Civil Service Clerk Typist Test Preparation 2024

Since a civil service senior clerk typist may earn up to $41,000 a year in annual pay that comes in the form of a steady government paycheck with health insurance coverage, this job position attracts many civil service job seekers. Clerk typists process written communication and by doing so make it accessible for the needs of the business or office they at which they are employed.

What Clerk Typist Work Duties Look Like

As written communication processing specialists, clerk typists fulfill a diverse set of work duties that are expected of them. What do those duties entail?

• Data entry
  Clerk typists spend most of their work time using computer office applications to design, type in, and maintain spreadsheets, databases, and various kinds of text documentation.
• Administrative assistance
  Occasionally, clerk typists must be able to accurately receive, convey, prepare, and distribute essential information over e-mail and phone pertinent to assisting the administration of the office where they work.
• Technical aptitude 
  As data entry specialists, clerk typists are expected to be comfortable operating office machinery, such as photocopying and fax equipment. Learn more about Technical Aptitude Tests.

What It Takes to Become a Clerk Typist

Most clerk typist job positions in the civil service are considered entry-level, and having either GED or high-school diploma typically suffices as an educational prerequisite for the job. Being a graduate from any additional postsecondary training or courses taken in subjects such as computer usage, English, or office procedures will increase your value for your potential employers.

Even the best resume, however, will not be sufficient to get hired as a civil service clerk typist without any kind of pre-employment testing. Job candidates who aspire to fill this position are often required to take a civil service typist exam.

Data Entry Job Positions That Require Taking the Clerk Typist Test

Civil service testing is commonly used as pre-employment screening for the following data entry jobs in civil service:

• Entry-Level Clerk Typist
• Senior Clerk Typist
• Data Entry Clerk
• Data Processing Clerk
• Stenographer
• Transcribing Specialist
• Document Recorder
• Office Assistant
• Keyboard Specialist
• Receptionist
• Judiciary Clerk
• Library Clerk

With the help of psychometrics that civil service exam questions are based on, an accurate assessment of every job candidate’s aptitude for each civil service job position can be administered.

What Is on the Clerk Typist Exam?

There are several sets of questions to look out for in your clerk typist exam:

• Wordprocessing aptitude
  Your ability to type promptly will be evaluated and measured in words typed per minute.
• English language proficiency
  You will be expected to be able to express yourself clearly in English – with the proper use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Numerical and alphabetical aptitude
  Your ability to recognize specific patterns in codes and passages, as well as capacity to file materials in numerical and alphabetical orders, will be evaluated based on your answers in this part of your clerk typist test.
• Familiarity with record keeping practices
  As a data entry specialist, you will be expected to have a certain degree of familiarity with the most commonly used record systems and ways of maintaining them.
• Skill with the use of dictionaries 
  In this section of the clerk typist exam, your ability to quickly and accurately use dictionaries and reference guides, as well as to incorporate changes into directories and answer questions about them, will be assessed.

As you can see, the civil service clerk typist and senior clerk typist exam is a diverse and complex aptitude assessment procedure. What can increase your chances of success of passing it? There is a simple solution.

How to Prepare for Your Civil Service Clerk Typist Exam

With the help of online clerk typist exam study guides and online clerk typist sample practice tests with free examples and explanations, you can increase your familiarity with the format of the questions and answers as part of your exam preparation strategy. The increased levels of confidence during the examination will allow you to tap into your knowledge to the best of your potential, and score as high on the exam as you possibly can.