Sample Data Entry Clerk job description and interview questions

Maintaining accurate, up-to-date records and data is essential for any business. However, keeping your databases updated requires a lot of time and attention, which is why it’s often wise to hire a dedicated Data Entry Clerk. Data entry professionals can help businesses of all sizes and across all industries better organize large amounts of data.

If you’re thinking of hiring a Data Entry Clerk for your company or just want to learn more about the role, explore this Data Entry Clerk job description example to learn about the key job duties and required qualifications. We’ve also provided some suggested questions to ask Data Entry Clerk candidates during job interviews.

What is a Data Entry Clerk?

A Data Entry Clerk is responsible for accurately entering data into company databases and computer systems. They may work with customer information, billing data, inventory data, or other important information that needs to be stored in an up-to-date and easy-to-access manner. Data entry professionals work in a variety of industries including healthcare, law, finance, and manufacturing. Other data entry job titles to consider include Data Entry Specialist or Data Entry Operator.

Data Entry Clerk Job Description Template

Overview

The Data Entry Clerk will be responsible for updating and maintaining the company’s databases in an accurate and efficient manner. The ideal candidate will have exceptional interpersonal communication skills and organizational skills. The employee will need to routinely handle confidential company and client data in a secure manner.

Job Responsibilities

• Create and update spreadsheets with key business data.

• Accurately and efficiently input data into spreadsheets and software databases.

• Reach out to customers or colleagues to verify information that is incomplete or illegible.

• Reference source documents to retrieve and validate data.

• Resolve data discrepancies to ensure the accuracy of all databases.

• Operate office equipment such as optical scanners and printers as needed.

• Perform database backups at regular intervals to secure data.

• Respectfully and securely handle confidential information.

• Work with Data Manager and other internal team members to support special data and reporting projects as needed.

Qualifications

• High school Diploma.

• Strong typing skills with a typing speed of at least 60 WPM.

• Effective computer skills.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Excel.

• Previous experience in an office or data entry position is preferred.

• Strong organizational skills and record-keeping abilities.

• Knowledge of computer database systems.

• Attention to detail.

• Excellent time management skills.

Data Entry Clerk Interview Questions

Here are some helpful questions to ask when interviewing candidates for a data entry role.

Have you taken a typing test? If so, what is your typing speed and accuracy?

Having fast typing abilities is a huge asset in a data entry position. It’s also important for data entry professionals to maintain a high degree of accuracy while working quickly. That’s why it’s helpful to ask for typing test results when interviewing job seekers for a data entry role. Some employers ask for this during the application process while others include a typing test as part of the interview.

Describe your previous data entry experience.

Take some time to dive into the candidate’s prior data entry experiences. Listen to what type of data they worked with and what they were responsible for. Feel free to ask additional questions to dive deeper into special data projects they worked on, what they liked about the role, and what team members or departments they collaborated with.

The core data entry skills are highly transferable, but data entry roles can vary a fair amount across organizations and industries, so it’s worth learning more about each candidate’s specific experiences.

What database software programs have you used? What word processing tools have you used?

It’s helpful but not generally necessary to hire a Data Entry Clerk or Data Entry Specialist that is familiar with the database tools that your company uses. Data entry workers can utilize a wide range of systems including healthcare billing and records portals, content relationship management (CRM) systems, spreadsheet software like Excel, and many more options. As such, it’s helpful to narrow in on the types of databases they’ve worked with as well as specific software programs.

You’ll also want to verify that they are familiar with word processing tools like MS Office and Google Docs. This is typically less of a problem than tools like Excel, as most students use word processing software throughout school so even candidates without previous office generally are familiar with these tools.

How do you stay motivated while performing repetitive work?

One of the biggest challenges of performing data entry is staying engaged while doing repetitive tasks. Many people find data entry boring, but you need a data entry professional that is able to stay focused and motivated. Data entry may seem like easy work, but it takes a special type of person to maintain strong attention to detail and accuracy while entering data for long periods of time. Many people lose focus or rush to get through large data batches, which generally results in sloppy work and lots of errors in your data.

There isn’t one specific right answer to this question, as the answer will be personal to each individual, but it’s important that the candidate has an answer. Some people may simply just prefer quiet, predictable work. Others have ways of creating games or challenges to keep them motivated throughout the day. Many people also have systems of breaking up repetitive work tasks to ward off fatigue and maintain accuracy.

What do you do if the source material is illegible?

One of the easiest ways to get inaccurate data entered into your company database is to hire data entry operators that skip past illegible data points or just take their best guess. Everything entered needs to be accurate to the best of the employee’s ability. This is especially pertinent if the illegible data is being used for billing (such as a credit card number or bank account information), or customer contact (such as an email address), as inaccurate entries will likely lead to problems fairly quickly when emails aren’t delivered or payments are declined.

What you’re looking for with this question is whether the candidate will take action to verify the data before inputting it. For example, if they can’t make out a key piece of customer information, they should reach out to the customer or the person that helped that customer to verify the illegible information.