Are You Ready to Pass a Software Skills Test?

It does happen.  Employers can and will ask, during a job interview, for a potential candidate to demo their Microsoft Office skills in Excel, Word or PowerPoint.  I’ve been there myself.  In one particular interview, I was asked to create a flyer, using Word, advertising a new on site instructor led training program where staff could sign up for instructor led training or visit, on their own, an on site self-serve learning lab to watch pre-made videos.

So, there I was sitting at someone's desk with a computer in front of me while the three pretty intense interviewers stood by and watched.  Luckily, I was able to quickly create a colorful and engaging flyer, but this unexpected experience was not only stressful, it was also an insightful moment.  What if I choked and couldn't create something to impress them enough to hire me?  It certainly could have gone in the other direction but luckily it didn't since I had honed the Word skills I needed the most for this challenge.

And now, with online job interviews plus regular work style itself becoming not only more common and popular, potential candidates are far more likely to be asked to instantly share their screen and demo the Microsoft Skills required for the job while at the same time trying to successfully impress their potential new company.  Are you ready?