Excel Interview Test: SUMIFS vs Pivot Table, What Your Interviewer Actually Wants

Practice sheet (make a copy): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/... This is an Excel interview test walkthrough: SUMIFS vs Pivot Table, what your interviewer actually wants. Fourteen orders, three months, one request: a monthly summary by region. Then the data keeps coming in. SUMIFS builds a formula grid that updates itself. The Pivot Table builds the same report in thirty seconds with zero syntax. Then a new order lands, and the two totals disagree. Honest comparison, both sides, on screen. Chapters: 0:00 The request that decides the interview 1:32 SUMIFS: the formula grid that updates itself 2:23 The Pivot Table in thirty seconds 3:02 The new-order test (and the total that stops moving) 4:20 SUMIFS charges its price (the audit tax) 5:03 The honest fix 5:27 Verify: three totals, one number 6:10 The Refresh Rule (verdict) 6:36 Recap Screen shown is a simulation for clarity. All formulas and results are verified against Google Sheets.