I have been asked occasionally to give my opinion on how to define a user's Excel skill level.  Usually the question goes something like this:

"If someone says they know MS Excel on their resume, what questions can I ask them to determine their level of expertise?"

I have prepared (what I think) is a fair list of what users should know at various levels of Excel understanding.  I find that most users who claim to know Excel very well fall into the intermediate category on my scale.  Also, I would say that for most degreed analytical-type positions, an intermediate level Excel user is most adequate.  For data entry and clerical work, a novice user is adequate.

I do find it somewhat amusing that most intermediate level users are VERY over-confident in their Excel ability.  My experience has been that if I ask an intermediate user to rank their Excel skill level on a scale of 1 to 10 the response is typically betwen 8 and 10 and they often list themselves as an Excel Expert on their resumes.  I say, "That's great!  Tell me about some of the macros you've created."  They usually respond with, "Well, I don't find that I need to use them too much.  But, I've used the recorder a few times."  OK, so they're not really a member of the Excel elite, but do I really need a guru on staff?  In most cases an intermediate user will be more than adequate.  Unless you're  some kind of Excel consulting firm in which case you don't need to read this document, you already know what questions you need to ask.

I've also included below a few Novice, Intermediate and Advanced formula references.  I'm not suggesting that the formulas themselves are necessarily that complex.  In fact, most of the formulas I've listed could be easily understood by a novice user.  The idea here is that if you ask an interviewee how the SUMIF function is used they should be able to tell you how they've applied it in the past.  Surely someone with intermediate level skills (on my scale) must've used a SUMIF in the past.

Now, if I'm interviewing for a degreed analytical-type position and the interviewee's eyes gloss over when I ask them to explain how a VLOOKUP formula works, we may have a problem. 

Please keep in mind, this is STRICTLY my own opinion.  Please feel free to disagree and even modify my list for your own taste, but please, don't write to me and suggest that I change my opinion.  I really don't want to spend any time convincing you that I'm right.  :-)


NOVICE

Can successfully navigate and save an Excel workbook. 
OK with Data Entry tasks. 
If you think the cartoon paperclip is cute and useful, chances are, you fall into this category.

Novice Formulas:
SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, ROUND


INTERMEDIATE

Knows what a Pivot Table is and how to build one. 
Knows what an addin is and how to install one.  (Hopefully they've installed the Analysis Toolpack!)
Understands and can use the AutoFilter feature.
Can record a macro and use it later.
Can successfully edit/modify simple recorded macros.
Most users who claim to know Excel very well fall into this category.

Intermediate Formulas:
IF, SUMIF, COUNTIF, VLOOKUP, CHOOSE


ADVANCED

Knows what array formulas are and how to use them.
Can create and modify macros with or without the macro recorder.
Knows how to build a macro that can be triggered by events.
Familiar with most, if not all, of the functions in Excel.
Comfortable teaching or helping others with Excel.

Advanced Functions:
INDIRECT, INDEX, MATCH, OFFSET


EXPERT

Can build addins for distribution and widespread use.
If you can think it, they can build it with Excel.
Most likely, a disturbed individual who spends too much time thinking about spreadsheets. :-)

Expert Functions:
A true expert knows the strengths & weaknesses of every single one and has probably had to build some new ones that were not available.


GURU!

The true Excel elite.
Probably just a handful of them in the world.
If you are one, you know who you are.
If you're an Expert, you probably know their names.

From time to time, you might see one posting a response on a newsgroup.