Working as a Data Entry Clerk requires quick typing skills, accuracy and a whole lot of persistence. It is a profession that combines various aspects of technical knowledge, administrative knowledge, management skills and record keeping abilities.
A skilled Data Entry Specialist is a multifunctional asset for companies both small and large and can be employed in a multitude of roles, from inventory and operations to HR and even sales.
Having experience in various departments on top of being very proficient with a computer will only increase your desirability as a candidate.
Below are a series of resources designed specifically to give you an overview of the industry, average salary levels, desirable resume points and writing guides.
Feel free to use the provided sample bullet points and resume provided below to help brainstorm your own bullet points and craft your own resume from scratch.
If there is anything missing, please do not hesitate to let us know in the comments below and our HR professionals will do their best to reply directly, addressing your comment or question.
Average Data Entry Pay
Both the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and salary aggregator Payscale put the median data entry related salary at around $41,180 in 2019.
The city in which the job is located was the biggest determining factor, with larger coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles and the like paying significantly higher than 2nd tier inner cities.
Bonuses and profit sharing are also common ways of remuneration quality employees and should be taken into account when negotiating pay at a new job or when asking for a promotion.
Data Entry Clerk Pay Statistics
| 2017 Median Pay | $39,180 per year $18.83 per hour |
| Typical Entry-Level Education | Associates Degree |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation | Not necessary but valuable |
| On-the-job Training | Common |
| Number of Jobs | 1,545,000 |
| Job Outlook 2014-2014 | 2% |
| Employment Change 2014-2024 | +25,800 |
Salaries usually start out around $28,000/year for entry level positions and increase gradually in conjunction with years of experience until about 15 years, where it seems that salary levels seem to flatline around the $39,000/year mark.
It is recommended that if you would like to earn more, you continuously look to add skills and responsibilities to your resume that go beyond simple data entry and that may help lead to inner-company promotions or advancement of job titles.
Industry Forecast
Industry growth is projected at around +3% between the years 2014 and 2024, which, while positive, is about half of the average for all occupations combined, which sits at just around +7%.
When it comes to data entry, it seems growth is highly dependent on the industry being worked in with some experiencing retraction of total number of jobs while others are growing at faster rates.
One industry experiencing robust growth is the healthcare industry.
With more and more Americans reaching retirement age, and the high demand for local, reliable, and skilled data entry specialists, there are many opportunities to be had in this industry. Industries that operate in the periphery of healthcare such as insurance, and retirement centers and investment firms are also experiencing growth.
Likewise, there are many healthcare-related data entry jobs connected to the growing demand for Social Security and Medicare.
Some industries, like manufacturing and sales, are seeing slower growth rates as many companies are choosing to outsource many administrative roles such as data entry and data processing to places with lower average living wages.
To maintain job security and demand higher pay, try to expand your duties within a company to encompass a variety of different business processes. The more rooted and “intertwined” you can become with your company, the harder you will be to replace.
Types and Classifications of Data Entry Clerks
When searching for jobs and writing your resume, it is best to be as specific as possible when it comes to job titles.
Generally speaking, the more broad you are with your search, the lower your success rate will be, and the more specific you can be, the higher the hit rate. This is simply due to more frequently aligned professional interests from both the employer and yourself.
State your seniority level at the top of your resume in your career objective section and search for similar titles when job hunting, such as “entry-level data entry clerk” or “senior data entry specialist” for example.
Likewise, you may want to diversify your search parameters a bit with other similar titles like Data Control Clerk, Data Processor, or Payment Entry Clerk,
Data Entry Resume Sample to Download (MS Word Format)
Below is a professionally written resume sample you can download and use as a starting point when crafting your own document.
Make sure you do not copy anything exactly as the experiences will vary from individual to individual and you will have your own set of unique experiences and skills that you should be listing.
How To Write Your Own
Below are some tips specially crafted for administrative and data oriented professionals.
Start Off Targeted
Be sure you start your resume off with the right frame of mind. This means being as specific as possible with things like your opening career objective where you state your experience level, industry knowledge and desired position.
Stay on topic by including only relevant professional experiences below this in a reverse chronological order.
Do not include non-related jobs like cashier experience or landscaping, for example, as they are just a waste of valuable resume real estate.
Once you have crafted your resume, then you will search for jobs. Once you find a selection (we recommend just 2-3 a day), that you believe you are adequately qualified for, you will want to go back into your resume and try to tailor it to match each job description.
Each resume will include a unique objective at the top as well as slightly different professional and skills sections. The idea is to directly reflect back to the employer as many experiences/skills listed in the job description as possible.
Education is Important
If you are an entry-level candidate, your education section should be placed above the professional experience section. You should also include relevant coursework, volunteer activities, and other extra-curricular activities that you participated in. Otherwise, simply include this basic information:
- -University Name
- -University Location
- -Major/Program/Degree
- -Date of Graduation
- -GPA ( If 3.5 or above)
If you did not attend university, that is fine, as well. Definitely include an associate’s degree or vocational school training, if possible, or simply state the location you obtained your high school diploma if it was less than 15 years ago.
If you are a seasoned candidate, meaning 15+ years of experience, and do not have post-high school education, we advise you both take some classes at a community college and leave the education section off your resume until you have something more current and relevant to include.
Below are a selection of professionally written sample bullet points for data entry related occupations.
Even if you are an industry veteran it can be difficult to remember some of the more important tasks you have performed regularly, so please reference the below list for a little inspiration, if necessary.
Sample Data Entry Clerk Bullet Points
| Task |
|---|
| Read source documents such as canceled checks, sales reports, or bills, and enter data in specific data fields or onto tapes or disks for subsequent entry, using keyboards or scanners. |
| Compile, sort and verify the accuracy of data before it is entered. |
| Compare data with source documents, or re-enter data in verification format to detect errors. |
| Store completed documents in appropriate locations. |
| Locate and correct data entry errors, or report them to supervisors. |
| Maintain logs of activities and completed work. |
| Select materials needed to complete work assignments. |
| Load machines with required input or output media such as paper, cards, disks, tape or Braille media. |
| Resolve garbled or indecipherable messages, using cryptographic procedures and equipment. |
Career Objective Examples
As mentioned briefly above, the career objective section of your resume is the place where you either get off on the right foot with the reader (presumably an HR manager or CEO) or you lose your chance at the job. So in that way, it is a pretty critical element of your resume.
Stay succinct and descriptive and you will be rewarded with the reader continuing on through the body of your resume. State your background, years of experience (in a specific industry if it aligns with the one being applied to) and the position you are seeking.
A simple yet brutally effective career objective example might look like this:
“Experienced Data Entry Specialist with background in Healthcare seeking challenging claims processing position with Medtronic of Minneapolis.”
You can swap things out and around in the above example to make it suit you better. For example, if you have over 10 years of experience, then consider replacing the word “experienced” with “Data Entry Specialist with 10+ years of experience in Healthcare..”
Useful Additional Skills & Certifications
Being a proficient data-focused professional requires high levels of skill in two aspects you will want to hammer home on your own resume.
First, you will want to emphasize efficiency, accuracy and organizational skills. A data entry worker who makes errors is a useless worker. Emphasize your typing speed, your accuracy rate and organizational responsibilities held at previous places of employment.
Second, you will want to emphasize your software and computer knowledge. This goes beyond just tools like Microsoft Word and Excel and includes project management and organizational tools like Trello, Asana, Wrike, and collaboration tools like Dropbox and Google Documents.
Below is a selection of highly topically relevant industry skills that are frequently sought by employers as indicated by their online job postings.
Give these a read through and make sure you try to hit at least 3-5 of them in one way or another on your own resume.
Useful Data Entry Clerk Skills
| Skill | Skill Description |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Monitoring | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
| Active Listening | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Writing | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Critical Thinking | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Time Management | Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Social Perceptiveness | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Coordination | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
| Instructing | Teaching others how to do something. |
| Complex Problem Solving | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Active Learning | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Service Orientation | Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
| Mathematics | Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Learning Strategies | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Persuasion | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
| Negotiation | Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
| Quality Control Analysis | Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. |
| Operation Monitoring | Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
| Systems Analysis | Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes. |
| Systems Evaluation | Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system. |
| Programming | Writing computer programs for various purposes. |
| Management of Material Resources | Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
| Equipment Selection | Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. |
| Management of Financial Resources | Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures. |
| Technology Design | Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. |
| Operation and Control | Controlling operations of equipment or systems. |
| Operations Analysis | Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design. |
| Installation | Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
| Science | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
| Equipment Maintenance | Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
| Troubleshooting | Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it. |
| Repairing | Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools. |
