The Great Excel Wake-Up

why 2025 analysts need more than formulas

DEEP CHATTERJEE
December 14, 2025

Let’s be real.
Excel is not dying.
But it’s not enough anymore.

Companies want speed.
Automation.
Smarter workflows.

And Excel alone can’t handle that.

One of my subscribers.
Delhi.
Analyst.
Good with Excel.

He applied for 12 roles.
Rejected in 10.
Reason?

“Need someone who can automate.”

That word hit him hard.
He wasn’t ready.

People think Excel + VLOOKUP = job ready.
Not in 2025.

Hiring managers now ask:

“Can you connect APIs?”
“Can you automate reports?”
“Can you build dashboards without touching the mouse?”

This is the new world.

1. Learn Power Query.
Let it clean the data for you.
Zero manual effort.

2. Learn automation basics.
Power Automate.
Python scripts.
Simple triggers.
Massive impact.

3. Use AI inside Excel.
Ask AI to explain formulas.
Ask AI to fix errors.
Ask AI to create templates.

4. Shift from Excel reports to dashboards.
Power BI.
Looker.
Anything visual.

This is what companies want.

Hot take 1:
Excel is becoming the new Microsoft Word.
Basic.
Expected.
Not impressive.

Hot take 2:
Your salary stops growing the moment your skills stop saving time for the business.

1. Replace one Excel task with Power Query.
Just one.
You’ll feel the difference.

2. Make one mini dashboard on Power BI.
No perfection.
Just flow.

3. Learn one automation trick.
Email trigger.
Data refresh.
Anything.

Small skill.
Big confidence.

If Excel is your comfort zone, cool.
But don’t get stuck there.

The future belongs to analysts who automate, not analysts who drag formulas all day.

If you want help, reply to this mail or fill this form.

Want more content like this?

Just reply with “👍” and we’ll keep them coming