Clerical Assistants are known by a variety of different names – office clerks and clerical workers being two that spring to mind, but despite their bad reputation in the movies as being dull, these are the jobs that keep companies ticking – and the variety of day-to-day tasks is enough to keep anyone occupied!
However you’re known in the organisation, you will be involved in keeping the administrative side of the company, organising projects, making sure correct documentation is in place and carrying out research tasks.
Salary & benefits
In a fair amount of clerical roles you can be paid by the hour, but a standard full-time job could start around the £14,000 mark, rising to over £20,000 with experience.
There’s plenty of scope to work your hours around other commitments, as well as flexible working hours in many clerical roles.
Working hours
Most jobs will take on the standard office hours, as this is primarily an office based role, although at busy times you might be expected to work longer hours for a period. This completely depends on the company you are working for, however, and flexible roles are available within the industry – you just have to find a vacancy that fits your needs!
Entry
Most people enter the profession straight out of school, where employers will expect qualifications in English and Maths in order to prove your skills in communications and numeracy, both of which are prerequisites for the role. You’ll have to prove your problem solving skills and your competency with organisational systems both physical and digital, but a degree is not a necessity.
Training & progression
On-the-job training occurs in the sense that you’ll have to learn the company’s ways of operation pretty quickly before you slot into the structure, but there’s no real formal training for the role. Instead, you’ll have to learn how the people around you operate and work out how best to keep everything running as smoothly as possible.
In larger companies, where a team of clerical workers are part of the system, there’s plenty of space for progression – there will be senior clerks, team leaders and office managers, as well as PAs and specialists clerical workers who work in HR or Accounts. All of these roles will increase responsibility and, in turn, your pay packet, so there’s plenty of scope for moving up the ladder if that’s your aim.
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