How to hire file clerks

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
• Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
• Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
• Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
• Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
• Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
• Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
• Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong reading comprehension, active listening, speaking, monitoring, writing and critical thinking skills
• Working knowledge of administrative, English Language and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $20.96 an hour ($43,600 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for file clerks

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to add new material to file records or create new records as necessary. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to gather materials to be filed from departments or employees. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
6. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
7. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What file clerks do

• Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
• Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
• Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
• Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
• Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
• Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
• Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
• Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.

Skills that matter most

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingMonitoringWritingCritical ThinkingAdministrativeEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for file clerks

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -15.8% over ten years, declining · about 5,600 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay file clerks

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See file clerks pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.