What skills should a File Clerk put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Service Orientation among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a File Clerk list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Electronic filing software, Electronic health record EHR software, Email software, and Intuit QuickBooks. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover File Clerk work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Medical Records Clerk, Office Assistant, Records Clerk, and Claims Clerk. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a File Clerk need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 40% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a File Clerk role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

File Clerk resume example

A resume for a File Clerk needs to show the work itself: file correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Day to day that means work like this: scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed; input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Medical Records Clerk
Office Assistant
Records Clerk
Claims Clerk
Clerk
Documentation Specialist
Manufacturing Clerk
Police Records Clerk
Admissions Clerk
Blueprint Clerk
Brand Recorder
Card Filer
Classification Clerk
Computer Aide
Computer Tape Librarian
Credit Card Clerk
Cut File Clerk
Cut Filer

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval.
Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
Answer questions about records or files.
Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
Track materials removed from files to ensure that borrowed files are returned.
Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information.
Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.

19 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Electronic filing software
Electronic health record EHR software
Email software
Intuit QuickBooks
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft SharePoint
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Optical scanning software

15 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Computer inkjet printers
Copy machines
Document scanners
Document stamps
File cabinets
Laser facsimile machines
Mechanized file systems
Microfiche viewing equipment
Microfilm viewing equipment
Multiline telephone systems
Personal computers
Stepladders

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

sort mail
type documents

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Monitoring
05Service Orientation
06Social Perceptiveness
07Speaking
08Time Management
09Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Administrative
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Customer and Personal Service

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

40%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
25%Master's Degree
11%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a File Clerk do?: File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Day to day that includes work like scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed and Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval.
What skills should a File Clerk put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Service Orientation among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a File Clerk list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Electronic filing software, Electronic health record EHR software, Email software, and Intuit QuickBooks. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover File Clerk work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Medical Records Clerk, Office Assistant, Records Clerk, and Claims Clerk. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a File Clerk need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 40% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a File Clerk role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.