Correspondence Clerks

Compose letters or electronic correspondence in reply to requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit and other information, delinquent accounts, incorrect billings, or unsatisfactory services. Duties may include gathering data to formulate reply and preparing correspondence.

What you'd actually do

• Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities.
• Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.
• Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary.
• Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints.
• Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports.
• Compose letters in reply to correspondence concerning such items as requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit information requests, delinquent accounts, incorrect billing, or unsatisfactory service.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 5.1% of correspondence clerks are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused and take-charge.

Related careers

• Brokerage Clerks
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
• Bill and Account Collectors
• Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping
• Order Clerks

Quick questions

How much does a correspondence clerk make?

The median pay is $22.50 per hour — roughly $47,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.01/hr (10th percentile) to $31.02/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a correspondence clerk?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a correspondence clerk actually do all day?

Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities. Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence. Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary.