courses. 

If you’re short on time, take a short business-focused online course.

I’d recommend the following business-focused course focused on mastering the 20% of functions that make up 80% of Excel work.

Best,

André

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