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Excel test for administrative assistants
Totals and counts, tidy lists, text cleanup, working-day dates and clear formatting are what administrative assistants are commonly asked to show in Excel.
Skills commonly tested for administrative assistants
- Everyday totals and counts. SUM across a row of hours, COUNTIF for replies or attendance, and AVERAGE for a quick mean. Entered as formulas, never typed in.
- Clean, readable sheets. Column widths that fit, frozen header rows, number formats, and a sort or filter that does not scramble the rows.
- Text cleanup. Fixing capitals with PROPER, removing stray spaces with TRIM, and building an email address or full name from two columns.
- Simple dates. Due dates, late flags and working days between two dates with NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY.
- Practical rounding. How many boxes, seats or vans a headcount needs, which means rounding up rather than to the nearest whole.
8 sample tasks with answers
1. Total the hours worked for the week.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Total |
| 2 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 36.5 |
SUM adds the five daily figures in A2:E2: 8, 7.5, 8, 6 and 7 come to 36.5.
2. Create an email address from the first initial and last name, in lowercase, at acme.com.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Last | |
| 2 | Ana | Ruiz | aruiz@acme.com |
LEFT takes the first letter of A2. The ampersand joins it to the last name and the domain, and LOWER turns the whole thing into lowercase.
3. Count how many attendees replied Yes.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | RSVP | ||
| 2 | Ana | Yes | 3 | |
| 3 | Kim | No | ||
| 4 | Raj | Yes | ||
| 5 | Lee | Maybe | ||
| 6 | Mia | yes |
COUNTIF counts the cells in B2:B6 that equal Yes. Capital letters do not matter. Three of the five replies are Yes.
4. Fix the name typed in capitals so only the first letters are capitalized.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | |
| 2 | ANA RUIZ | Ana Ruiz |
PROPER capitalizes the first letter of each word and lowercases the rest, so ANA RUIZ becomes Ana Ruiz.
5. Show the due date 14 days after the order date.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order date | |
| 2 | 3/1/2026 | 3/15/2026 |
A date is a number of days, so adding 14 to A2 moves it forward two weeks. The result needs a date format to read as a date, here m/d/yyyy.
6. Show Late if the return date is after the due date.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Due | Returned | Status |
| 2 | 3/10/2026 | 3/12/2026 | Late |
B2 is March 12 and A2 is March 10. Dates compare as numbers, so the comparison B2>A2 evaluates to TRUE and the result is Late.
7. How many working days are there from Monday March 2 to Friday March 6, 2026, inclusive?
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | |
| 2 | 3/2/2026 | 3/6/2026 | 5 |
NETWORKDAYS counts weekdays between two dates and includes both ends. Monday to Friday is five working days. A third argument can list holidays to leave out.
8. How many boxes of 12 are needed to pack 140 items?
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Items | Per box | Boxes |
| 2 | 140 | 12 | 12 |
140 divided by 12 is about 11.67. You cannot send two-thirds of a box, so ROUNDUP with 0 decimals gives 12.
How to prepare in a week
- Day 1. Basic formulas: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT and COUNTA on rows and columns. Use AutoSum, then type the same formulas by hand until the syntax is automatic.
- Day 2. Formatting: AutoFit columns, freeze the header row, currency and percent formats, and wrapping long text. They are quick to get right and make every sheet easier to read.
- Day 3. Sorting and filtering lists, including a sort by two columns. Practice on a table with a blank-free layout and check that rows stay together.
- Day 4. Text cleanup: TRIM, PROPER, UPPER, LOWER, plus joining first and last names and building an email address.
- Day 5. Dates: adding days, comparing dates, NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY. Learn to apply a date format to a formula result.
- Day 6. Counting with conditions (COUNTIF) and rounding up for capacity questions. Mix in an IF that labels a row.
- Day 7. Take the free 5-item sampler under the clock, then redo the items you missed. Keep the last evening light.
Which of our practice fits
The Excel from Zero and Everyday Excel tracks match this role best. Start with the free lessons on formulas, formatting, sorting and AutoFilter, which are open without paying.
Some administrative tests are a simulation of a short working session, so speed on the basics matters as much as knowing the formulas. When you practice, say the formula out loud as a sentence first, such as "add the five days in this row", and then type it. It keeps you from reaching for the wrong function under pressure.
Function guides for this role
Questions
- What Excel skills do administrative assistant tests check?
- Basic formulas, formatting, sorting and filtering, simple text cleanup and dates are good skills to practice. The exact set depends on the employer, so read the job post for named tools.
- Do I need to know VLOOKUP?
- It is worth learning, since lookups come up in many office tasks. For this role, get the basics solid first and then add VLOOKUP if you have time.
- Are tests timed?
- Some are and some are not. A live simulation runs against a clock, while a take-home workbook does not. Ask the recruiter which one you will get.
- What is the quickest win before the test?
- Fluency with absolute references, AutoSum, fill down and column widths. They are used in nearly every spreadsheet task, so speed there saves time for the harder items.