Details, Details: Your Clerical Aptitude

Do you consider yourself a detail-oriented person? For example, are you quick to notice typographical and numerical errors? Or do you tend to overlook minor clerical mistakes? Are you quick and accurate when it comes to scanning information or copying down numbers such as phone numbers or addresses? Or do you notice that it pays to take your time and double-check your work? Your answers to these questions may give you some insight into your Clerical (Perceptual Speed and Accuracy) aptitude.

Clerical aptitude, measured by the Ball Aptitude Battery®, is important for performing a wide variety of skills and tasks such as proofreading, filling out paperwork or online forms like spreadsheets, reading, inspecting, filing, and checking.

Your level of natural talent for performing Clerical tasks impacts a range of activities found in many jobs. High Clerical aptitude is an advantage in any work setting that requires the ability to notice details and identify errors quickly. It is also a great advantage in traditional academic settings because speed and accuracy are often needed for reading, test-taking and completing homework.

Individuals who score in the mid-range indicate an average ability to carry out detail-oriented assignments quickly and accurately. They may need to concentrate more on these tasks and allow adequate time to check their work.

Those who score lower on this aptitude find it helpful to take their time and to focus careful attention on more detail-oriented tasks. In a school environment, people with lower Clerical aptitude may experience difficulty with timed tests that require carefully filling out multiple-choice answer sheets. Reading assignments, especially in a more technical textbook, may take more time and effort.

Some people who score lower on this aptitude are very accurate, but at the price of taking more time to complete a task; the best school or work situation for them would allow them enough time to work in this careful, methodical way. Other Low Clerical individuals may be fast, but leave a trail of mistakes in their wake. They benefit from consciously slowing themselves down when performing detailed tasks and rechecking their work.

Low Clerical individuals with otherwise mid-range or higher aptitude profiles may become discouraged in academic settings. They may try setting aside more focused time to complete assignments without distractions. They can also experiment with breaking the detailed work into intervals, which will encourage a high level of concentration. It's interesting that for many occupations, there is a higher demand for Clerical aptitude while in learning and training environments than there is in carrying out actual daily responsibilities once on the job. If these individuals can put forth the extra effort it takes to get through the coursework successfully or earn a degree, they will have an easier time when they begin working on the job.

As with any aptitude, greater self-knowledge makes for a better understanding of how to approach certain tasks, as well as a better understanding of why individuals find certain tasks easier and more enjoyable.

© Copyright 2007, Career Vision. Article may be reprinted with permission.

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