Microsoft Excel Training: Not Just for Newbies Anymore by Christine Harrell

If you've been using Excel for a number of years, you may feel you already know everything you need to know. You are in a comfort zone and feel that Microsoft Excel training would be a waste of your time and your employer's money. As long as you can do your job, you feel that you've learned all you can.

No matter what your level of expertise, you can always benefit from further training. Here are just a few reasons that training can help you and your employer.

Learn better ways to do things
When looking for a solution to a problem, it is human nature to stop once a solution has been found; even if it's not the best solution. For example, you may know how to get to a feature by navigating the menus but not realize you can activate the same feature with a simple keystroke. Or you might be using cumbersome formatting commands over and over, not realizing Format Painter or AutoFormat can streamline your actions.

MS training can optimize your work, showing you more efficient ways to accomplish tasks and increasing your productivity.

Learn new ways to do things
It's hard to get answers when you don't even know what the questions are. Many experienced users don't know about all the features available in Microsoft Excel. Training can reveal a whole world of functionality you probably don't even know about. Database features can give you a new way of sorting and extracting data from your sheet without tedious copy and pasting. Objects from images to hyperlinks can improve the look and functionality of your workbooks. Macros let you automate redundant tasks or even create your own Excel functions.

Explore new versions
You might have learned to use Excel on a previous version. For example, you learned your techniques on Excel 97 and your job uses Excel 2003. Microsoft's backward compatibility allows you to continue to do things the same way, but you may be missing out on new features. MS Excel training can help you break out of patterns that might have been the right way to do things years ago, but aren't the best way to approach problems today.

Or perhaps you are an employer considering the move to a new version of Excel. Your company is comfortable using Excel 2003 but might benefit from the new features of Excel 2007. Training can help you evaluate if the upgrade is going to increase productivity enough to make the expense of an upgrade worthwhile.

Think about enrolling in MS training
A few days of training can save you or your company hundreds of hours in wasted productivity. No matter how skilled you are in Excel, you can always pick up a few more tips to make your work faster and easier. Explore the true potential of Excel by perhaps signing up for a Microsoft Excel training class. This way you can interact with seasoned professionals while honing your computer skills.

Author Resource: Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on Microsoft Excel training, visit http://www.MicrosoftTraining.net/.

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