✅ Excel Interview Challenge! 🧹📊
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿: How would you remove duplicate entries from a dataset while keeping the first occurrence?
𝗠𝗲: I'd use Excel’s built-in tools or formulas— the Remove Duplicates feature is fastest for most cases, but formulas give more control for audits.
🔹 Option 1: Built-in Tool (Quick & Easy)
1. Select your data range (include headers if any).
2. Go to Data > Remove Duplicates.
3. Check columns to scan for dups (e.g., just ID column for uniqueness).
4. Click OK—Excel keeps the first instance, removes the rest, and reports how many were deleted.
🔹 Option 2: Formula-Based (More Control)
Use COUNTIF to flag:
– Scans from top (A$2:A2 locks start), marks first as value, others blank.
Filter blanks and delete rows for cleanup.
✔ Why it works:
– Built-in method auto-detects exact matches across selected columns, preserving the top occurrence without shifting data.
– Formula approach lets you review/audit before deleting, handling partial dups (e.g., by key column only)—great for large 2025 datasets with UNIQUE() in Excel 365 as a bonus: =UNIQUE(A:A).
🔎 Bonus Tip:
Use Conditional Formatting to visually spot duplicates:
Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells > Duplicate Values—color-code for quick scans before removal!
💬 Tap ❤️ if this helped you!
𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿: How would you remove duplicate entries from a dataset while keeping the first occurrence?
𝗠𝗲: I'd use Excel’s built-in tools or formulas— the Remove Duplicates feature is fastest for most cases, but formulas give more control for audits.
🔹 Option 1: Built-in Tool (Quick & Easy)
1. Select your data range (include headers if any).
2. Go to Data > Remove Duplicates.
3. Check columns to scan for dups (e.g., just ID column for uniqueness).
4. Click OK—Excel keeps the first instance, removes the rest, and reports how many were deleted.
🔹 Option 2: Formula-Based (More Control)
Use COUNTIF to flag:
=IF(COUNTIF(A$2:A2, A2)=1, A2, "") (for column A; copy across/down) – Scans from top (A$2:A2 locks start), marks first as value, others blank.
Filter blanks and delete rows for cleanup.
✔ Why it works:
– Built-in method auto-detects exact matches across selected columns, preserving the top occurrence without shifting data.
– Formula approach lets you review/audit before deleting, handling partial dups (e.g., by key column only)—great for large 2025 datasets with UNIQUE() in Excel 365 as a bonus: =UNIQUE(A:A).
🔎 Bonus Tip:
Use Conditional Formatting to visually spot duplicates:
Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells > Duplicate Values—color-code for quick scans before removal!
💬 Tap ❤️ if this helped you!
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Forwarded from Data Analysis Books | Python | SQL | Excel | Artificial Intelligence | Power BI | Tableau | AI Resources
Excel Formulas every data analyst should know
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🧑💼 Interviewer: What's the difference between VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP in Excel?
👨💻 Me: VLOOKUP searches vertically down columns (great for column-based data like employee lists), while HLOOKUP searches horizontally across rows (ideal for row-based setups like category headers).
✔ Key Differences:
– VLOOKUP: Looks for a value in the first column of a range, returns from the same row in a specified column—syntax:
– HLOOKUP: Looks for a value in the first row of a range, returns from the same column in a specified row—syntax:
📌 Example:
Vertical sales table (IDs in col A, amounts in B): VLOOKUP(ID, A:B, 2, FALSE) gets amount.
Horizontal (months in row 1, sales in row 2): HLOOKUP("Jan", 1:3, 2, FALSE) gets Jan sales.
💡 VLOOKUP's more common (90% of lookups), but both support exact (FALSE) or approx (TRUE) matches—switch to XLOOKUP in modern Excel for bidirectional flexibility!
💬 Tap ❤️ for more!
👨💻 Me: VLOOKUP searches vertically down columns (great for column-based data like employee lists), while HLOOKUP searches horizontally across rows (ideal for row-based setups like category headers).
✔ Key Differences:
– VLOOKUP: Looks for a value in the first column of a range, returns from the same row in a specified column—syntax:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup]). Use for vertical data; e.g., find salary by ID in a table. – HLOOKUP: Looks for a value in the first row of a range, returns from the same column in a specified row—syntax:
=HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num, [range_lookup]). Use for horizontal data; e.g., pull metrics by month across a header row.📌 Example:
Vertical sales table (IDs in col A, amounts in B): VLOOKUP(ID, A:B, 2, FALSE) gets amount.
Horizontal (months in row 1, sales in row 2): HLOOKUP("Jan", 1:3, 2, FALSE) gets Jan sales.
💡 VLOOKUP's more common (90% of lookups), but both support exact (FALSE) or approx (TRUE) matches—switch to XLOOKUP in modern Excel for bidirectional flexibility!
💬 Tap ❤️ for more!
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✅Excel Checklist for Data Analysts 📀🧠
1️⃣ Excel Basics
▪ Formulas & Functions (SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH)
▪ Cell references: Relative, Absolute & Mixed
▪ Data types & formatting
2️⃣ Data Manipulation
▪ Sorting & Filtering data
▪ Remove duplicates & data validation
▪ Conditional formatting for insights
3️⃣ Pivot Tables & Charts
▪ Create & customize Pivot Tables for summaries
▪ Use slicers & filters in Pivot Tables
▪ Build charts: Bar, Line, Pie, Histograms
4️⃣ Advanced Formulas
▪ Nested IF, COUNTIF, SUMIF, AND/OR logic
▪ Text functions: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, CONCATENATE
▪ Date & Time functions
5️⃣ Data Cleaning
▪ Handling blanks/missing values
▪ TRIM, CLEAN functions to fix data
▪ Find & replace, Flash fill
6️⃣ Automation
▪ Macros & VBA basics (record & edit)
▪ Use formula-driven automation
▪ Dynamic named ranges for flexibility
7️⃣ Collaboration & Sharing
▪ Protect sheets & workbooks
▪ Track changes & comments
▪ Export data for reporting
8️⃣ Data Analysis Tools
▪ What-if analysis, Goal Seek, Solver
▪ Data Tables and Scenario Manager
▪ Power Query basics (optional)
9️⃣ Dashboard Basics
▪ Combine Pivot Tables & Charts
▪ Use form controls & slicers
▪ Design interactive, user-friendly dashboards
🔟 Practice & Projects
▪ Analyze sample datasets (sales, finance)
▪ Automate monthly reporting tasks
▪ Build a portfolio with Excel files & dashboards
💡 Tips:
⦁ Practice with real datasets to apply functions & Pivot Tables
⦁ Learn shortcuts to boost speed
⦁ Combine Excel skills with Python & SQL for powerful analysis
Excel Learning Resources:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaifY548qIzv0u1AHz3i
Double Tap ♥️ For More
1️⃣ Excel Basics
▪ Formulas & Functions (SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH)
▪ Cell references: Relative, Absolute & Mixed
▪ Data types & formatting
2️⃣ Data Manipulation
▪ Sorting & Filtering data
▪ Remove duplicates & data validation
▪ Conditional formatting for insights
3️⃣ Pivot Tables & Charts
▪ Create & customize Pivot Tables for summaries
▪ Use slicers & filters in Pivot Tables
▪ Build charts: Bar, Line, Pie, Histograms
4️⃣ Advanced Formulas
▪ Nested IF, COUNTIF, SUMIF, AND/OR logic
▪ Text functions: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, CONCATENATE
▪ Date & Time functions
5️⃣ Data Cleaning
▪ Handling blanks/missing values
▪ TRIM, CLEAN functions to fix data
▪ Find & replace, Flash fill
6️⃣ Automation
▪ Macros & VBA basics (record & edit)
▪ Use formula-driven automation
▪ Dynamic named ranges for flexibility
7️⃣ Collaboration & Sharing
▪ Protect sheets & workbooks
▪ Track changes & comments
▪ Export data for reporting
8️⃣ Data Analysis Tools
▪ What-if analysis, Goal Seek, Solver
▪ Data Tables and Scenario Manager
▪ Power Query basics (optional)
9️⃣ Dashboard Basics
▪ Combine Pivot Tables & Charts
▪ Use form controls & slicers
▪ Design interactive, user-friendly dashboards
🔟 Practice & Projects
▪ Analyze sample datasets (sales, finance)
▪ Automate monthly reporting tasks
▪ Build a portfolio with Excel files & dashboards
💡 Tips:
⦁ Practice with real datasets to apply functions & Pivot Tables
⦁ Learn shortcuts to boost speed
⦁ Combine Excel skills with Python & SQL for powerful analysis
Excel Learning Resources:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaifY548qIzv0u1AHz3i
Double Tap ♥️ For More
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