MORE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR ASSISTANTS
The clerk performs many tasks that are related to office paperwork.
Clerks prepare office documentation, answer/send e-mails, direct phone calls, and data entry, make invoices and compile records in database. They may work in government offices, law firms, insurance companies, accounting offices, banks, courts, hospitals, universities and commercial businesses.
The position of a clerk is important for any organization as he or she has to be highly responsible, accurate, good communicator and should have the tendency to work multi-tasking and in strict deadlines. Therefore, the questions in a clerk interview would be aimed at understanding whether the person has the said traits or not. This article provides sample of job interview questions for clerical positions and suggests answers for the same.
Clerical interview questions and answers
The below questions are generally asked after the initial questions that are posed at knowing the person on a personal level.
1. Tell me about yourself? What is your job experience?
This is the generally the first question that is asked by an interviewer. Although this is more of a formal question and does not hold much bearing on the final outcome of the interview, it is normally asked to check your general competence to the job in question.
Keep in mind that the interviewer would not have the time to listen to a detailed story.
Therefore, be ready to create a briefer about your work experience. Make sure that the answer to this question is quick and concise. You can briefly tell about your prior work history and highlight some of your important background points – your recent and relevant career experience and how it qualifies you for the said job.
2. What are your educational qualifications that would support your application for the job of a clerk?
Any job that has a responsibility attached to it has several qualifications that should be held by a person that applies for the said profile. Make sure that you carry your academic as well as other documents that support your application for the said position. Of course, not every interviewer would have the time to go through the documentation, but the very fact that you have the documents at hand would give you some brownie points when it comes to the aspect of first amongst equals.
Once these questions are answered, the questions may veer to those regarding a typical workday.
3. Tell me about your typical workday – how would you prioritize the work in a typical day?
A clerk is a company resource. It is necessary for the clerk to know how to prioritize the work he/she receives from many departments and individuals within the business organization.
To answer this question, the simplest answer would be that you would prioritize the work with regards to the level of seniority and the level of importance. This is the safest way to prioritize work in a business organization that has a vertical hierarchy. It is very common that the work process moves from bottom to top in such a hierarchy.
Therefore, in many cases, if the work has reached a higher authority, there are good chances that the work is of greater priority than the other assignments.
Then, the interviewer would be interested in asking you about your technological education. Here are the questions that are based about your technical knowledge:
4. What are the types of software that you are comfortable with?
This is another question that is fast gaining precedence with the increase of technology and differences that we have seen since the past decade. This question is basically a no brainier. No employee today would be in a position to get a job if he is not computer knowledgeable and computer savvy.
The answer to this question should again be factual – the types of Windows based applications in addition to other business management applications you used and the level of knowledge for each of these software.
5. What is your ‘words per minute’ speed? What is the accuracy value that you have at that speed?
This is a typical question that is asked of anyone who has applied for a clerical job. A clerk spends most of their time typing up documents and other collateral.
Therefore, make sure that you reply to this question with factual numbers. In fact, many a times, this question may be the only one why you are selected over other candidates for the position.
6. Can you tell us of a recent incident in your job where you had to handle an atmosphere of stress? How did you handle it?
As a clerk, it goes without saying that there would be stress in the job and that there would be some situations that would have got pretty ugly if not for saner minds having prevailed. If you have had any such experiences, feel free to share those experiences with the interviewer when asked. However, remember that you should not add any kind of spice to the incident.
7. Do you have experience in which you assigned to be the main person who handles an important project – the focal point?
This question is basically pitched at you to find out whether your recent employers gave you more responsibilities. The interviewer may want to observe whether you have personal management skills or leadership abilities that would make you the perfect candidate to be promoted down the road.
Answering this question in the affirmative can make or break your application.
Therefore, provide a briefer about your greatest achievements and highlight some of the major projects/responsibilities that were given to you.
8. Why do you want to do this job?
This is a question that is generally asked in the middle of the interview. It is basically asked as a way to find out whether the person who has applied for the interview knows the ins and outs of the job and whether the person has applied for the interview just as a lark or not.
The best way to answer this question is through giving a proper break down of the aspects of the job that you like, and also try to tell about the scope of the job that you have applied for AND how it fits your skills.
9. How many languages do you speak?
This is a very interesting and important question. With the advent of globalization and outsourcing, it is very important to know more than one language, so as to be better placed to interact with all kinds of clients.
To answer this question, provide the languages and the level of knowledge write/read/speak for each.
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