Millions of people can claim Microsoft Excel skills because it is the world’s most widely used spreadsheet software. That abundance of talent can make hiring Excel developers a monumental task.
Thriving companies employ experts with specialized skill sets to process data types that pertain to specific fields. This data management and analysis automates complex functions to spur progress and growth.
A good example is Lorand Karolyi’s work as a senior analyst with Ecolab’s Digital Analytics team. He and his group developed automated solutions to replace manual sales and profitability reporting for over 3,000 European associates. Their primary tools were Microsoft analytics technologies, including Excel 365 and Visual Basic for Applications.
This work contributed to the brand strengthening its market position. During Karolyi’s tenure, the stock steadily rose from $125.6457 at the start of 2018 to $206.9099 at the close of 2020.
Granted, no Excel programmer can rest on past knowledge and remain effective. These developers have to continually combine their core competencies with an understanding of new tools for more powerful and practical uses. For instance, businesses often hire Microsoft Excel coders to harness the latest capabilities involving artificial intelligence.
Consequently, Excel programmers will remain in demand because the software is a fundamental tool in the exploding field of data analysis. For example, The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects operations research analyst jobs to experience rapid growth at 23% between 2022 and 2032. Likewise, software experts themselves have a projected job growth outlook of 25%.
Clearly, you face a competitive market when you look to hire Excel specialists. With this guide, you have essential information for hiring these experts, including tips for job descriptions, interview questions, pay rates, and vetting for skills.
Hiring a Freelance Excel Developer
In many scenarios, it is more practical to hire a freelance Excel developer than full-time or part-time employees. For one, searching for remote workers expands your reach to a global talent base.
Also, freelancers may be able to offer more flexible schedules, which can permit faster turnaround times. Remember, too, that freelancer platforms often have a satisfaction guarantee. Workers have their reputation to uphold for each project, ensuring you consistently work with individuals who want to deliver top-tier results.
What Does an Excel Developer Do?
Top Excel developers for hire are able to turn the plain grid format of a spreadsheet into an attractive, user-friendly dashboard or practical workbook. Whether users are IT literate or technophobic, Excel experts create layouts that make data entry a breeze.
Their primary resource for manipulating Excel’s features and functions is the Visual Basic for Applications programming language. For that reason, you may hear others refer to this job as a Visual Basic developer or VBA developer.
Even better, these experts can integrate Excel with other software and systems. This permits automated data collection and processing that requires little human interaction. Therefore, you can hire dedicated Excel developers if you want a customized business intelligence tool.
Talent acquisition specialist Smriti Saini explains it well:
“A VBA Developer works with the Excel application and adapts it to the specific needs of a challenge or requirements to automate repetitive tasks and accelerate the workflow of a business.”
Excel developers also ensure that your databases stay secure. This is vital in every field that wants to protect proprietary information and intellectual property. However, the issue is of even greater importance to those who must observe regulatory compliance, such as health care and finance professionals.
In fact, companies in engineering, research, business, education, and more regularly hire Excel specialists. Really, any organization that wants to improve the quality of its decision-making or operational efficiency can benefit from the help of an Excel developer.
What does an Excel developer do for these different industries? Consider a few practical use cases:
Industry | Challenge | How an Excel Developer Helps |
---|---|---|
Transportation and Logistics | Tracking and optimizing delivery routes | Creates macros that automate the entry of truck GPS data, fuel consumption, traffic data, and on-time delivery rates into Excel and suggests delivery schedules that reduce fuel costs and improve delivery times |
Retail and Warehousing | Managing inventory to prevent an overstock of slow sellers or running out of popular products | Links Excel to the inventory management software to update inventory levels in real time and trigger automatic reorders when a SKU drops below a certain quantity |
Trading and Finance | Generating accurate financial reports for predictive analysis | Builds scripts and templates that generate automatic weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports and compare them against historical data from specific sectors to allow traders to concentrate on analysis instead of data collection |
Health Care | Scheduling staff and allocating resources to improve patient recovery rates | Designs user-friendly forms and interactive dashboards for data entry and attractive visualizations displaying key metrics that help administrators create more efficient schedules and budgets |
Sales and Marketing | Optimizing strategies to hit sales targets and key performance indicators | Creates a campaign analysis tool to measure the effectiveness of various strategies, builds a lead scoring system, designs segmentation models, and constructs forecasting models to predict sales trends and marketing outcomes |
More importantly, these software engineers and experts do not leave you alone after designing these tools. They can offer continuous training and support, helping you get the most from your Excel spreadsheets and dashboards.
Why Hire Excel Developers?
You can boost productivity and decision-making when you hire Excel engineers. No matter your field, an Excel pro can create digital products that automate data entry and management.
This saves your team members from repetitive and mundane tasks. They can then focus their time on assignments that require the human touch, such as relationship-building and complex problem-solving. These advantages are core reasons why hiring Excel developers can be a smart step in the right direction.
How Do You Hire Excel Developers?
Begin the hiring process by clearly defining what you need a Microsoft Excel developer to accomplish for you. Discuss with fellow stakeholders what inefficiencies the pro will resolve or data solutions they will create. It is a good idea to save these points in a shared document.
From there, the simplest way to find quality freelancers is by referring to our list of the top sites for hiring Microsoft Excel programmers above. A solution such as Toptal will review the requirements and match you with a shortlist of ideal candidates. If you want to take a more active role in hiring, their experts can walk you through how to hire Excel developers.
If you opt to do the vetting yourself through a job board or freelance site, search for someone who has skills beyond simple coding. A level of practical knowledge in your field makes a world of difference. This allows the individual to go beyond simply inputting your specifications. The engineer can serve as an extra step of quality assurance, ensuring that formulas and outcomes are practical.
Also, identify what makes for a good fit from a work culture perspective. The developer should be someone who can accept feedback and constructive criticism. At the same time, you should be able to easily understand and accept their input on project improvements for successful outcomes.
Key to this is deciding whether you need a junior, middle, or senior developer. The factors that determine this are:
-
Experience
-
Education
-
Code quality
-
Leadership skills
Junior developers typically have less than two years of experience and possibly basic English proficiency. Hire these professionals as team members under a more experienced developer or as designers for simple, one-off projects.
Middle devs have up to four years of experience. They are engaged members of a project with actionable insights and are fluent in English. If you run a small or midsize business that needs a substantial array of dashboards and spreadsheets, you could hire an Excel programmer at this level.
Senior devs have even more experience and might even hold a master’s degree or comparable knowledge. They can direct large teams and have strong communication skills. You can better utilize their skill sets (and justify their premium fee) as high-level consultants and team leaders.
What Skills Should You Look for When Hiring Excel Developers?
Top developers have a complete command of the operations within Excel. They have also mastered coding with VBA. Other core Excel developer skills include:
-
Microsoft Office
-
Data analysis, cleaning, and sorting
-
Macro development
-
Statistical modeling
-
Database development
-
Code reviewing capabilities
-
Software debugging
-
Data visualization and design abilities
-
COM add-ins
These competencies are recommended points for any Excel engineer resume or CV.
While VBA is the main programming language for Excel, it works with other languages and scripts, too. At a minimum, Excel often integrates with other apps that use popular languages. Therefore, advanced developers have experience coding in a few other languages .
Check that candidates have worked on projects involving R, C#, Go, Rust, Ruby, or Python. Furthermore, knowing SQL and JavaScript is practically a must for most Excel developers.
As a data analysis tool for end users, Excel developers must also have mastery of functions that enable intuitive visualizations. Make sure to hire an Excel programmer who can utilize pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charting to make an easy-to-read dashboard.
To ensure data security and integrity, your developers must understand data validation and auditing. Verify they know and follow the latest data management best practices.
Essential soft skills include strategic problem-solving and attention to detail. The top developers can break down complex matters into simple language for all relevant parties to understand. Of course, a strong resume also displays various examples of teamwork and collaboration.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire Excel Developers?
The hourly earnings for Excel developers are approximately $72 an hour , according to Salary.com. The site lists the low end of the pay scale at $61 and the high end at $84. As with other types of developers, this figure includes pay from incentives and bonuses for successful projects.
Tips for Writing an Excel Developer Job Description
An excellent Microsoft Excel developer job description clearly defines the title of the role in the subject line and outlines the responsibilities and desired outcomes. Explain the type of candidate you are looking to hire, including ideal personality traits. A solid template can streamline the process.
Break down requirements for skills and education in bulleted points. Be sure to differentiate between vital competencies and preferred qualifications (which would likely earn higher compensation).
To attract and hire Excel developers who are the most suitable candidates, write an appealing but realistic description of your team. Specific examples of your team-building activities or work methodologies prove helpful here.
Also, clearly share your compensation model, as well as the benefits you offer. State what successful developers can expect as far as bonuses and incentives in your Excel developer job description.
Common Interview Questions To Ask When You Are Looking To Hire an Excel Developer
When you finally get in a room with a candidate, you need a structured process to fairly assess each individual. Technical evaluations and behavioral interviews can help you hire an Excel developer who meets your needs.
While you can create an extensive list of technical questions, the candidate’s portfolio and references give a better idea of these capabilities. Also, it is difficult to assess responses if you are not proficient in Excel and VBA.
However, a good way to get an idea of both technical and soft skills is to ask candidates to bring a past Excel project or analysis to the interview. Then, have the applicant explain what it does and why they chose that solution. You could also have them describe coding alternatives and why they did not use those options.
Other solid questions and requests for remote developers are:
-
What are your working hours, and how soon can we expect you to respond after we call? (Get a better idea of a freelancer’s responsiveness and time management.)
-
What is your favorite advanced function? (Determine how passionate they are about their work and what they like to do most.)
-
Which of your certifications have proved most useful in your work? (Get a better feel for their proficiencies and competencies.)
-
What recent Microsoft product updates are you a fan of and which do you dislike? (See whether they are keeping up to date on the latest features and how they are using them.)
-
Describe how you have handled an upset client or teammate. (Find out how they deal with conflict.)
How To Find Freelance Excel Developers for Hire
As a smart hiring manager or recruiter, you should always have your eyes open for qualified job candidates. You might discover the right Excel VBA programmer while networking online or at other events.
Coding boot camps are often willing to connect companies to eager junior devs who are ready to prove their skills. Likewise, popular job boards, agencies, and marketplaces can connect you with a wide range of talent.
However, when time is of the essence and you cannot settle for less than proven experience and quality, select a service from our list of the best sites to hire Excel developers. Review your specifications, hiring schedule, and budget to determine which firm is the right place to find Excel developers.
Your top considerations should be:
-
The amount of work on your end
-
Speed of hire
-
Flexibility for remote work
-
Quality of the talent
When it comes to where to find Excel developers for hire, we highly recommend Toptal. Their team helps you speedily hire world-class talent and leaves nothing more for you to do than get to work with your freelancer.
Excel is more useful than ever with advanced tools to help you capture and understand data. Use the pointers from this guide to thoughtfully hire top Excel developers. By appreciating the scope of the hiring market, the skills that distinguish top talent, and effective interview techniques, you can find experts who enhance your company’s all-around strategy and execution.Frequentely Asked Questions.
- Where Can I Hire Excel Developers?
- Toptal, Arc, Turing, Excel & Access, and Guru are five of the best places to find qualified Excel specialists. Get a better look at these companies and other top options in our full list of the best sites to hire Microsoft Excel programmers.
- Are Excel Developers in Demand?
- Yes, Excel developers are in high demand. Excel is a fundamental business software, and 63% of businesses view Excel skills as indispensable. You can maximize the benefits of the tool in the shortest time when you hire Excel developers.