ExamopotamiaWhy test Word skills before you hire?
Nearly every office CV lists Microsoft Word, and most people rate themselves as advanced. The difference shows up in the details: someone who formats headings by hand produces documents that break when edited, while someone who uses styles gets a table of contents in a click. Long reports, contracts and letters take hours longer when the person preparing them doesn't know section breaks, Track Changes or Find and Replace. A short practical test shows who really knows the program.
What this template covers
- Styles and structure: heading styles, tables of contents and Format Painter.
- Page layout: page breaks, keep with next, and landscape pages within a portrait document.
- Headers and page numbers: Different First Page, section breaks and restarting numbering.
- Review and editing: Track Changes and Find and Replace.
- Mail merge and accessibility: merge fields, alt text and descriptive links.
How to run it well
Twelve questions in 12–15 minutes is a fair check. Set the pass mark around 65% for general office roles and nearer 80% for document specialists, legal secretaries or anyone who formats long reports. Shuffle questions and options, and add a timer so candidates can't open Word and try every option.
The set has single-choice questions, a multiple-select on accessibility, a true/false and one short-answer shortcut question, where candidates type the keys instead of picking them. In results, the three hard questions on sections and numbering are the clearest sign of real experience with long documents. Use the menu names in the questions as a guide, as they apply to recent desktop versions of Word for Windows.
Who this test is for
Use it for administrators, secretaries, personal assistants, legal and medical secretaries, report writers and document controllers. Training providers can also use it to place learners in the right Word course level. Teams that are standardising their templates sometimes run it across existing staff first, so they know who needs help before the new house style goes live.
Make it yours
Add questions about your own house style, letter templates or document numbering. If your team works in Word on a Mac or online, edit the shortcut question to match. You can also add questions on templates, citations or protecting documents, depending on what the role needs. For legal or academic roles, footnotes and cross-references are worth a question or two.