Higher-ups are intimidating 🫣

Hey there! Tomorrow is a special day: It’s my birthday! 🎂 Where my fellow Capricorns at?! To celebrate, I’m doing a 50% OFF flash sale on ALL Miss Excel courses and bundles to help you level up on everything Microsoft Office! Here’s the ✨ birthday surprise ✨: Newsletter subscribers (that’s you!) get exclusive early access! The sale officially starts Friday but you can grab it now with the discount code BIRTHDAY50.

Don’t wait—this deal won’t last long (and neither will my cake 😅 ).

Become Your Boss’s Favorite Person 🤩 

Imagine you’re at the office when you overhear your boss saying “There’s so much data, but I only need four columns. Can anyone help?”

Will you…

• A) Say nothing. I don’t know how to fix that! 🤷

• B) Become their new favorite person and show them a better way. 🏃

Personally? I’m all for Option B (that’s why you’re reading this newsletter, after all!). Here’s how you’d fix your boss’s problem in seconds:

BOOM! You just solved your boss’ problem. 💥 

Just Getting Started With Excel?

Have you heard of the “20-Hour Rule?”

It says that with just 20 hours of focused practice, you can go from a beginner to competent in almost any skill. And that includes mastering Excel!

That’s where the Excelerator Course comes in. This course is full of bite-sized, easy-to-understand lessons that are actually fun and make those 20 hours fly by. 💨 

And if you already have some Excel skills? This course is for you, too! As Amanda will tell you, you’ll definitely learn something new:

Even better? The Excelerator Course is part of the birthday sale! 🥳 Be sure to use the code BIRTHDAY50 at checkout.

How to Talk to Higher-Ups 💼

Talking to people in charge can feel intimidating, especially early in your career. Something about the “Chief” or “Senior” in someone’s title makes us second guess everything we say. 🫠

But you’re going to have to interact with higher-ups at some point, whether it be in interviews, meetings, or performance reviews. 

And that’s a good thing! These people can teach you, inspire you, and change the trajectory of your career. So here are my three best tips to connect with your higher-ups: 

1. 👐 Remember they’re human, too. The bigger someone’s title, the easier it is to put them on a pedestal. But strip away that fancy LinkedIn header and you’ll find a human being who has hopes, fears, and a favorite Netflix show. 

2. ✏️ Do your research. Review their work history on LinkedIn, see if they have a website or portfolio, and—depending on the industry—they may have op-eds or podcasts to check out. This research will help you ask them thoughtful, non-generic questions—swapping the surface-level chit-chat for meaningful conversations. 

3. 😄 Share a laugh (when appropriate). Laughter is a shortcut to building strong relationships. But be sure to avoid self-deprecating humor (“I’m just an intern!”). 

One last thing: Although you might not have the years of experience that your superiors do, there are other things you bring to the table. Warmth, attentiveness, and tenacity are all strengths that can leave a lasting impression—proving you belong in the room no matter who’s sitting across from you. ✨

• How to add a signature to your Excel spreadsheet in 30 seconds!

• Did you know you could add watermarks to your Word document? 

• “Wow,” says a comment on my Dynamic Time Functions tip! 🙇

• I’m obsessed with this immersive sound bath on Spotify. 🧘

• This Reddit list of 10 Excel tips was upvoted 945 times. 👀

We want to better understand how we can support you in 2025!

Stay Exceling,

Kat