Office Clerks, General Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing.
Office Clerks, General is Also Know as
In different settings, Office Clerks, General is titled as
- Administrative Clerk (Admin Clerk)
- Clerical Aide
- Clerical Assistant
- Clerk
- General Clerk
- Office Assistant
- Office Clerk
- Office Services Specialist
- Office Support Assistant
Education and Training of Office Clerks, General
Office Clerks, General is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Office Clerks, General
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Required for Office Clerks, General
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Degrees Related to Office Clerks, General
- Bachelor in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services
- Associate Degree Courses in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services
- Masters Degree Courses in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services
Training Required for Office Clerks, General
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Office Clerks, General in different industries are
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
- Receptionists and Information Clerks
- File Clerks
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Administrative Services Managers
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Correspondence Clerks
- Billing and Posting Clerks
- Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
- Medical Records Specialists
- Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
- Customer Service Representatives
- Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
- Document Management Specialists
- Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Brokerage Clerks
- Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
- Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs
What Do Office Clerks, General do?
- Collect, count, and disburse money, do basic bookkeeping, and complete banking transactions.
- Communicate with customers, employees, and other individuals to answer questions, disseminate or explain information, take orders, and address complaints.
- Answer telephones, direct calls, and take messages.
- Compile, copy, sort, and file records of office activities, business transactions, and other activities.
- Complete and mail bills, contracts, policies, invoices, or checks.
- Operate office machines, such as photocopiers and scanners, facsimile machines, voice mail systems, and personal computers.
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.
- Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and database systems, either manually or using a computer.
- Open, sort, and route incoming mail, answer correspondence, and prepare outgoing mail.
- Review files, records, and other documents to obtain information to respond to requests.
- Deliver messages and run errands.
- Inventory and order materials, supplies, and services.
- Complete work schedules, manage calendars, and arrange appointments.
- Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports.
- Monitor and direct the work of lower-level clerks.
- Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, from notes or dictating machines, using computers or typewriters.
- Count, weigh, measure, or organize materials.
- Train other staff members to perform work activities, such as using computer applications.
- Prepare meeting agendas, attend meetings, and record and transcribe minutes.
- Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software.
- Make travel arrangements for office personnel.
Qualities of Good Office Clerks, General
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Tools Used by Office Clerks, General
- 10-key calculators
- Computer laser printers
- Computer terminals
- Data input scanners
- Desktop computers
- Dictation equipment
- Digital duplicating machines
- Electric typewriters
- Laptop computers
- Laser facsimile machines
- Letter folding machines
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Personal computers
- Photocopiers
- Photocopying equipment
- Postage machines
- Scanners
- Switchboards
- Typewriters
- Voice mail systems
Technology Skills required for Office Clerks, General
- 3M Post-it App
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe InDesign
- ADP Workforce Now
- Alpha Software Alpha Five
- Appointment scheduling software
- Billing software
- Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
- Blackboard software
- Bookkeeping software
- Data entry software
- Database software
- Dropbox
- Electronic Data Interchange EDI systems
- Evernote
- FileMaker Pro
- Filing system software
- Google Docs
- Google Drive
- Google Sites
- GroupMe
- Henry Schein Dentrix
- IBM Check Processing Control System CPSC
- IBM Notes
- Intuit QuickBooks
- LexisNexis
- Mavenlink
- Medical condition coding software
- Medical procedure coding software
- MEDITECH software
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Exchange
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Project
- Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Word
- Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
- Oracle PeopleSoft
- Oracle PeopleSoft Financials
- Propertyware
- Records management software
- Sage 50 Accounting
- Salesforce.com Salesforce CRM
- SAP software
- SmugMug Flickr
- Social media sites
- Spreadsheet software
- St. Paul Travelers e-CARMA
- Transcription system software
- Web browser software
- Word processing software
- Yardi software