- What administrative and typing duties did you perform in your previous role? …
- How many words per minute are you able to type? …
- How do you avoid spelling and grammatical errors in your work? …
- What types of word processing software are you familiar with?
Clerk Typist interview questions
What should be the qualities of clerk typist?
In order to score well in this interview question, an efficient way is to give a list of qualities and skills that are in alignment with the respective position. You can start with:
Remember that regardless of position, self awareness is listed time and again as one of the number one things an employer looks for. Beyond this, staples such as:
Are always great qualities to mention.
What experience do you have when it comes to discussing our recently posted CLERK TYPIST position?
Answer tips:
Speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for. If you know you do not have much experience in the job you are applying for, plan for this question ahead of time and ensure you can provide some relatable examples based on what you have done.
Almost all interviewers will appreciate confidence and pride in the work experience you have earned and your passion in transfering these valuable skills to your future role or position.
Answer sample
Example: “In my current role as senior clerk typist, I am responsible for typing all documents related to client accounts. This includes sensitive financial information such as account balances and transaction histories. To protect this information from unauthorized access, I always use encryption software on our company computers to prevent anyone from accessing the data if they were to gain physical access to the computer.”
Employers ask this question to learn more about your qualifications and how you can contribute to their company. Before your interview, make a list of all the skills and experiences that make you an ideal candidate for this role. Consider including any certifications or training you have completed in the past five years.
In this guide, you’ll find questions and answers that will help you prepare for your interview.
Do you have experience working as a clerk typist? Are you looking for a job that offers stability and a good working environment? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you may be interested in a position as a senior clerk typist.
Example: “I’ve worked in a law firm for several years now, so I’m used to reading and interpreting handwritten documents. I find it helpful to take my time when reading these types of documents so I don’t miss any information. When working with handwritten documents, I also make sure to ask questions if I’m unsure about something.”
18 Essential Clerical Interview Questions
1. How does your work experience equip you for this job?
Find the key abilities and skills required for this position in the job posting. Describe how you demonstrated these skills in your previous jobs.
Key skills for clerical positions usually include:
2. Which computer software have you used?
Detail the packages you are familiar with and explain what you have used each package for. Give specific examples of the functions you are proficient in such as creating and formatting spreadsheets in Excel and creating and editing tables in Word.
Relate your computer skills to the job requirements.
3. What types of correspondence were you responsible for?
When answering clerical interview questions like this, indicate the level of responsibility you had with regard to generating and editing correspondence.
Did you type correspondence from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation or previous versions?
Highlight your knowledge of English composition, spelling and grammatical rules. Explain how you ensured accuracy. Provide work samples to support your answer.
4. What reports did you have to compose, format or check and distribute?
Give examples of the reports you were responsible for and explain how you obtained and managed the necessary information and what systems you used to generate and distribute the reports.
5. What types of data management systems have you worked with?
Highlight how you made sure that data was kept current and being done accurately. How did you ensure efficient retrieval of information? Detail the different systems you are familiar with and explain their advantages and disadvantages. Discuss any improvements you made.
This shows that you actively managed the data system and not just maintained it.
6. What information were you responsible for processing?
Focus on the types and volume of data – forms etc – to be captured and processed. What software and systems did you utilize?
An important part of answering clerical interview questions about information processing is to detail how you verified or audited the information before processing it. How do you check for errors?7. What sort of information did you have to keep confidential in your last clerical job?
Show how you used your judgment to determine what types of information and situations to keep confidential. Give specific examples of the confidential information you managed. How was this information stored? How did you monitor it? What was the process for retrieving it?
8. What experience do you have with handling money?
Detail what your responsibilities were in this area.
9. What experience do you have with setting up meetings?
How did you organize venues, inform participants, organize documentation, set up the meeting room? Were you also responsible for taking and distributing minutes?
10. What sort of interactions did you have with the public?
Focus on dealing with queries or requests from customers or members of the public.
Highlight your use of knowledge of the department and company to successfully answer queries and provide information. These clerical interview questions are exploring your ability to provide an efficient information service to the public, clients, colleagues and managers.
11. How many calls did you have to take on an average day?
This provides an indication of how busy you were and how much time was spent on dealing with requests for information. If you also dealt with the public via written communications then include this in your clerical interview answer.
12. Were you responsible for coordinating any events, projects or programs?
Have a good example ready of a project where you were involved in the planning and organization.
Clerical interview questions like this are designed to explore your planning and organization skills as well as your initiative and ability to work independently. Focus on these skills in your answer.
13. Describe the busiest work situation you have recently experienced?
Again have an example ready for the interviewer. Describe the situation, the actions you took to meet the demands and the outcome. Focus on your ability to perform under pressure by planning and prioritizing successfully.
Avoid making negative comments about having to handle a busy situation but rather convince the interviewer that you enjoyed the challenge.
14. Can you give me an example of the sort of deadlines you had to meet?
Be specific about any daily, weekly, quarterly deadlines you regularly had to meet. Explain how you scheduled your activities to ensure that you did meet the deadlines.
15. How do you prioritize your work?
Describe the techniques you use to organize your work. How do you determine the importance and urgency of a task? What else do you consider when prioritizing your work – for example, the available resources to complete the task?
Show how you are able to use your judgment and plan the most appropriate course of action.
16. Describe any innovations you made in your last job to improve efficiency?
The interviewer wants to know if you are able to analyze a problem and come up with a workable solution.
Show how you use your initiative to pro-actively make positive changes.
17. What do you consider to be the most important qualities for this clerical job?
A clerical or administrative type job mostly involves information management and communication. Qualities like:
are all key to clerical jobs.
18. What are your strengths as a clerical worker?
Focus on those strengths that relate directly to the job requirements and that would be of most value in the position. This list of employee strengths will help you.
Use this detailed clerical job description to make sure you have a clear picture of the task and competency requirements for a clerical job.
Find out how to successfully answer behavioral interview questions that explore your clerical competencies.
FAQ
What are the duties of a clerk typist?
What are the questions asked in interview for clerk?
- What were your duties in your previous role? …
- How do you prioritize your work if you receive multiple requests from staff members? …
- Describe a challenging task you had to deal with. …
- How do you maintain and update a filing system? …
- Describe a time when you responded to a customer complaint.
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers?
- Could you tell me about yourself and describe your background in brief? …
- How did you hear about this position? …
- What type of work environment do you prefer? …
- How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations? …
- Do you prefer working independently or on a team?
