Clerical Resume Example

Office clerk positions can be very competitive because they offer the benefits of a reliable job as well as opportunities for career growth and advancement. For those seeking entry-level positions, clerical work is a great place to start a career.

With COVID-19 and remote work policies having led to a decline in office job openings, it is more important than ever to be able to present employers with an impressive resume.

Here are four tips to help you write a clerk resume that demonstrates that you possess all the qualifications and skills employers are looking for:

1. Format your office clerk resume professionally

Most clerical positions are with formal companies that have specific ideas about professionalism. If your resume isn’t formatted properly or looks too non-traditional, you might leave a bad first impression on some hiring managers.

That’s why it’s important to choose the right template and design for your clerk resume.

Here’s how you can create a professional resume for a clerical position:

1. Pick a resume template that looks clean and simple
2. Avoid bright, intense colors or distracting graphics
3. Use a traditional, easy to read font for your resume
4. Make sure you follow best resume formatting practices

2. Begin with a compelling office clerk resume introduction

One way to grab a busy hiring manager’s attention is to start your resume with a compelling resume introduction. Your introduction is the first thing a hiring manager sees, and so it’s important that this part of your resume makes a solid first impression by highlighting your key qualifications.

Depending on the extent of your professional experience, you should start off your resume with either a resume objective or a resume summary.

A resume objective is the way to go if you’re an applicant with limited work experience because it highlights your career ambitions and passion for the work.

For an entry-level office clerk position, your objective should include:

• Relevant experience (if you have any)
• Your degree and relevant certifications
• How you plan on leveraging your skills and expertise to succeed at your job

Here’s an example of a good objective for a clerk resume:

“Recent graduate with office clerk internship experience. Possess a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Looking to leverage experience and knowledge gained throughout my studies and internship to effectively fill the office clerk role in your company.”

On the other hand, if you’ve already accumulated more than a few years of work experience, a resume summary is the best way to highlight your expertise and experience. Include the following in your summary:

• Job title and years of experience
• Work-related accomplishments
• Proven skills and qualifications

Here’s an example of a successful resume summary that incorporates these elements:

“Dependable office clerk with 3+ years of experience providing administrative support to a team of 50 staff members. Responded to 60+ customer inquiries via phone and email daily. 90 WPM typist skilled in MS Office and Google Workspace.”

3. Highlight your office clerk skills

Hiring managers want to know that you have the skills required to excel as an office clerk, so it’s crucial to make sure that these are easily spotted in your resume.

One way to do this is to highlight skills in your professional experience section as part of your bullet points. This works particularly well when mentioning hard skills, such as specific software or techniques you’re proficient in.

Here’s one example of how you can include hard skills in your work experience section:

“Scheduled and set up weekly team meetings using Zoom”

Another way to highlight your essential office clerk skills is to list them in the skills section of your resume. This gives employers an easy way to see what expertise you have at a glance.

Here are some hard skills you could add to the skills section of your office clerk resume:

• MS Office
• Google Workspace
• Operating systems
• Typing speed
• Customer relationship management (CRM) software
• Scheduling tools
• File management
• Office equipment operation

However, clerks need more than technical skills to succeed at their jobs. Having a strong set of soft skills is also essential for anyone in clerical work.

Here are some of the most important soft skills for clerks:

• Organizational skills
• Multitasking
• Time management
• Customer service
• Communication
• Prioritization
• Excellent phone & email etiquette
• Adaptability
• Problem solving
• Collaboration
• Dependability
• Attention to detail

4. Include relevant experience

If you’re concerned that you don’t have enough experience to write a solid resume, don’t worry. Even recent college graduates have many skills that are directly transferable to clerical work.

Here are a few examples of relevant experience worth including on your resume:

• Teaching assistant experience – “Planned and facilitated weekly discussions on course readings”
• Volunteer work – “Handled front desk and administrative duties at a local animal shelter”
• Resident advisor experience – “Prepared mediation training materials for new RAs”
• Club president experience – “Kept inventory and restocked equipment”

Make sure to focus only on experiences that demonstrate skills relevant to your future office clerk duties. This will show employers that you have the transferable skills needed to excel in the position, and will make you a more desirable candidate.