God, I’m so pathetically proud of myself.

[JenniferJupiterr]

And it is a bit pathetic as you’ll see when you read on!

I applied for and got a job in the Civil Service - something I never thought I’d have a chance of getting. And I nearly didn’t apply for because one of the essential criteria was ‘competent in Microsoft 365.’

Well, one of the things I’m absolutely not competent in is Microsoft anything. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never ever opened up Excel or Word - and this is despite me running my own business! (I hasten to add I had a business partner who did all that stuff!) … and because I’m in my 50s I genuinely thought I wouldn’t ever trouble myself with this stuff. I find it terrifying and confusing so always have sought to avoid it.

Anyway, this job is something I really wanted to go for, it’s really interesting so I had to overcome my many years ingrained fear

But I’ve done it. I’ve spent the past few weeks teaching myself all things Microsoft 365. I can create a spreadsheet, I can format it. I can filter it. I can open word and create and save a document. I can create meetings in Teams via Outlook calendar

I appreciate it’s very embarrassing and the achievements of a 5 year old and most of the people I’ve told have laughed hysterically but meh… an achievement is an achievement right?!

I think teaching yourself something you have an aversion to is a major accomplishment. It’s so much harder than learning something you enjoy. So a massive “Well done “ from me 👏👏👏👏

Not pathetic at all , be proud of yourself xx 😘 💐

Well done, you. 😁 Its a tonic to hear some good news for a change. Enjoy your new job. x

Congratulations! Do not ne embarrassed at all, you've done absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of you.

Thank you all for your comments. I don’t feel quite so pathetic now!

Any hints or tips .. I’m all ears!

And I must confess that I didn’t go on this learning journey and then apply for this job … I applied and accepted it and THEN had a massive panic and decided I’d better teach myself 365 pronto 😃 So I think this has added to my ‘you old fraud’ feelings, because I feel I got the job without being able to fulfil one of the essential criterias

Fab, well done and good luck with everything, it's good to celebrate the little wins 🥰

Well done!

Congratulations OP. I work in IT and have volunteered at a local community group to help people use and became confident with emails and Excel too. I think it’s great and seeing people become more confident is lovely.

Oh this has actually made my day!
I have been proficient in Microsoft office since my teens and ended up in a job where I ended up coaching people like yourself who were so capable but had no confidence, and it was fab to see people be proud of themselves for actually TRYING even if it didnt work - the fact you've self taught yourself is HUGE!
my tips are:
I work with Excel whizzes and they all joke about how they still have to Google things (and not super complex stuff) all the time.
Dont be afraid to ask for help if you've Googled and cant find the answer
Write yourself a little process to follow if you come across any tricky stuff! Helps bed it in.

Good luck in your new role!!

Congratulations on your new job!

Very well done for learning a new skill.

I am a similar age. Have a degree etc but absolutely useless with all things IT. I'm deeply embarrassed by my lack of skill and knowledge. Your post has made me realise, I'm limiting myself, not my lack of knowledge.

Very well done and wishing you all the best! 💐

Well done!!!! I would also advise looking on YouTube or similar and definitely using AI (Copilot) for excel tips and tricks. Many congratulations, you’re obviously a fast learner and have done so well.

Well done, and good luck in your new role

Once you are using it every day it will be second nature, and the answer to everything is on google (or copilot!)

Woop huge congrats OP!🥳That's excellent

A couple of things that may be useful to look up if you haven't covered yet:

-Using shared mailboxes in Outlook. E.g. if your team has a general enquiry mailbox which you all work from ([email protected]) , you will add this in Outlook as a second (or third, or fourth!) mailbox. Familiarise yourself with how to add, how you can switch between sending from your account and a shared one etc

-Copilot is the inbuilt 365 AI tool, which i believe is becoming increasingly popular in the CS. Its very handy, and personally I think quite intuitive but maybe watch some demos

Congratulations! What a great story and outcome for you. I wish you every happiness in your new career :)

@Rosecoffeecup ooh thank you. Makes sense as I’m sure we probably will work from a shared mailbox and it’s not something I’d given any thought to so I’m adding that to today’s lesson!

That's amazing!! CS jobs are so competitive at the moment and teaching yourself something to achieve it is incredible! You should feel proud!

Congratulations 🥂🍾

it doesn't surprise me it was listed as an essential skill but then you weren't even required to prove you are competent in M365🙄 it's like they just make up a random list of requirements. You probably only need what you did on day 1 of your own course!! (I'm impressed with that too!), if that.

But YOU know you have all these new skills & they will hopefully be useful to you I love the old Excel, not so much the newer versions.

when do you start your new job?

Well done OP

I’m on a journey myself and have got one of these. Really useful:

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@TheTulipsAreOut I start the 1st June!

• and yep, I suspect you’re right. The job spec stated ‘have excellent written, verbal and digital communication skills - including knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications’

… so I applied knowing I have the written and verbal skills but the digital skills is a bit of a no. But as I’m repeatedly going over ‘format as table’ in excel, I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to actually require this skill!

It does make me feel better to be actively doing though. And I’m still working away every single day. I’m into repetition and consolidation now so I just go over and over it all - my biggest stumbling block is files / folders/ one drive / and just keeping clear in my mind that we put something in a folder and we then save it. But I do need to keep returning to that as it isn’t second nature to me

@Specialagentblond oh that’s looks really useful! I’m off to see if it’s on Amazon. Thanks !!

I’m not able to start until the 1st June as in my current job my work is all front loaded - meaning my quota of work for May is allocated to me this week. So, wanting to keep that nice and neat, it means a 1st June start

and it makes sense too. It’s a Monday for starters and they readily agreed to it. It also ensures I can keep practising. This stuff doesn’t come easy to me at all so the more time I have to keep going over it, the better

Congratulations! Fabulous news

Will you need to know anything about PowerPoint?

Don't forget to ask chatgpt any questions you might have. I find it so helpful

@CheeseAndTomatoSandwichWithMayo I’m almost certain there’ll be no PowerPoint but , just in case, it’s on my list to peruse and familiarise myself with at least what it is! I can’t see me ever having to ‘present’ a slide show to anyone though but as it’s part of the Microsoft 365 range of apps, I’ll certainly look at it

I’ve used ChatGPT for all my lessons! I also ensure that I double check the info I’m being given is correct and so far, it’s all good. But yeah, it structured my entire plan for me because I couldn’t find an actual learning platform that provided exactly what I was looking for

@Specialagentblond got a similar one on Amazon! Thanks for the tip off