Chapter 3 — Microsoft Excel
Job trackers, budgets, and any list that needs to calculate something
Why It Matters for Your Job Search
A spreadsheet is the easiest way to stay organized during a job search — tracking which companies you've applied to, on what date, and what happened next. It's also a core workplace skill on its own: most office jobs expect basic comfort with Excel.
Core Skills
3.1 The Grid: Rows, Columns, Cells
- Columns are lettered (A, B, C...); rows are numbered (1, 2, 3...).
- A cell's address combines both, e.g. B3 means column B, row 3.
- Click a cell to select it; the Name Box (top-left) confirms which one is active.
3.2 Entering & Editing Data
- Click a cell and type; press Enter to move down, Tab to move right.
- Double-click a cell (or press F2) to edit its existing content instead of replacing it.
- Drag the small square at a cell's bottom-right corner (the "fill handle") to copy a value or continue a pattern (like dates or numbers) down a column — called AutoFill.
3.3 Basic Formulas
Every formula starts with an equals sign. A few that cover most job-search and budgeting needs:
| Formula | What it does |
|---|
| =SUM(B2:B10) | Adds every value from B2 through B10 |
| =AVERAGE(B2:B10) | Averages that same range |
| =COUNT(B2:B10) | Counts how many cells contain numbers |
| =COUNTA(B2:B10) | Counts how many cells contain anything at all |
| =TODAY() | Inserts today's date, updating automatically |
3.4 Formatting Cells
- Currency / percentage / date formatting — Home tab, Number group.
- Bold headers and light shading on a header row make a sheet far easier to read at a glance.
- Column width — double-click the border between two column letters to auto-fit the widest content.
3.5 Sorting & Filtering
Select your data, then Data tab > Sort to reorder rows (e.g., soonest interview date first), or Data tab > Filter to add dropdown arrows on each header letting you show only rows matching a condition (e.g., only rows where Status = "Interview Scheduled").
3.6 Conditional Formatting
Home tab > Conditional Formatting can automatically color a cell — for example, turning a Status column green when it says "Offer" and red when it says "Rejected," so patterns jump out without reading every row.
3.7 A Simple Chart
Select your data, then Insert tab > choose a chart type (a simple bar or pie chart is usually clearest). Excel builds it instantly and lets you drag it anywhere on the sheet.
3.8 Freeze Panes
On a long list, View tab > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row keeps your column headers visible while you scroll down hundreds of rows.
Step-by-Step: Build a Job Application Tracker
- Open a blank workbook. In row 1, type headers across columns A–F: Company, Role, Date Applied, Status, Contact, Notes.
- Bold row 1 and add light gray shading (Home > Fill Color) so it stands out as a header.
- Enter a row for each job you apply to as you go.
- Select the Status column and set up Conditional Formatting: green for "Interview," yellow for "Applied," red for "Rejected."
- Select your header row and turn on Data > Filter so you can sort or filter by status any time.
- In a cell below the table, add =COUNTA() on the Company column to see your total applications at a glance.
Trick
Type Ctrl+; to instantly insert today's date into a cell without typing it — handy for logging the date you applied to each job.
Common Mistakes
Common Mistake
Typing numbers as text (e.g., with a stray space or apostrophe) so formulas silently skip them. If a formula result looks wrong, check that the cells being summed are truly numbers — they'll be right-aligned by default when Excel recognizes them as numbers.
Common Mistake
Seeing #REF! or #DIV/0! and assuming the spreadsheet is broken. #REF! means a formula points to a cell that was deleted; #DIV/0! means it's dividing by zero or an empty cell. Click the cell and check the formula bar to see exactly what it's referencing.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|
| Ctrl + Arrow key | Jump to the edge of a block of data |
| Ctrl + ; | Insert today's date |
| Alt + = | Auto-sum the selected range |
| Ctrl + 1 | Open Format Cells |
| F2 | Edit the active cell |
| Ctrl + Space / Shift + Space | Select entire column / entire row |
Practice: Build your job tracker
- Create the tracker described above with at least 5 real or practice rows.
- Add conditional formatting to the Status column.
- Add a formula that counts your total applications.
Bonus: Two More Formulas Worth Knowing
IF — Making a Cell Decide
=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false) checks a condition and returns one of two results. For example, in a budget tracker, =IF(B2>500, "Over Budget", "OK") looks at cell B2 and labels it automatically.
VLOOKUP — Looking Up Information
=VLOOKUP(value, table_range, column_number, FALSE) searches for a value in the first column of a range and returns a matching value from another column — useful once your job tracker grows large enough that you want to look up a company's contact info by name instead of scrolling to find it.
Bonus: A Simple Budget Tracker
The same skills build a personal budget — useful while job searching on a tight income:
- In a new sheet, list your monthly income sources in column A and amounts in column B.
- Below that, list expenses (rent, phone, transport, groceries) in column A with amounts in column B.
- Add a =SUM() formula to total income, and another to total expenses.
- In a final cell, calculate =[Total Income]-[Total Expenses] to see what's left over.
- Use conditional formatting to turn that final cell red if it's negative.
