• Numerous job openings should arise for most types of information and record clerks, due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave this large occupational group.
• A high school diploma or its equivalent is the most common educational requirement.
• Because many information and record clerks deal directly with the public, a professional appearance and a pleasant personality are imperative.
• These occupations are well suited to flexible work schedules.

Information and record clerks are found in nearly every industry in the Nation, gathering data and providing information to the public. The specific duties of these clerks vary as widely as the job titles they hold.

Although their day-to-day duties differ considerably, many information and record clerks greet customers, guests, or other visitors. Many also answer telephones and either obtain information from, or provide information to, the public. Most clerks use multiline telephones, fax machines, and personal computers. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks, for example, are a guest's first contact for check-in, check-out, and other services within hotels, motels, and resorts. Interviewers, except eligibility and loan, found most often in medical facilities, research firms, and financial institutions, assist the public in completing forms, applications, or questionnaires. Eligibility interviewers, government programs determine the eligibility of individuals applying for assistance. Receptionists and information clerks often are a visitor's or caller's first contact within an organization, providing information and routing calls. Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks assist the public in making travel plans, reserving seats, and purchasing tickets for a variety of transportation services. (Customer service representatives provide information in response to inquiries about products or services and handle and resolve complaints. While these workers are classified as information and record clerks and are included in the estimate of employment for this occupational group, they are discussed in detail elsewhere in the Handbook).

Court, municipal, and license clerks perform administrative duties in courts of law, municipalities, and governmental licensing agencies and bureaus. Court clerks prepare the docket of cases to be called, secure information for judges, and contact witnesses, attorneys, and litigants to obtain information for the court. Municipal clerks prepare draft agendas or bylaws for town or city councils, answer official correspondence, and keep fiscal records and accounts. License clerks issue licenses or permits, record data, administer tests, and collect fees.

New-account clerks interview individuals desiring to open bank accounts. Their principal tasks include handling customer inquiries, explaining the institution's products and services to people, and referring customers to the appropriate sales personnel. If a customer wants to open a checking or savings account or an individual retirement account, the new-account clerk will interview the customer and enter the required information into a computer for processing.

Other information and record clerks focus on maintaining, updating, and processing a variety of records, ranging from payrolls to information on the shipment of goods or bank statements. They ensure that other workers get paid on time, that customers' questions are answered, and that records of all transactions are kept.

Depending on their specific titles, these workers perform a wide variety of recordkeeping duties. Brokerage clerks prepare and maintain the records generated when stocks, bonds, and other types of investments are traded. File clerks store and retrieve various kinds of office information for use by staff members. Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping maintain employee records. Library assistants, clericalassist library patrons. Order clerks process incoming orders for goods and services. Correspondence clerks reply to customers regarding claims of damage, delinquent accounts, incorrect billings, complaints of unsatisfactory service, and requests for exchanges or returns of merchandise. Loan interviewers and clerks and credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks review applicants' credit history and obtain the information needed to determine the creditworthiness of those who apply for credit cards.

The duties of record clerks vary with the size of the firm. In a small business, a bookkeeping clerk may handle all financial records and transactions, as well as have payroll and personnel duties. A large firm, by contrast, may employ specialized accounting, payroll, and human resources clerks. In general, however, clerical staffs in firms of all sizes increasingly are performing a broader variety of tasks than in the past. This is especially true for clerical occupations involving accounting work. As the growing use of computers enables bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to become more productive, these workers may assume billing, payroll, and timekeeping duties.

Another way in which computers affect these occupations is the growing use of financial software to enter and manipulate data. Computer programs automatically perform calculations on data that were previously calculated manually. Computers also enable clerks to access data within files more quickly than they would using the former method of reviewing stacks of paper. Nevertheless, most workers still keep backup paper records for research, auditing, and reference purposes. Despite the growing use of automation, interaction with the public and coworkers remains a basic part of the job of many record clerks.