Typist Interview Preparation Guide

Download PDF

I currently work within the King's trust in the Dental Institute, have done for 7 years. King's College Hospital is a large organisation spread over various sites, Princess Royal University Hospital for example. It has many departments, with many specialties. All treatment is free of charge, there can be waiting lists and also people can be denied treatment.

The right data entry specialist should be comfortable with the tools you use to manage your company’s information. Experience using common word processing and spreadsheet programs, like Microsoft Office or Google Docs, is a good sign.

Book keeping is referred to the process of tracking of all the money coming in and going out while handling business process. As an office clerk, you have to arrange the record in chronological order in account books including credit and debit transaction. If you are VAT- registered, you also have to maintain records of VAT.

Depending on your business needs, a data entry specialist may be expected to work with sensitive or even protected information. If your industry is subject to privacy regulations, ask how the specialist can ensure compliance with them.

I deal with stressful situations by first working out what the problem is and then dealing with it calmly and as efficiently as possible.

In this position you need to be organised, a competent typist, lnoe your way around a computer and have good interpersonal skills.

Skill required by office clerk are

☛ Active Listening
☛ Speaking
☛ Writing
☛ Understanding working style of office
☛ Social perceptiveness
☛ Reading comprehension
☛ Basic computer skills

☛ Bookkeeping process is a legal requirement
☛ It helps to monitor the flow of money inwards and outwards both
☛ Helpful in understanding the finance of business

Data is only useful if it’s accurate. Good candidates should be able to describe strategies they use to ensure that they’re accurately transcribing information. Good answers might include reading the data multiple times before entering, or manually comparing their entries against the originals before submitting. Some database management systems, including Excel and SQL, also have tools for data validation that experienced freelancers will be familiar with.

The duties of an office clerk includes

☛ Count, collect and disburse money, do basic bookkeeping and complete banking transactions
☛ Communicate with employees, customer and other individuals to answer questions
☛ Explain information and address complaints
☛ Answer telephones, direct calls, and note messages
☛ File, copy, sort and compile records of office activities, business transactions, and other activities
☛ Filing of invoices, contracts, bills, checks and policies
☛ Operate office machines like photocopiers, scanners, fax machines, computers, etc.

☛ Maintains accounting records
☛ Maintains accounting database by entering data into the computer
☛ Verifying financial record using software program
☛ Determines the value of depreciable assets by help of software program
☛ Compares bank statements with general ledger

After accuracy, speed is the most important quality of a good data entry specialist. Traditionally, words per minute (WPM) has been the standard metric for measuring typing speeds. A good rule of thumb is to look for a typing speed somewhere in the neighborhood of 55-80 words per minute (WPM). Touch typing, the ability to type without looking at the keyboard, is important not only because it allows workers to type more quickly, it also allows them to catch (and fix) errors much more reliably.

Back when I was 18 years old, I delivered the typewriters and business machines back to the customer after the technicians repaired them. When there was nothing to do, I just scoped them out. Then they made me start to take apart the machines and it went on from there. I just learned. I have been doing it for 41 years now.

Document clerk does work like data entry, electronic data processing and drafting. Document clerk maintains office documents and makes sure that it is hand-over to the right person. They also create rough drafts or outlines that they must develop into appropriate reports and help other fellow workers in organizing documents. Office clerk also works with the IT department to facilitate communication between sub-branch and headquarters. Some companies hire office clerk straightaway from the high school while some have bachelor’s degree.

In order to score well in this interview question, an efficient way is to give a list of qualities and skills that are in alignment with the respective position. You can start with:

First, one must understand the methods required to succeed in this position
Secondly, indicate that the job will be your #1 priority
Third, indicate that you understand the importance of working as a team
Remember that regardless of position, self awareness is listed time and again as one of the number one things an employer looks for. Beyond this, staples such as:

☛ Good communication
☛ Confidence
☛ Trustworthiness
☛ Passion
☛ Preparedness

Well, Mr. Wizard, I think he had health issues. Then, Austin Typewriter and Computer had their only technician, one that I trained, and he went and found a, I guess you would call it a regular job. The others just got older as and closed up shop. Therefore, that left just me for Central Texas.

I would say my greatest weakness is public interaction. In my current role I do not have much contact with patients but I always assist if they ever struggle to find where they need to go. This is relevant as I believe I will be dealing with phone queries and speaking to patients.

Especially if they’re working remotely, data entry specialists won’t always be able to easily ask questions about the documents they’re working with. In these cases, they should feel confident in their ability to scan complex and often incomplete records and recognize which entries matter most. Depending on your business needs, these entries will vary.

I believe my greatest strength is that I am thorough. This will help me in this role to deliver each given task to the best of my ability, to perfect it.

After secondary school I went on to study Animal Care. This involved typing varies assignments which increased my typing speed and also when I discovered how much I enjoyed typing.

☛ How do you stay organized?
☛ How do you prioritize your work when you have multiple deadlines to meet?
☛ How do you handle pressure and stressful situations?
☛ Why did you choose to pursue a career as a Typist?
☛ Tell me about a time where you had to take on a leadership role. Did you enjoy it and if so, why?
☛ What is your greatest weakness, and what are you doing to improve in that area?
☛ What is your greatest strength and how will it help you to be a successful Typist?
☛ Why are you the best candidate for us?
☛ What do you know about our company?
☛ Name 3 vital skills that all Typists should have mastered.
☛ Are you experienced in shorthand typing?
☛ Tell me about your post-secondary education and how it prepared you for this position.
☛ What are your short term goals?
☛ How many words per minute can you type?
☛ What duties are the easiest and the most difficult for you to perform in a Typist capacity?
☛ Have you ever worked as a Typist for larger firms? If so, walk me through your typical tasks and tell me which you enjoyed the most.
☛ Tell me the programs and software that you are best versed in. What is your level of proficiency in each?
☛ Do you prefer copy typing or audio typing, and which method do you consider your strongest?
☛ Are you multilingual? If so, what is you strongest language?
☛ How strong is your punctuation and grammar?
☛ If a co-worker called in sick, thus doubling your workload for the day, how would you react?
☛ Tell me about your punctuality and attendance record in your most recent position.
☛ In your latest performance review, what did your employer have to say about the quality of your work?
☛ What are your long term career goals?
☛ Much of your work as a Typist will include working with spreadsheets. Do you have beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel skills?

☛ At Davis Typewriter we always strive to provide the best products to our clients. How do you ensure a product is of high quality?
☛ Wholesale and distribution requires strong negotiation skills. How would you rate your negotiation skills from 1-10?
☛ Do you have any training in sales or business negotiation?
☛ At Davis Typewriter we are always interested in finding new vendors and clients. Tell me about your experience in business development.
☛ Wholesale and distribution requires excellent organizational skills when it comes to purchase orders and inventory management. How would you rate your organizational skills from 1-10?
☛ At Davis Typewriter we prefer to hire candidates with a post-secondary education in Business or Marketing. Take a moment to walk me through your post-secondary education.
☛ Market analysis is very important to us at Davis Typewriter. What steps do you take to research the performance of a product before choosing to import it?
☛ What has been your best performing product in the past 12 months? Why do you think it has done so well?
☛ How do you feel that globalization has affected the wholesale and distribution industry in the USA?
☛ How familiar are you with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)?
☛ Many of our clients and vendors operate in other countries and time zones. Are you able to accommodate their needs by making yourself available outside of typical work hours?
☛ How do you properly vet potential new vendors?
☛ Many of our clients and vendors operate in other countries. Do you speak multiple languages? If not, how do you manage potential communication barriers?
☛ At Davis Typewriter we are looking for sales professionals who can make an impact on our business immediately. How do you plan to do that?
☛ Tell me when you have delegated tasks effectively.
☛ Do you have any experience training or coaching others?
☛ What motivates you?
☛ How do you like to be recognized for your accomplishments?
☛ When have you had to change a major component of your project due to new information being presented?
☛ Where do you see yourself a year from now?
☛ What are your salary expectations?
☛ What career path interests you the most in this company?
☛ Tell me about an idea you have implemented at your last job.
☛ Tell me about an error or mistake you made because of a breakdown in communication from you or one of your team members.
☛ What do you know about our company culture?
☛ How do you manage a large workload?
☛ How do you deal with uncomfortable situations?
☛ Are you applying for any other jobs?
☛ Tell me about a time that you were asked to collaborate on a project with a colleague whom you did not necessarily see eye-to-eye with. How did you ensure that you got along well and met your deadline?
☛ Tell me about a time that you narrowly missed a deadline. How did you ensure your project was completed on time?
☛ In a team environment, tell me about a critical decision you have made in the past that greatly affected your team's performance.

☛ How do you stay organized?
☛ How do you prioritize your work when you have multiple deadlines to meet?
☛ How do you handle pressure and stressful situations?
☛ Why did you choose to pursue a career as a Typist?
☛ Tell me about a time where you had to take on a leadership role. Did you enjoy it and if so, why?
☛ What is your greatest weakness, and what are you doing to improve in that area?
☛ What is your greatest strength and how will it help you to be a successful Typist?
☛ Why are you the best candidate for us?
☛ What do you know about our company?
☛ Name 3 vital skills that all Typists should have mastered.
☛ Are you experienced in shorthand typing?
☛ Tell me about your post-secondary education and how it prepared you for this position.
☛ What are your short term goals?
☛ How many words per minute can you type?
☛ What duties are the easiest and the most difficult for you to perform in a Typist capacity?
☛ Have you ever worked as a Typist for larger firms? If so, walk me through your typical tasks and tell me which you enjoyed the most.
☛ Tell me the programs and software that you are best versed in. What is your level of proficiency in each?
☛ Do you prefer copy typing or audio typing, and which method do you consider your strongest?
☛ Are you multilingual? If so, what is you strongest language?
☛ How strong is your punctuation and grammar?
☛ If a co-worker called in sick, thus doubling your workload for the day, how would you react?
☛ Tell me about your punctuality and attendance record in your most recent position.
☛ In your latest performance review, what did your employer have to say about the quality of your work?
☛ What are your long term career goals?
☛ Much of your work as a Typist will include working with spreadsheets. Do you have beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel skills?

My wife says that we're like doctors, like surgeons because it's pretty much what we do. We tear it apart. A typewriter can have one problem and six different things that could be causing it. You got to work your way down, and eliminate options. It is very, very hard in the beginning, but if you just carry on and learn, that's the main thing, you have to want to learn. When you do, you will succeed in it, but it takes a long time.

Experienced data entry specialists should have strategies for staying focused and ensuring accuracy, even after several hours of work. Some strategies might include taking short breaks or alternating data entry with another task for short periods. They might also vary their process, for example by changing the order in which they input various entries, forcing their brains to focus on each task individually.