Recruiters and hiring managers must assess the skills and efficiency of applicants. But determining one’s familiarity with Microsoft Office and its various programs can be challenging. 

Microsoft Office skill testing is an excellent tool for recruiters to streamline the hiring process and choose the best candidates possible. 

To understand the importance of Microsoft Office skill testing, consider the benefits and hiring considerations discussed below. 

Which Roles Require Microsoft Office Testing?

Many positions require or highly benefit from proficiency in Microsoft Office. Below are just a few common roles that require decent or even excellent computer skills and call for Microsoft Office proficiency tests before employment. 

Administrative Roles

Any roles that require scheduling, data entry, or other administrative tasks will require a general understanding of Microsoft Office programs. 

Office Employees

Many office employees need to create presentations and organize data, meaning they need some Powerpoint or Excel skills. 

Customer Service

Customer service employees typically need to be proficient in Excel or Access to communicate with customers and other departments. 

Sales and Marketing 

Salespeople and marketing teams often need to quantify and document their successes or failures using Microsoft Office programs. 

Finance Positions

Any jobs that revolve around finances and accounting will require Microsoft Office skills, especially in Excel. 

How to Determine an Applicant’s Microsoft Office Skills?

Before hiring a candidate for one of the positions above, it’s best to determine their Microsoft Office skills. There are different ways to determine an applicant’s computer skills and if they’re the right fit for the job. 

To determine the required skills, you need to understand the role you’re hiring for, the candidate’s familiarity with Microsoft Office, and their calculated proficiency. 

Outline Responsibilities

To determine an applicant’s Microsoft Office skills, you must first define the skills needed for the position. If you have no measuring stick for the skills required, the test results aren't as insightful. 

When beginning the hiring process for a new role, outline the Microsoft Office skills needed to interpret the test results appropriately. 

If a position mainly consists of Excel use, an applicant’s lower score in Powerpoint may not necessarily be a downside to hiring them. If another applicant scores high in all categories but slightly lower in Excel, they may not be the best fit even though they exemplify great computer skills. 

Interview

One way to weed out applicants that don’t know what they’re doing in Microsoft is to ask open-ended questions. 

Rather than ask, ‘Do you know how to make templates in Excel?’, ask them, ‘What do you mostly use Excel for?’. This question will help you gauge what they’re familiar with within the software. If you ask questions that they can say yes or no to, making harder to assess their skill level.

Administer Tests

The easiest and best way to test an applicant’s Microsoft skills is to administer an MS Office skill test! Some people get flustered in interviews or have a hard time putting their computer abilities into words. So Microsoft Office skills tests are often more reliable than testing one’s computer skills in an interview. 

There are many resources where recruiters can find a free Microsoft Office skills test for employment. These tests make the hiring manager’s job easier and guarantee you hire someone with the appropriate skills for the job. 

Common Microsoft Office Skills that Other Employers Look For

Microsoft Office consists of five programs: Excel, Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, and Access. 

To help you understand what Microsoft skills most employers value, this section lists the ten most desired skills within each program. 

Excel

• Analyze tables
• Charts and sparklines
• Create spreadsheets and tables
• Conditional formatting
• Convert text to columns
• Data analysis, validation, and grouping
• Formulas
• Functions (Logical, Financial, Statistical, Date, and Time)
• Goal Seek, Scenario Manager, Solver
• Macros

Word

• Compare and merge documents
• Create and manage comments
• Create forms with fields and advanced form tools
• Create labels and templates
• Formatting documents and tables
• Grammar and spell check
• Mail merge Outlook integration
• Page setup and text formatting
• Sharing and protecting documents
• Track Changes

Outlook

• Email and auto-reply
• Calendars 
• Cc: and Bcc: usage
• Configure email settings and filters
• Create an Electronic Business Card
• Create and send email messages
• Manage junk mail and folders
• Scheduling and planning meetings
• Set message rules and email signatures
• Sending attachments

PowerPoint

• Broadcast and share slideshows
• Create presentations
• Create and format templates
• Create interactive slideshows 
• Insert, embed, and link data and media across platforms
• Insert hyperlinks
• Insert and format sound and video media
• Link and embed video
• Work with Slide Masters
• Use the Advanced Timeline

Access

• Create and design databases
• Create advanced queries
• Calculated controls
• Data sorting 
• Data filtering
• Establish relationships across tables 
• Join lines between tables
• Use VBA with Access
• Use SQL with Access
• Use other Office applications with Access

Benefits of Using an Online Microsoft Office Proficiency Test

To help recruiters understand how much of an asset Microsoft Office assessment tests are, learn the top three benefits of utilizing these during the hiring process. 

Hands-on Test

When it comes to hiring people, it often isn’t until they’re on the job you see their real potential and abilities. But when using a Microsoft skills test, you get to witness their hands-on abilities and computer skills in action.

Rather than hoping they live up to their resume, you can put them to the test and find out before making hiring decisions. 

Easy to Administer

Hiring new employees is a challenging and exhaustive process. But with Microsoft Office assessment tests, you can assign a skills test to an applicant and focus on other tasks. 

These Microsoft Office skills tests can save recruiters and hiring managers time and effort in screening employees. This frees up time to handle other aspects of the hiring process that can’t be automated. 

Streamlines Hiring 

Recruiters can make more sound decisions when they have clear test results in front of them. 

Rather than debating the Microsoft proficiency of one candidate over another based purely on a face-to-face interview or resume is near impossible. But when a hiring manager has clear test results, it’s easy to choose the more proficient candidate. 

Identify Strong Candidates with a Microsoft Office Assessment Test

Using Microsoft Office proficiency tests is an excellent way to weed out the poor candidates and hire the cream of the crop from the applicant pool. 

Unfortunately, some people are willing liars and tend to embellish their resumes, making it tough for recruiters to identify the strongest candidates. But Microsoft Office skills tests make it easy to choose the best of the best!

Disqualify Poor Candidates

The best part about using Microsoft skills tests is that they immediately sort out the candidates who know how to use Microsoft and those who don’t. There is nowhere to hide when taking one of these Microsoft Office assessments: the applicant either has the skills or doesn’t.

These tests are the perfect solution for the many applicants who throw Microsoft Office skills on their resume thinking they’ll never have to perform or can learn on the job. Weeding out these people saves the hiring manager time and effort. 

Clear and Comparable Scores

When you narrow down your applicant pool, it can be hard to pick between candidates who all seem qualified.

If you’re looking for one or two small things to set one applicant apart from the rest, the test results are a great tool. You can compare Microsoft Office skills test results side by side to help you make a final hiring decision. 

Objective Results

Some people with phenomenal computer skills are less articulate than others. So the best applicant may not be able to express their proficiency in an interview or on their resume. But the Microsoft Office tests allow them to show and not tell their skills. This way, a recruiter’s bias won’t play a factor in the hiring decision. 

What Are Some Things to Keep in Mind When Testing Microsoft Office Skills for Employment?

When performing a Microsoft skills test, there are some things to keep in mind. There is no one ideal score, so factor in the considerations explained below when interpreting an applicant’s score on a Microsoft Office skill assessment. 

Position Responsibilities

The most important consideration is what the role will entail. If a candidate scores poorly on Excel proficiency, but will mainly be working with Word and Powerpoint, take this into account. 

Many people are familiar with some Microsoft Office programs, but not all. Determine which programs and specific skills are needed for the specific position. 

Current Workforce Proficiency

Consider the Microsoft Office proficiency of your current staff when reviewing test results. If all of your current employees would score in the 80th percentile, hiring someone in the 60th percentile will drag the office down. 

On the other hand, if your team scores in the 40th percentile, someone that scores in the 60th percentile could be a wonderful asset to the company! Testing your employees with the same free Microsoft Office skills tests can help you gauge the computer capabilities of your team. 

Stated Experience

Comparing the results of a Microsoft Office test for employment to what they put on the resume gives you an idea of how honest and trustworthy an applicant is. Many people beef up their resume, but if they fall extremely short, you may want to question other aspects of their resume. 

An employee that is dishonest about their skills may complete subpar projects or exemplify low potential that contradicts their resume. 

It can be overwhelming to sort through many qualified candidates. Thanks to Microsoft Office skill testing, you can be assured that the candidate you’re hiring meets the necessary criteria for technology comprehension.