What does a Word Processors and Typist do?

Use word processor, computer, or typewriter to type letters, reports, forms, or other material from rough draft, corrected copy, or voice recording. Day to day that includes work like perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes and Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.

What skills should a Word Processors and Typist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Monitoring, and Speaking 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 Word Processors and Typist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Act!, Adobe Acrobat, Blackbaud CRM, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, and FileMaker Pro. 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 Word Processors and Typist work?

O*NET records 39 titles for this occupation, including Clerk Typist, Keyboard Specialist, Typist, and Word Processor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Word Processors and Typist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% 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 Word Processors and Typist 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.

Word Processors and Typist resume example

A resume for a Word Processors and Typist needs to show the work itself: use word processor, computer, or typewriter to type letters, reports, forms, or other material from rough draft, corrected copy, or voice recording. Day to day that means work like this: perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes; check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. 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.

Clerk Typist
Keyboard Specialist
Typist
Word Processor
Clerk Specialist
Office Technician
Stenographer
Typing Office Tech
Addresser
Bordereau Clerk
Continuity Clerk
Court Stenographer
Data Transcriber
Dictaphone Typist
Document Processor
Ediphone Operator
Electromatic Typist
Legal Transcriptionist

O*NET records 39 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.

Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes.
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.
File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents.
Print and make copies of work.
Transmit work electronically to other locations.
Address envelopes or prepare envelope labels, using typewriter or computer.
Type correspondence, reports, text and other written material from rough drafts, corrected copies, voice recordings, dictation, or previous versions, using a computer, word processor, or typewriter.
Gather, register, and arrange the material to be typed, following instructions.
Compute and verify totals on report forms, requisitions, or bills, using adding machine or calculator.
Keep records of work performed.
Electronically sort and compile text and numerical data, retrieving, updating, and merging documents as required.
Search for specific sets of stored, typed characters to make changes.

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.

Perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
File and store completed documents on computer hard drive or disk, or maintain a computer filing system to store, retrieve, update, and delete documents, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Print and make copies of work, 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.

Act!
Adobe Acrobat
Blackbaud CRM
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
FileMaker Pro
Google Workspace software
IBM Notes
Intuit QuickBooks
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Publisher

21 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.

Copy machines
Desktop calculators
Electric typewriters
Laser facsimile machines
Paper shredders
Personal computers
Postage marking machines
Postage meters

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.

type documents
schedule appointments
sort mail

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
03Writing
04Monitoring
05Speaking
06Time Management

Knowledge areas

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

Administrative
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Computers and Electronics

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.

50%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
45%Some College Courses
3%Associate's Degree

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 Word Processors and Typist do?: Use word processor, computer, or typewriter to type letters, reports, forms, or other material from rough draft, corrected copy, or voice recording. Day to day that includes work like perform other clerical duties, such as answering telephone, sorting and distributing mail, running errands or sending faxes and Check completed work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format.
What skills should a Word Processors and Typist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Monitoring, and Speaking 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 Word Processors and Typist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Act!, Adobe Acrobat, Blackbaud CRM, Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, and FileMaker Pro. 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 Word Processors and Typist work?: O*NET records 39 titles for this occupation, including Clerk Typist, Keyboard Specialist, Typist, and Word Processor. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Word Processors and Typist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% 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 Word Processors and Typist 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.