Clerical Assistant Job Description

You can start off with a glorious career by taking up a clerical assistant job. Contrary to the popular belief, clerical assistant job comes with a lot of responsibilities. A clerical assistant provides general and specific clerical support to the departments to which he is assigned in an organization. This support could be provided by operating any office equipment or assisting the other clerks to finish the general office work. Clerical assistant may also be appointed to render administrative support to the clerks or a particular team in an office. It is a good career opportunity and willingness to learn and hard work will make this experience worthwhile. Acquaint yourself with the job description mentioned below before appearing for your job interview.

In your job search quest, you will come across numerous job opportunities for the post of a clerical assistant. A clerical assistant is expected to have good communication skills, command over English and high performance output in terms of accuracy and efficiency. He needs to be comfortable around people and is expected to get along with the other staff members in the organization. This is a mandatory part of not only this job but also of all official positions.

A clerical assistant needs to perform certain routine activities in any given organization. Along with these, there may be some organizational specific activities, that he may be required to execute. The clerk assistant job description generally consists of:

• Telecommunication activities like answering calls, transferring calls to the right person or to the right department and taking and distributing messages.
• Typing letters and replies to the inquiries made.
• Sorting and filing papers like memoranda, invoices and letters.
• Assisting the senior clerk or other support staff in the administrative functions.
• Photocopying necessary documents and filing them properly.
• Updating the computer database by data entry.
• Compiling office records and updating the files.
• Sorting and distributing incoming mail and organizing the outgoing mail.
• Attending to the inquiries and providing the necessary information to the customers.
• Making the necessary arrangements for meetings between departments and or between the organization and the clients.

Apart from the above, a clerical assistant may need to execute other duties that are specific to the department to which he is assigned. For instance, if he is assigned to the sales department, he may have to compile sales reports based on the sales for a particular day, week or month. If he is a clerical assistant in the purchase department, he may need to order materials or send the bills for settlement to the accounts department.

Training

There is no specific training program that a clerical assistant needs to undergo. The post of clerical assistant does not require graduation. A high school diploma is sufficient. However, basic computer knowledge like Microsoft Office, sending and receiving of emails and the use of internet is mandatory. Additional software skills are a bonus. The organization may provide training that is specific to the organization or to a particular department. Apart from the qualifications, qualities like honesty, sincerity, positive approach and flexibility are essential to perform this job well. A clerical assistant must also possess the ability to work hard, ability to work under tight schedule and pressures, ability to respond positively to the changing work environment and the ability to blend in well, in an organization. There is no training provided for these qualities; these are expected to be in the person.

Salary

There are plenty of organizations that offer clerical assistant jobs. However, it is not one of the highest paying jobs. In the initial years, the salary of a clerical assistant is very low. Job openings in different industries (like insurance, medical and law firms) offer $10-$14 per hour to a clerical assistant. The yearly salary of a clerical assistant falls in the range of $21,000 to $31,000. This amount depends on different factors like educational qualifications and the number of years of experience. A clerical assistant also gets common benefits like dental and medical insurance.

The salary of the clerical assistant increases over the years based on a lot of factors like consistent performance of the assistant, additional educational qualifications, nature of the industry, organizational size, ability to rise in the organizational hierarchy and the earnestness with which the job is being executed. Salary will also increase with the increase in the number of years of experience. Increasing the scope of knowledge, educational qualification and making yourself indispensable in the organization with your dedication, is the ticket to salary raise.

A clerical assistant job could be taken up full-time or it could be a part-time job. Clerical assistant job is a career start-up and when sincerely done, opens ample of growth opportunities. If you complete your job well, you can climb the corporate ladder, land up an executive job and become very successful. All the best!!