VLOOKUP Interview Questions, Answered
Lookups are the most common "intermediate" Excel interview question. If you can do VLOOKUP and explain INDEX/MATCH, you'll clear most screens.
The syntax
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, FALSE)
The 4th argument matters: FALSE means exact match. Leaving it out gives an approximate match, and that's the #1 mistake interviewers look for.
Practice: find a salary by ID
Questions interviewers ask
"What does #N/A mean?" The lookup value wasn't found. Check for extra spaces, numbers stored as text, or the wrong range.
"What's the limitation of VLOOKUP?" It can only look to the right of the lookup column. INDEX(D2:D7, MATCH(G2, A2:A7, 0)) can look in any direction, and so can XLOOKUP.
"Why use $ in the range?" Absolute references like $A$2:$E$7 keep the table fixed when you copy the formula down.
Ready for a full run? Take the 10-question practice test →