Planning to apply for clerical worker jobs? Or have a plan to join this field? You must have a clear idea about the skills required for administrative duties. Of course, you are going to write a cover letter. Inside it, you will showcase your talent and skills. 

Without knowing the best skills or job-specific skills for clerk jobs, how are you going to stand out from other candidates?

Therefore, today I will help you polish your CV with skills that increase your chances of giving a clerical job. Also, you should prepare Administrative Assistant Interview Questions.

What are the Roles and Responsibilities of Clerk Worker Jobs?

As a clerk in any office, you need to handle official correspondence. It means:

• Checking email, keeping the whole track.
• Making appointments
• Attending calls
• Customer-service
• Making and designing form
• Word processing
• Filing documents, sheets or forms

The purpose of a clerk in an office is to keep the office routine work going. 

What Kind of Clerical Jobs are Available in the Market?

Most of the clerical jobs are entry-level, which may or may not require some experience. This job is different from the administrative assistant in the sense that a clerk doesn't get managerial responsibility while an admin assistant may lead a team. 

You may be wondering, Why Entry level jobs Require Experience? Get Answers

The most common clerical jobs are office assistant, bookkeeping, data-entry tasks in an office, office manager, personal assistant, or administrative assistant. Fortunately, every other industry and office requires clerks. So, fitting in the field won't be an issue.

It is a job that doesn't require a college degree. However, you must have experience and skills to get selected for a clerk job. Let's start digging into the five most essential skills required for clerical duties.

Top 4 Skills Required for Clerk Jobs 

Here are some skills that every employer seeks in this specific job.

Attention to Detail

You must be attentive to every single detail like an email, a phone call, fax, a document you filled, and almost everything. Most of the time, you are going to deal with office documents.

At one time, you need to fill the form with precise and accurate details, and at another time, there is a phone call, you have to listen very carefully.

The job of a clerk is to check and recheck every document before it reaches higher management. If there are any typos and errors in forms or files, it is going to leave an adverse impact. For example, if a clerk keeps track of email and misspelled a name or date, then it is a big mistake that might result in losing a customer or client. 

• Active Listening
• Good Observation
• Proof-Reading 
• Reasoning
• Typing 
• Record Management

Communication Skills Required for Clerk Jobs

If I say that every other job requires practical communication skills, then you won't disagree. The reason is that when we are working in a proper set-up, then we need to communicate, either with our boss/colleagues or clients. 

In a clerk job, communication skill is a must. For example, if you are doing a receptionist job, then it means you need to attend phone calls and respond to your customers, management, staff, and everyone related to business.

Both written and verbal communication skills are required for clerical jobs. It means you need to write a clear-cut email without using any vague words. Careful selection of words makes you prosper in this field.

• Language Skills
• Faxing
• Emailing
• Proofreading
• Teamwork
• Correspondence handling
• Front Desk Management

You can check your clerical skills by taking a test here.

Numeracy Skills 

It's not like you should be an expert mathematician to become a clerk. However, you can't be a good clerk if you are bad at math. Some clerks perform bookkeeping tasks in an office. They need to enter details of expense and income in a spreadsheet. It is also possible to do basic plus and minus with all data.

You must know how to use MS Word and Spreadsheet because they are commonly used documents in an office. Remember, if you are good at math, then you can be a great clerk because sometimes an office requires a book-keeper plus clerk. Here is a list of clerical skills in an office.

• Budgeting
• Analytic and Logical Skills
• Bookkeeping
• Budgeting
• Expense Analysis

Organization Skills

If you are a person who can't keep anything on the track and a bit messy, then clerical worker jobs aren't for you. To run day-to-day office activities smoothly, you must have to be a well-organized person. 

However, if you are the kind of person who used to-do-list and sticky notes to keep everything in order, then a clerk job is the right choice for you. Know the ways to become organized in an Office.

• Multitasking
• Filing
• Documentation
• Record Keeping
• Sorting
• Time Management

Problem Solving Skills

Although you won't get more significant problems served at your plate, it doesn't mean that clerk jobs come without challenges. Sometimes, there is a tough customer to handle, and another time, you need to fix some technical glitches. 

Therefore, you must be a person who can think creatively, analyze a situation, and can throw multiple solutions for a single problem.

Here is a list of skills for clerk jobs.

• Creative Thinking
• Delegating 
• Analyzing
• Technical knowledge
• Decision Making
• Risk Management

Bottom Line

I shared a list of skills required for Clerical jobs. One thing that you must know that, in every office, there will be a computer. That means you must have the technical knowledge to become a good clerk or office assistant.