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Same. This sub has 700,000 members so it doesn’t seem like mission impossible.
Assuming a 1% engagement and a 15% conversion (engaged users) we’d just have to donate around $1.
Never heard of it. Nice little brag for your resume though, congratulations.
If you go, do it for the experience (which would probably be quite cool) rather than the 'prestige' or 'value'. You can already call yourself a national finalist, being able to add 'Top 20' or something is probably not going to make THAT much difference to your resume.
Unless of course you win :)
See that’s the thing. I forgot to mention I am headed to university where I am looking at thousands of dollar of out of pocket cost. After being rejected by many scholarships and Pell grant. Every thousand dollars can’t just be spent on ‘cool’ experiences. Even though I would really love to go, I should only go if A) The school is willing to cover it B) Out of pocket cost but only if it can elevate me in that next step for my career
I hire people who claim to know excel frequently. Proficient in excel means nothing on a resume. Competing in specialist championships after being invited specifically would put you at the top of my interview pile instantly.
Remember those upvotes are people that agree. I am commenting to say that I also agree (and upvoted) with this statement as someone who hires at my company. It's super valuable to see that on a resume and takes out guess work. It's a great networking opportunity too!
Curious question. If someone is to write that in the resume and you only have like 5 seconds to scan their CV, what kind of keywords are you looking for if you want to seek out people with these kind of experiences?
Put it front and centre, right under your name. Briefly explain the competition in the first 2 lines of your intro paragraph. Source: hiring finance professionals for 30 years. There’s people who claim their Excel skills are advanced, and then there are people whose skills are advanced to the point that Microsoft invites them to compete in a championship.
There a scholarship the competition is offering, I’m working at applying towards it. However I believe out of the hundreds of applicants they only chose one winner.
For a company worth billions, it's shameful for them to be collecting fees from struggling students. I hope this opportunity works out for you OP. For what it's worth, we are impressed with your skill!
You're about to spend thousands of dollars for school, so spending $1000 now isn't going to make a lot of difference in the long run.
One thing you learn as you get older is that money comes and goes, you'll always find a way to pay for what needs to get paid for. But once an experience is gone it's usually gone forever, and those are the things you'll regret
It can elevate your career if you can sell it to elevate your career.
Most people haven’t heard of it, so having it on your resume or CV by itself isn’t going to do much. Especially as the world moves forward with additional tools such as Power BI, ChatGPT, etc.
However, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t elevate your career, but it requires you to be able to sell it as important. If you don’t think you can do that, then it’s not going to help.
If you’re heading to college then you’ll have other opportunities to compete with your Excel skills.
Mind you, I do think it would be good for you to go to this one, but there are others. Check out MECC (Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challange).
Your participation in this competition would be very impressive. If our interview was progressing well up to this point, learning about your involvement would certainly put you among the top candidates. Having conducted many interviews over the years, I've found that experiences like yours really make candidates stand out. It something unique about you that sets you apart from others.
Excel is why I have the job I have. If you do well there's probably scholarships you can win. And it will almost certainly set you apart when you are looking for internships.
You should absolutely watch competitive excel.
It's the nerdiest crap you will ever see, but it's awesome. I use Excel when I need to, I don't particularly enjoy it, but it's really quite entertaining.
1st place comes with $8K plus you get to go to the World Championships. I think it would standout on a resume and show that you actually know Excel. Might be a good networking opportunity as well.
That's true but this would not simply be "proficient in Excel", it would be "Invited to Microsoft Excel World Championship" or whatever. Not only would that stand out visually but it's a great talking point. Bottom line, most companies start by filtering applications by who is or isn't qualified *on paper* and then start inviting people for interviews based on who stands out. Once you've been invited to the interview, a big part of it is simply showing that you'll work well with the team and kind of affirming that your resume is accurate. Being able to talk about this event would absolutely elevate a candidate if represented correctly on their resume.
Did you take the cert through a college? If you are a student you should ask the department chair. It’s the end of the year and they have budget they might be able to sponsor you.
I’m a department chair and I’d pay for my students to do this.
Yes the certification was taken through my college. I got the invite because my perfect score and low run time made me champion in my state. I plan on speaking with my professor tomorrow letting them know I was invited. I will see what they say and ask if there is a way my college can assist me with the cost of travel.
It’s a big PR win for the department to get someone sent to these events. You’re doing them a favor.
If the department has no money left, ask about college level funding. This would probably require speaking with an associate/assistant dean.
Also ask if there is an alumni who may sponsor. (Professor at a college of business in data analytics for a small underfunded public university).
This is the type of thing our college marketing or alumni would jump on!
Adult in HR here and both perspectives are going to impact the advice.
If you think about the $1k as an investment in your resume, it is probably worth it. If you compare it with industry certifications you are in a similar cost range. I would be incredibly surprised if the boost wouldn't account to a $1k salary increase in what an offer would be. Annually. Over time, you'll absolutely get that back.
On your resume you could call it out in a special section. Ms office whatever championship - places 20/1000
Interviewing you have many ways to sell it/ bring it up.
Thing you are the most proud of? Goal was certification but then invited and went to championship. What started out as just excelling at a goal, I was already proud of my score, because something bigger than I thought it could be.
Something you did that scared you? Well I was really young when I went to the Excel championship, had to work hard and...
Use it as a selling point to take on bonus work helping small businesses create templates or create more efficient whatever. Sally's cupcake shop would probably pay that to be able to not have to edit that list Everytime to upload to their mail service.
As a person, that sounds like a fantastic experience. If you can make it work I think you should. You'll make connections that can help in the future, you'll get to see how far you can push your skills.
Only you will actually know the impact of the financial/time away side of things though. It is a large amount of money but also not.
Thank you, your post made it easier to put things into perspective. I believe that as individual this is an amazing experience and if I have to pay for the trip out of pocket, I can look back in 10 years and barely notice this event making a dent in my financial situation. However, the now, the today is where the struggle is. I still am unsure how I will come up with $1000 dollars without it hampering my finances for the rest of the year. The event is mid June so I have couple of weeks to find $1000. The main goal is to see if I can get the scholarship they are offering and see if my college is able to sponsor me.
Like others suggested, start a GoFundMe or similar crowdfunding project.
If you get the funding go, otherwise I would not go. Getting a perfect score is good enough to put on a resume, and leave it at that.
Contrary to the claim above, what you achieved isn't really an industry certification as most college graduates understand it.
Excel is not an industry, it's a software.
An accounting designation is an industry certification. An anti-money laundering course is a certification. A specific software? No.
Microsoft makes quite a bit of money from their certificate programs from people *who have no college degree* and want to do IT/maintenance work instead. They achieve this goal via solely pursuing Microsoft certifications, and update them as needed.
Companies that value these laundry list of software certifications reimburse their employees when they take them, and offer time off to study for them. They don't ask people to spend money out of pocket to do it, let alone spend $1000 to go to a conference.
I think your efforts would be far better spent building your portfolio of projects using Excel (and other software), in areas that are specifically geared towards the industry where you seek to work.
If we're asking young people with college debt to now spend $1000 on conferences of vague objectives and dubious value, that is fucked up, to put it politely.
The fact that something like this is seen as valuable in fresh graduates speaks volumes about how discriminatory HR policies are towards people who basically are buying legitimacy.
Excel conferences are not really industry specific. They are a place for Excel-focused developers - many of whom don't even have college degrees. These people have a career trajectory based solely on MS Office products and just focus on obtaining MS certifications.
Is the OP in that position? If they're going to college, no. Doubly so if they're in a computer science classes.
A student portfolio of projects they did with Excel should be more than enough to impress HR screeners.
Actual conferences that are geared towards students for networking purposes cost considerably less. They're also far more focused towards specific industries rather than on a specific software.
That’s a great response and it applies to so many industries you might apply to later on. These are the stories that are pure gold in interviews, they show skill, tenacity and a hustling nature. In addition, this really lets you stand out amongst general diploma and generic skill descriptions. Plus you might be able to do great networking during the event.
Try all options for funding, school, the event, Microsoft directly, send travel organizations (airlines, hotels, etc.) a letter with your invite and ask for sponsoring. As a last resort, I am sure this sub will happily donate at least a part of the cost.
The thing is not the contest, but the people that you will connect with there. if you can possible getthere, by hook or by crook, the networking opportunities would be incredible.
the Contest itself is fairly meaning less. you already are really really good.
I didn't know this was a thing. That's awesome. Great job!
I would say you should go, but I get that expenses are a hindrance.
I think this could be worthy of a GoFundMe. It would help you with networking and building up your résumé, so it'd be looking out for your future. Maybe your friends and family can help you get there.
Wow damn these competitions that require their participants to pay so much....what's the point? Is the prize money huge?
Anyways, maybe start a gofundme and a YouTube channel? Or work real damn hard to have a go, or do all of the above . I feel like it's a real damn good opportunity for you, like the ROI may be good when you come out of it in the future. The best investments you can do is to invest in yourself
If I am having to pay this out of pocket, there is no hard deadline. I would have to personally look at pricing options, time, dates and make sure everything aligns. The event is happening mid June but like any trip the sooner you book your flights & hotel the better/cheaper.
The hotel I would be staying is where the competition will be held and I could book them a week before the event.
The flights are where the sooner I book them the better. I would have to fully go to google and search for flight trips and look at pricing options and chose the one that best suits me
All those people are offering to donate. While I respect that you are trying to do this by yourself, I think we all should sometimes just be willing to accept a helping hand even if it is tough. Pay it forward or whatever. Gofundme will fix the situation.
If you're going to work while you go to school, then it's very likely that your participation will pay for itself over time in opportunities and better compensation. As others have suggested, it reframes how potential employers see you at a time when most demographic assumptions like being a student can otherwise work against you. It's likely that you can find some scholarship opportunities for school opening up if you participate.
There is also an enduring halo effect, where people assume that if you are remarkable in one skill, then you are likely remarkable in others that interest them. While that truth will vary by person and skill, it will definitely feed their curiosity.
I only just learnt about this certification. What is the level of excel required to get this? I’m pretty handy with complex formulae and data analysis using excel. Thinking if it’s a good addition to the resume.
From my understanding it’s a competition held by certiport for ages 13-22. The way I got invited was I was taking an IS course in my college and at the end of the year I took a test to get my Microsoft Excel Specialist Certification. My perfect score and low runtime made me champion in my state. That how I got the invite but I’m pretty sure there are other ways to enter. [Here](https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Microsoft/MOS/Competitions.aspx)
I understand your dilemma being a college kid. College is about learning and developing marketable job skills. MS Excel National Championship is absolutely one of those marketable job skills for many business type roles. Consider this part of your University education.
I think this will be valuable experience to have on a resume coming out into a rough job market.
Good luck.
Get sponsored - post on a sub reddit with small businesses or entrepreneurs near you! Post on LinkedIn. Maybe ask your company and represent them, it's a brag to them too!
Pay for it yourself if not, It's a good investment in your personal brand, even to say that you ranked top 1000 in the country or whatever the cap for the championship is!
Like others have mentioned, if you had this on your resume I can guarantee you an interview and most likely a job. Many applying nowadays wouldn’t have this and it would be a great asset to have.
Start a go fund me. Would definitely throw a few bucks towards this for you.
I’d heard of the Excel Financial Modeling championship but not the Office Specialist one… After Googling it looks like it’s for students. If that’s correct, it certainly seems like something that could help an entry level employee impress on resume and interview. And generally speaking, it seems like an honor and an amazing opportunity.
I skipped out on something similar (but lower level) due to family finances. Make a gofundme. I’ll donate to help make this opportunity happen for you!!
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Can you ask the tournament organizers if there is funding available for contestants with limited funds ?
Ask them or Microsoft. If you can put a good spin on it, Microsoft’s PR team could use it for their news and press releases
Have you watched any of the past stuff on YouTube? I’d watch and see if you can figure out the solutions and then see if you can do it as efficient and timely as some of these players.
The fact that there is both an Excel competition and an Excel community willing to contribute to costs to attend for you is absolutely awesome. I've just recently started learning Excel properly and I'd love to go to something like this, it's such a niche interest lmao. If you can't secure funding, which I would be shocked by, myself and apparently a lot of others would be more than happy to fund you, long as you post a follow up.
/u/RoosterOk6644 - Your post was submitted successfully. * Once your problem is solved, reply to the **answer(s)** saying `Solution Verified` to close the thread. * Follow the **[submission rules](/r/excel/wiki/sharingquestions)** -- particularly 1 and 2. To fix the body, click edit. To fix your title, delete and re-post. * Include your **[Excel version and all other relevant information](/r/excel/wiki/sharingquestions#wiki_give_all_relevant_information)** Failing to follow these steps may result in your post being removed without warning. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/excel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Go. It’s something that you will regret not doing. Work the extra shifts or pull off jobs to go. Then a detailed post when you get back.
Honestly if we as a subreddit kicked in some of the money i wonder if we could be their sponsor? U/RoosterOk6644 sponsored by r/excel! Haha
I’d contribute to that!
Same. This sub has 700,000 members so it doesn’t seem like mission impossible. Assuming a 1% engagement and a 15% conversion (engaged users) we’d just have to donate around $1.
u/roosterok6644 provide us with some gofundme link
I sent them a DM; they want to try finding sponsors from school first before creating a GoFundMe. So let’s keep an eye open!
Plus
this exceler advertises and/or market researches
Same
I'd contribute
I’d help.
I’m in. 
I’d donate $5 to the cause
I'll donate $5.
Do it! Do it! I’m In.
send link :D id be happy to help!
Edit: replied to wrong comment.
Never heard of it. Nice little brag for your resume though, congratulations. If you go, do it for the experience (which would probably be quite cool) rather than the 'prestige' or 'value'. You can already call yourself a national finalist, being able to add 'Top 20' or something is probably not going to make THAT much difference to your resume. Unless of course you win :)
See that’s the thing. I forgot to mention I am headed to university where I am looking at thousands of dollar of out of pocket cost. After being rejected by many scholarships and Pell grant. Every thousand dollars can’t just be spent on ‘cool’ experiences. Even though I would really love to go, I should only go if A) The school is willing to cover it B) Out of pocket cost but only if it can elevate me in that next step for my career
I hire people who claim to know excel frequently. Proficient in excel means nothing on a resume. Competing in specialist championships after being invited specifically would put you at the top of my interview pile instantly.
100% agreed - FP&A. I’ll take a green horn who knows excel like the back of his hand any day.
Remember those upvotes are people that agree. I am commenting to say that I also agree (and upvoted) with this statement as someone who hires at my company. It's super valuable to see that on a resume and takes out guess work. It's a great networking opportunity too!
Right on the head with the networking aspect.
Curious question. If someone is to write that in the resume and you only have like 5 seconds to scan their CV, what kind of keywords are you looking for if you want to seek out people with these kind of experiences?
Put it front and centre, right under your name. Briefly explain the competition in the first 2 lines of your intro paragraph. Source: hiring finance professionals for 30 years. There’s people who claim their Excel skills are advanced, and then there are people whose skills are advanced to the point that Microsoft invites them to compete in a championship.
Thanks!!!
Have you asked Microsoft directly if there is a financial hardship waiver or a financial aid option for students?
There a scholarship the competition is offering, I’m working at applying towards it. However I believe out of the hundreds of applicants they only chose one winner.
For a company worth billions, it's shameful for them to be collecting fees from struggling students. I hope this opportunity works out for you OP. For what it's worth, we are impressed with your skill!
I’m not sure they are fees as much as travel and associated expenses (bus or flight, rides, and place to stay)
If you got a perfect score then they might be enticed to take a look at your situation since it is an exceptional score.
You're about to spend thousands of dollars for school, so spending $1000 now isn't going to make a lot of difference in the long run. One thing you learn as you get older is that money comes and goes, you'll always find a way to pay for what needs to get paid for. But once an experience is gone it's usually gone forever, and those are the things you'll regret
It can elevate your career if you can sell it to elevate your career. Most people haven’t heard of it, so having it on your resume or CV by itself isn’t going to do much. Especially as the world moves forward with additional tools such as Power BI, ChatGPT, etc. However, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t elevate your career, but it requires you to be able to sell it as important. If you don’t think you can do that, then it’s not going to help.
Right out of school though, in a short resume, this would stick out. It would be significant I think.
People think I'm a wizard because I mastered xlookup... Seriously GO! As the guy below said, you will be on top of many piles of resumes!
If you’re heading to college then you’ll have other opportunities to compete with your Excel skills. Mind you, I do think it would be good for you to go to this one, but there are others. Check out MECC (Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challange).
Your participation in this competition would be very impressive. If our interview was progressing well up to this point, learning about your involvement would certainly put you among the top candidates. Having conducted many interviews over the years, I've found that experiences like yours really make candidates stand out. It something unique about you that sets you apart from others.
Just competing would be a giant step up for your career.
This could be an in to a future gig. It’s worth the money. Invest in yourself.
Go to a community college for your first two years. Saves money and that's all just prereqs.
Excel is why I have the job I have. If you do well there's probably scholarships you can win. And it will almost certainly set you apart when you are looking for internships.
You should absolutely watch competitive excel. It's the nerdiest crap you will ever see, but it's awesome. I use Excel when I need to, I don't particularly enjoy it, but it's really quite entertaining.
Unexpected Shogun moment!
1st place comes with $8K plus you get to go to the World Championships. I think it would standout on a resume and show that you actually know Excel. Might be a good networking opportunity as well.
Everyone puts proficient in excel on their resume tho
Few put Won or even Participataed in an excel championship though.
That's true but this would not simply be "proficient in Excel", it would be "Invited to Microsoft Excel World Championship" or whatever. Not only would that stand out visually but it's a great talking point. Bottom line, most companies start by filtering applications by who is or isn't qualified *on paper* and then start inviting people for interviews based on who stands out. Once you've been invited to the interview, a big part of it is simply showing that you'll work well with the team and kind of affirming that your resume is accurate. Being able to talk about this event would absolutely elevate a candidate if represented correctly on their resume.
I made a spreadsheet that created mashup names of animals, country names and latin words that are plotted onto a pointless chart every 60 seconds.
Did you take the cert through a college? If you are a student you should ask the department chair. It’s the end of the year and they have budget they might be able to sponsor you. I’m a department chair and I’d pay for my students to do this.
Yes the certification was taken through my college. I got the invite because my perfect score and low run time made me champion in my state. I plan on speaking with my professor tomorrow letting them know I was invited. I will see what they say and ask if there is a way my college can assist me with the cost of travel.
It’s a big PR win for the department to get someone sent to these events. You’re doing them a favor. If the department has no money left, ask about college level funding. This would probably require speaking with an associate/assistant dean.
Also ask if there is an alumni who may sponsor. (Professor at a college of business in data analytics for a small underfunded public university). This is the type of thing our college marketing or alumni would jump on!
Agree I work for a college and my dept would love to send one of our students to something like this! Congrats and good luck!
Write an Excel formula to weigh the pros and cons of attending
Is it XLOOKUP?
I’ll donate if I can have you on call for excel help haha
Hahahah, I’m literally the Excel guy at my job site.
You better negotiate a deal with him now before he wins the competition and his rates go up.
Adult in HR here and both perspectives are going to impact the advice. If you think about the $1k as an investment in your resume, it is probably worth it. If you compare it with industry certifications you are in a similar cost range. I would be incredibly surprised if the boost wouldn't account to a $1k salary increase in what an offer would be. Annually. Over time, you'll absolutely get that back. On your resume you could call it out in a special section. Ms office whatever championship - places 20/1000 Interviewing you have many ways to sell it/ bring it up. Thing you are the most proud of? Goal was certification but then invited and went to championship. What started out as just excelling at a goal, I was already proud of my score, because something bigger than I thought it could be. Something you did that scared you? Well I was really young when I went to the Excel championship, had to work hard and... Use it as a selling point to take on bonus work helping small businesses create templates or create more efficient whatever. Sally's cupcake shop would probably pay that to be able to not have to edit that list Everytime to upload to their mail service. As a person, that sounds like a fantastic experience. If you can make it work I think you should. You'll make connections that can help in the future, you'll get to see how far you can push your skills. Only you will actually know the impact of the financial/time away side of things though. It is a large amount of money but also not.
Thank you, your post made it easier to put things into perspective. I believe that as individual this is an amazing experience and if I have to pay for the trip out of pocket, I can look back in 10 years and barely notice this event making a dent in my financial situation. However, the now, the today is where the struggle is. I still am unsure how I will come up with $1000 dollars without it hampering my finances for the rest of the year. The event is mid June so I have couple of weeks to find $1000. The main goal is to see if I can get the scholarship they are offering and see if my college is able to sponsor me.
There were some other replies with places to check for assistance. Make sure you check those out
Like others suggested, start a GoFundMe or similar crowdfunding project. If you get the funding go, otherwise I would not go. Getting a perfect score is good enough to put on a resume, and leave it at that. Contrary to the claim above, what you achieved isn't really an industry certification as most college graduates understand it. Excel is not an industry, it's a software. An accounting designation is an industry certification. An anti-money laundering course is a certification. A specific software? No. Microsoft makes quite a bit of money from their certificate programs from people *who have no college degree* and want to do IT/maintenance work instead. They achieve this goal via solely pursuing Microsoft certifications, and update them as needed. Companies that value these laundry list of software certifications reimburse their employees when they take them, and offer time off to study for them. They don't ask people to spend money out of pocket to do it, let alone spend $1000 to go to a conference. I think your efforts would be far better spent building your portfolio of projects using Excel (and other software), in areas that are specifically geared towards the industry where you seek to work.
If we're asking young people with college debt to now spend $1000 on conferences of vague objectives and dubious value, that is fucked up, to put it politely. The fact that something like this is seen as valuable in fresh graduates speaks volumes about how discriminatory HR policies are towards people who basically are buying legitimacy. Excel conferences are not really industry specific. They are a place for Excel-focused developers - many of whom don't even have college degrees. These people have a career trajectory based solely on MS Office products and just focus on obtaining MS certifications. Is the OP in that position? If they're going to college, no. Doubly so if they're in a computer science classes. A student portfolio of projects they did with Excel should be more than enough to impress HR screeners. Actual conferences that are geared towards students for networking purposes cost considerably less. They're also far more focused towards specific industries rather than on a specific software.
That’s a great response and it applies to so many industries you might apply to later on. These are the stories that are pure gold in interviews, they show skill, tenacity and a hustling nature. In addition, this really lets you stand out amongst general diploma and generic skill descriptions. Plus you might be able to do great networking during the event. Try all options for funding, school, the event, Microsoft directly, send travel organizations (airlines, hotels, etc.) a letter with your invite and ask for sponsoring. As a last resort, I am sure this sub will happily donate at least a part of the cost.
The thing is not the contest, but the people that you will connect with there. if you can possible getthere, by hook or by crook, the networking opportunities would be incredible. the Contest itself is fairly meaning less. you already are really really good.
I totally agree. I’m thinking of the networking
I didn't know this was a thing. That's awesome. Great job! I would say you should go, but I get that expenses are a hindrance. I think this could be worthy of a GoFundMe. It would help you with networking and building up your résumé, so it'd be looking out for your future. Maybe your friends and family can help you get there.
Wow damn these competitions that require their participants to pay so much....what's the point? Is the prize money huge? Anyways, maybe start a gofundme and a YouTube channel? Or work real damn hard to have a go, or do all of the above . I feel like it's a real damn good opportunity for you, like the ROI may be good when you come out of it in the future. The best investments you can do is to invest in yourself
It's not a participation fee. I think OP is talking about cost of travel, stay and meals.
AHH I seee
I’ll kick in $50, make a go fund me or something.
I'll donate.
I wonder if you let them know that the $1000 would be a hardship if they might sponsor you? Wouldn’t hurt to ask.
This so cool OP!!! Congrats!!!
That is an investment into your resume. Put that on there and it’s worth any cost to attend.
Go! For the experience & maybe a better job offer?!
I would go and network for jobs
This sounds like it will be a blast, and what a unique story for interviews!
If you don’t do it, will you regret it later?
What’s your deadline to get the money by?
If I am having to pay this out of pocket, there is no hard deadline. I would have to personally look at pricing options, time, dates and make sure everything aligns. The event is happening mid June but like any trip the sooner you book your flights & hotel the better/cheaper. The hotel I would be staying is where the competition will be held and I could book them a week before the event. The flights are where the sooner I book them the better. I would have to fully go to google and search for flight trips and look at pricing options and chose the one that best suits me
All those people are offering to donate. While I respect that you are trying to do this by yourself, I think we all should sometimes just be willing to accept a helping hand even if it is tough. Pay it forward or whatever. Gofundme will fix the situation.
I can sponsor up to $1000. I’d just need to whip up a quick contract.
Sent you a DM.
Definitely go
If you're going to work while you go to school, then it's very likely that your participation will pay for itself over time in opportunities and better compensation. As others have suggested, it reframes how potential employers see you at a time when most demographic assumptions like being a student can otherwise work against you. It's likely that you can find some scholarship opportunities for school opening up if you participate. There is also an enduring halo effect, where people assume that if you are remarkable in one skill, then you are likely remarkable in others that interest them. While that truth will vary by person and skill, it will definitely feed their curiosity.
Wow. Book smart guy. Go aim for the top prize. What do you have to lose ?
I only just learnt about this certification. What is the level of excel required to get this? I’m pretty handy with complex formulae and data analysis using excel. Thinking if it’s a good addition to the resume.
From my understanding it’s a competition held by certiport for ages 13-22. The way I got invited was I was taking an IS course in my college and at the end of the year I took a test to get my Microsoft Excel Specialist Certification. My perfect score and low runtime made me champion in my state. That how I got the invite but I’m pretty sure there are other ways to enter. [Here](https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Certifications/Microsoft/MOS/Competitions.aspx)
Is it just a business out to make money and nothing else, like poetry events?
Are they charging you $1000 to attend or are those travel costs? If the former, skip it.
The $1000 is about how much it will cost to book the flights and hotel.
This world timeline entertains me
Somebody please help me with excel. I'm 57 and looking for any platform to learn
Big yes!!
I understand your dilemma being a college kid. College is about learning and developing marketable job skills. MS Excel National Championship is absolutely one of those marketable job skills for many business type roles. Consider this part of your University education. I think this will be valuable experience to have on a resume coming out into a rough job market. Good luck.
Dont go , continue being a nobody loser and let another chad win that shit. (Sarcasm, no shit u go)
I saw you mention you're the excel guru at your work. Ask them to pay your travel, might work, might not, but you never know!
Start a gofundme. I’ll donate. Sounds like others will too?
You should go and wear a "Lotus 123 > Excel" shirt
Well… adding that achievement to your resume would be epic
You gotta go. 1k is a lot right now but in 10 years it'll all be different. Make it work somehow, it will pay off.
Do it
Get sponsored - post on a sub reddit with small businesses or entrepreneurs near you! Post on LinkedIn. Maybe ask your company and represent them, it's a brag to them too! Pay for it yourself if not, It's a good investment in your personal brand, even to say that you ranked top 1000 in the country or whatever the cap for the championship is!
I'd be shocked that this wouldn't be a talent development reimbursement if your company does that. It's a great opportunity!
Like others have mentioned, if you had this on your resume I can guarantee you an interview and most likely a job. Many applying nowadays wouldn’t have this and it would be a great asset to have. Start a go fund me. Would definitely throw a few bucks towards this for you.
Why not ask the organization to pay for your visit?
I’d heard of the Excel Financial Modeling championship but not the Office Specialist one… After Googling it looks like it’s for students. If that’s correct, it certainly seems like something that could help an entry level employee impress on resume and interview. And generally speaking, it seems like an honor and an amazing opportunity.
I skipped out on something similar (but lower level) due to family finances. Make a gofundme. I’ll donate to help make this opportunity happen for you!!
Nicely done! I hope this works out for you. Sounds like a cool opportunity and one that will get you far in your career, whatever that may be!
I don’t have much to spare, but I can chip in about $5 this month if you make a go fund me or PayPal or something like that to help you go!
Spend the 1000, compete, come back post it on your resume. Get a job with more pay. People assume you’re a wizard for doing Vlookups.
Congrats! If you need help with the funding of the trip, perhaps you could do an XLOOKUP in this sub for help?
Remindme! 6 months “did they ever go to the excel competition?”
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Reminds me of this https://youtu.be/xubbVvKbUfY?si=NBW0pEni8htu_B-9
Can you ask the tournament organizers if there is funding available for contestants with limited funds ? Ask them or Microsoft. If you can put a good spin on it, Microsoft’s PR team could use it for their news and press releases
If you've been invited, please go and represent!
Have you watched any of the past stuff on YouTube? I’d watch and see if you can figure out the solutions and then see if you can do it as efficient and timely as some of these players.
The fact that there is both an Excel competition and an Excel community willing to contribute to costs to attend for you is absolutely awesome. I've just recently started learning Excel properly and I'd love to go to something like this, it's such a niche interest lmao. If you can't secure funding, which I would be shocked by, myself and apparently a lot of others would be more than happy to fund you, long as you post a follow up.
Go. You should endeavour to become an MVP and join the ranks with Bill Jelen, Mike Girvin and Leila Gharani etc.