I sat quietly at my desk in the back corner of the small
accounts department, nervously glancing at the spreadsheet on my computer
screen. Numbers swam before his eyes — columns, rows, formulas, functions.
Nothing made sense. I had joined the company six months earlier, hoping to
finally find stability. But every day felt like I was barely holding on. My
Excel skills were nearly non-existent, and in a department that ran on
spreadsheets, that was a problem.
The breaking point came one Friday afternoon. My supervisor,
Neha, called me in and gently said, “Dilshad, we all like your attitude, but
you’re going to have to step up. If you don’t improve your Excel skills, it’s
going to be hard to justify keeping you on this team.”
I walked out of the office feeling humiliated. That evening,
instead of collapsing in front of the TV like he usually did, he opened YouTube
and typed: "How to learn Excel for beginners." That one search
became the first spark of change in his life.
Step One: Starting from Zero
I set a simple goal: learn something new about Excel every
single day. I started small — learning what a cell was, how to use SUM, how to
adjust column widths, and how to freeze panes. It felt silly at first, like
learning the alphabet again. But I kept at it. I took notes. I practiced after
work. Sometimes I’d stay an extra hour just to redo tasks I had earlier
struggled with.
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Two weeks in, I felt confident enough to automate one of my
weekly reports using simple formulas like IF, SUMIF, and COUNTIF. When I
submitted it, Neha raised an eyebrow.
“Did you do this?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied, trying to sound casual while hiding his
excitement.
“This is good,” she said. “Really good.”
It was the first time she had complimented him. I beamed the
whole way home.
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Step Two: The Formula That Changed Everything
One month into his self-study journey, I stumbled upon something that would change everything: VLOOKUP. At first, it looked confusing — too many parameters, too many rules. But I kept practicing until I could use it confidently. Then came pivot tables. At first, he couldn’t understand why anyone would use them. But after watching a tutorial that explained how pivot tables could summarize massive datasets instantly, he realized this was the kind of tool that could make him truly valuable.
One day, during the monthly team review, a senior colleague
struggled to generate a departmental summary. I politely asked if I could try. I
opened a pivot table, dragged the data fields, applied filters, and produced
the summary in under five minutes.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“Where did you learn that?” someone asked.
“Just practicing in my free time,” I shrugged.
From that day on, people started coming to me with their Excel problems.
Step Three: Taking Initiative
Three months into my learning journey, I went from being the
“quiet guy in the corner” to “the Excel guy.”
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But I didn’t stop there.
I started redesigning existing reports to be more
user-friendly. I built dashboards with conditional formatting and charts that
auto-updated. He wrote simple macros to automate repetitive tasks. I wasn’t
just learning Excel anymore — I was using it to solve real business problems.
One morning, Neha called me in.
“I’ve been watching your progress, Dilshad,” she said.
“You’ve not only improved — you’ve become one of the most reliable people in
the department. I’m assigning you to lead the new monthly reporting project.
It’ll involve working with other departments.”
I was stunned. Just three months ago, I had been on the
verge of losing my job.
Now, I was leading a project.
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Step Four: Sharing the Knowledge
I knew I wouldn’t have come this far without free tutorials
and the generosity of people who shared their knowledge. So, I decided to do
the same.
I started a lunch time Excel club in the office. Every
Friday, I’d gather with anyone interested and teach them something useful —
from basic formulas to advanced data tools. My sessions became so popular that
even employees from other departments started joining.
What amazed Dilshad the most was how many people had
silently struggled with Excel, just like he had.
“You’ve made spreadsheets fun,” one colleague told him.
That felt better than any paycheck.
Step Five: Rising Beyond
One year after that terrifying performance review, I was
promoted to Data Analyst. My job was no longer just crunching numbers — it was
understanding them, interpreting trends, helping management make data-driven
decisions.
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I’d gone from fearing Excel to loving it. It wasn’t just a tool anymore — it was the vehicle that had driven his growth, confidence, and career success.
Reflections
Looking back, I often tell new employees:
“The turning point wasn’t learning Excel. It was realizing
that I could learn anything — if I stayed consistent.”
His story became a quiet legend in the company, a reminder that transformation doesn’t always require a new job or a fancy degree. Sometimes, all it takes is a willingness to start small, to push through confusion, and to keep learning — one cell, one formula, one day at a time.
- Start
Small: You don’t have to master Excel in a day. Begin with the basics.
- Be
Consistent: Ten minutes a day adds up to hours of improvement each
month.
- Apply
What You Learn: Practice on real problems — that's where true learning
happens.
- Teach
Others: Helping others reinforces your own knowledge and builds
relationships.
- Own
Your Growth: Don't wait for permission or ideal conditions — start
where you are.
My journey shows that career growth doesn’t always come from the outside. Sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs begin quietly — with one scared employee, one spreadsheet, and one small decision to learn.
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I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. I
hope you found value, inspiration, or even just a new perspective in what I
shared. Your support means a lot — and if you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a
comment, share it with others, or connect with me for more insights. Until next
time, keep exploring, learning, and growing!