Guide To A Successful Clerk Career Path
In any office setting, support staff play an important role in keeping things running smoothly. There are several positions that come under support staff. Some examples are messengers, secretaries, accountants, administration assistants, paralegals, and administration clerks. To learn more about the career path clerks can take, keep reading.
What does a clerk do?
An administrative clerk is in charge of office staff support and administrative work. For example, he or she could communicate with partners or vendors when a company needs to avail services. Clerical work also involves managing and taking note of messages that a company or its employees receive.
Do note that administration clerks hold different responsibilities from administrative assistants. An administrative assistant often reports to one department, an executive team, or a senior-level employee. On the other hand, a clerk works for the whole office.
In summary, an administrative clerk makes sure that office operations run smoothly. More specifically, professionals pursuing the clerk career path will find the following tasks along the way:
- Answers phone calls and enquiries
- Organises and manages files for easy access for all employees of the company
- Maintains company records and updates them as needed
- Reproduces copies of documents and archives them if necessary
- Updates the office inventory and orders supplies as needed
- Acts as a courier on occasion
- Sets up meetings between an organisation’s teams or departments
- Routes internal memos
- Does basic bookkeeping
- Prepares reports for meetings
Salary Range
The average salary of a clerk in Malaysia is RM 17,847 per year or RM 7.89 per hour. According to Payscale, an entry-level position earns an average compensation of RM 17,687 per year. This includes overtime pay and bonuses.
On the other hand, an experienced clerk with over 10 years of experience has an average compensation of RM 26,036 annually. Payscale points out that salary growth is notable after gaining one to four years of experience. Later in your career, specifically after 10 years of experience, you can also anticipate remarkable salary growth.
Remember that there are different factors that can affect this salary such as work experience and skills.
What is the career path of a clerk?
Junior Level (1-3 years experience)
Mid Level (4-8 years experience)
Senior level (8 years or more)
What requirements do you need to become a clerk?
Required skills
Attention to detail
A clerk needs to pay attention to details. This is important in sharing information or messages received. This is also important when filing paperwork or preparing reports so no details are lost.
Familiarity with basic office software
One essential tool of a clerk is the computer. A clerk should be familiar with using basic administrative software programmes, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Google Workspace applications such as Gmail and Google Calendar are also popular among most companies.
Regardless, clerks are expected to be quick to adapt to these software programmes. They must know how to create, edit, and share files so that they can easily collaborate with other employees. If you are applying as a clerk, familiarity with other project management tools give you an upper hand.
Organisational skills
A clerk needs to keep things in an office tidy and organised. So, they must know how to file documents and whom to message when necessary. A good clerk can implement processes for organisation and communication to help an office run smoothly and efficiently.
Time management
Most roles in the clerk career path are often left to work with minimal guidance. Since they have multiple tasks to attend to daily, they have to manage their time well and make sure that all to-dos are done by the end of each day.
Communication skills
While clerks may not be assigned to the front desk, they often communicate with clients and other team members. For example, you may have to answer enquiries that the company receives. You might also need to liaise with vendors and suppliers.
On top of these, clerks usually coordinate with certain people in the office for specific tasks. Needless to say, the role involves constant communication, so interpersonal skills can only help you execute this role properly.
Bookkeeping
Basic bookkeeping is useful for this position. As a clerk, you might have to handle financial concerns such as keeping track of receipts for reimbursement. You might have to also track financial records for the company and organise receipts.
Educational background
The basic educational requirement of a clerk depends on the organisation. Some will require that you finish secondary school. Others may expect that you hold a bachelor’s degree.
If you want to advance in your clerk career path, look into completing a university degree. From a clerk position, you can consider specialising in a relevant field, such as bookkeeping or accountancy. Or if you want to work in an administrative position, you can look into psychology or organisational communication degrees. General business degrees are also helpful.
Evidently, there are different educational paths that you can explore with a career path as a clerk.
Opportunities for Continuous Education
You can gain more soft skills as a clerk with the help of additional learning. If you want to progress in this career, it is important to enhance your people skills. Take a look at this online course: Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work. It is a short and handy course that you can easily complete in two weeks.
As you move up the career ladder, you may have to manage people or junior clerks. A FutureLearn course on people management can prepare you for managing people and communicating with them efficiently. Through this course, you can also discover what kind of leadership style you have.
How do you write a clerk resume?
For fresh graduates, highlight your education and skills that are relevant to being a clerk. If you have some work experience, point out the tasks and skills you gained that are relevant to the position. To get yourself started, read this for ideas on how to write your career summary.
Below is an example of a resume of someone applying to be a clerk.
Fatimah Tan Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Career SummaryTwo years of experience in office management. Relevant experience in basic bookkeeping, office inventory management, and customer service. Previously worked as a front desk receptionist before transferring to a clerical position. Work ExperienceAdministration ClerkAAA Company (July 2019 – present)Schedules meetings of departments Maintains and organises the company’s master list of filesManages the inventory of suppliesReceives external messages and relays them to colleagues and senior managementRoutes inter-office memosReceptionistXY Company (May 2018 – June 2019)Answered phone calls and addressed basic enquiriesDirected visitors and guests to their destinations in the officeKey SkillsStrong communication skillsDetail-orientedProficient in Microsoft Office 365EducationDiploma, Business AdministrationDEF School, Malaysia (YEARS)Secondary school degreeABC School, Malaysia (YEARS) |
Download the Clerk resume template here
Related Careers
There are other entry-level careers that a clerk can explore. They require a similar skillset and have job descriptions that are in line with that of a clerk.
All set to build your career path as a clerk? Update your profile at JobStreet and find work that will bring you passion and purpose. Don’t forget to visit the Career Resources Hub for more expert tips and advice on building a career.
