Employers give clerical aptitude tests to anyone seeking an administrative role during the hiring process, such as an administrative assistant, office manager, secretary, or receptionist. Companies in all industries will use various clerical aptitude tests because administrative professionals typically need the same skills in every industry to be professional. Some of those skills are:
Every clerical aptitude test will vary based on the organization, but applicants can expect to answer questions in the following categories.
Clerical aptitude tests will assess your ability to perform specific basic skills. For clerical positions, working with numbers and written communication is essential to the role.
The numerical reasoning exam will assess your ability to perform basic calculations and understand fundamental concepts. While you may not be doing intensive mathematical calculations in your role, you must be familiar with basic operations (addition, multiplication, etc.) and simple data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables) to do your job.
For example, an office clerk may need to take inventory of a particular product and determine how many more items they need to order.
The questions on the exam will be multiple choice and may be equations, word problems, charts, or tables. Depending on your role, there may also be financial analysis questions.
Verbal reasoning exams assess your ability to read, process, and apply written information. Since administrative professionals are constantly working with written communications and documentation, having this skill is vital.
The test will present several passages you must read and answer questions about. The questions may relate to several topics, including:
For example, you may need to determine if a statement is true, false, or uncertain based on the information in the text. Please note that you will not need any outside knowledge to do well on this exam, and you should only use the information presented to answer the questions.
In addition to clerical aptitude tests, companies will often ask applicants to take various skills tests. There are several skills that administrators must possess to do well in an office support setting. Here are a few exams you may take during the recruitment process for this position.
The error-checking exam will present a lot of similar information and ask you to identify the errors. For example, you may receive two data tables where one or two corresponding numbers are slightly different. This attention to detail is critical for proofreading and data entry, both tasks that you will encounter in this profession.
Filing is another task you must perform, which involves using rules to organize information. One typical example of this is organizing names in alphabetical order. The test will present several names and ask how you should file them.
Fast and accurate typing is critical for administrative positions as they will likely take notes, draft emails, and work with other company documents. Some companies have a specific word-per-minute rate that they require their administrative professionals to type at. These typing tests will ask you to type out information, usually a paragraph, as quickly and accurately as possible.
In addition to specific skills, admin professionals must be proficient in certain office programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Companies will often require a test for candidates to prove they can use these programs efficiently. For example, they may need to use the functions in Excel to create a table and answer a question about the data. Or, they may need to format a document to certain specifications in Microsoft Word.
There are a lot of soft skills that clerical professionals will need to possess, such as communication, openness, friendliness, and an eagerness to learn and support others. Companies will often have clerical aptitude tests that will asses personality traits and behaviors to ensure the candidate will thrive in their particular environment.
Companies will give candidates a personality test to examine their values, traits, and characteristics to ensure they align with the company. Most of these tests base their questions on the Big Five personality traits test that assesses Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience.
The test will present a statement; you must respond with how much you agree or disagree with each statement. It is best to research the company before this exam to learn about their values and what type of employee they are looking for and tailor your responses.
You will also take an SJT test to assess your workplace behaviors and how you handle stressful situations. This exam will present a simulated scenario, usually similar to what you may experience on the job, and several options for responding to the situation. Your job will be to identify the best and worst possible responses.
Again, during this exam, you will want to remember the type of person the company wants to hire for this position. Remember that being professional, helpful, and friendly are usually good response options for situations you will encounter on this job.
The best way to prepare for the various subjects on clerical aptitude test is by taking online practice tests. Practice tests are a great resource because they will provide sample questions in each subject similar to what you may encounter on the exam. They will also give answer solutions so you can compare your thought process with how you should come to the correct answer.
Applicants who take the time to prepare for the clerical aptitude test will score significantly higher on the exam than their unprepared counterparts. Because the company will compare your score to their other candidates, you want to score as high as possible to give you the best chance at succeeding in the hiring process. Therefore, be sure to give yourself adequate time to study and use the available resources.
