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๐—œ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ:
You have 2 minutes to solve this Excel problem.

You have the following data:

Employee | Department | Salary
John | IT | 75,000
Sarah | HR | 60,000
Mike | IT | 82,000
David | Finance | 90,000
Alice | HR | 65,000

How would you count the number of unique departments?

๐— ๐—ฒ: Challenge accepted! ๐Ÿ’ช

=COUNTA(UNIQUE(B2:B6))

๐Ÿ’ก Explanation:
The UNIQUE() function extracts distinct department names, and COUNTA() counts how many unique values are returned.

UNIQUE(B2:B6) returns: IT, HR, Finance.
COUNTA() counts these unique values.

The result is the total number of unique departments.

This challenge tests your understanding of: โœ… UNIQUE()
โœ… COUNTA()
โœ… Dynamic Arrays
โœ… Data Analysis

๐ŸŽฏ Expected Output Example

Formula | Result
=COUNTA(UNIQUE(B2:B6)) | 3

(The unique departments are IT, HR, and Finance.)

๐Ÿš€ Bonus (For Older Excel Versions)
=SUMPRODUCT((B2:B6<>"")/COUNTIF(B2:B6,B2:B6))

This formula counts unique values without using the UNIQUE() function, making it compatible with older versions of Excel.

๐Ÿš€ Tip for Excel Job Seekers:
Modern Excel functions are becoming increasingly common in interviews. Be familiar with:

UNIQUE()
FILTER()
SORT()
SEQUENCE()
TEXTSPLIT()

These dynamic array functions simplify complex formulas and are widely used in Microsoft 365.

โค๏ธ React with โค๏ธ for more Excel interview challenges!
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