General Office Support Workers

Nature of work

General office support workers prepare correspondence, reports, statements and other material, operate office equipment, answer telephones, verify, record and process forms and documents like contracts and requisitions and do general clerical duties according to procedures. They work in offices throughout the public and private sectors.

Job duties

General office support workers:

• Prepare communication, reports, statements, forms, presentations, applications and other documents from notes or Dictaphone.
• Respond to telephone, in person or electronic questions or forward to appropriate person.
• Give general information to staff, clients and the public about company or program rules, regulations and procedures.
• Photocopy and collate documents for sharing, mailing and filing.
• Sort and file documents according to filing systems, locate and retrieve documents from files as requested and maintain records of filed and removed materials.
• Maintain and prepare reports from manual or electronic files, inventories, mailing lists and databases.
• Process incoming and outgoing mail.
• Send and receive messages and documents using fax machine or e-mail.
• Help with administrative procedures like budget submissions, contracts administration and work schedules.
• Maintain inventory of office supplies, order supplies as required and arrange for office equipment servicing.
• May complete basic bookkeeping tasks like preparing invoices and bank deposits.
• May sort, process and verify receipts, expenditures, forms and other documents.
• May organize the flow of work for other office support workers.

Sample job titles

• administrative clerk
• aircraft records clerk
• file and classification clerk
• filing clerk
• general office worker
• medical records clerk
• office assistant
• office clerk
• records filing-system clerk
• technical records clerk
• ward clerk - hospital
• warranty clerk

Skills

• Good communication and interpersonal skills are important, along with a willingness to learn and adapt to continually changing equipment and software. Your work must be accurate, and you should enjoy repetitive tasks. Familiarity with computer software and other office equipment is needed. You should also be cooperative and able to work as part of a team.

Job requirements

• High school is usually required.
• High school or college business or commercial courses are usually required.

Other considerations

• The use of computer technology to the tasks done by many clerks means that a solid foundation in computer skills is often necessary for entry into these jobs. Workers should be able to adapt to changes in technology. Some clerical experience may be required and on-the-job training may also be provided. Movement to supervisor, office management or officer level is possible with experience and additional training.

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