clerk.

A skilled professional with a variety of responsibilities — that's the best way to describe your role as a clerk. What exactly you do depends on your area of specialisation. You manage your extensive tasks with ease, like a true expert. Find out more about your duties as a clerk here.

As a clerk, you work in various industries and have different areas of focus. Here is a selection:

• Clerk in public administration: You work as a clerk within local, cantonal, or even federal government. You handle applications or proposals independently, issue permits, and manage the document archive. In some cases, you are also responsible for grants and subsidy programmes.

• Personnel administrator: In this role, you are responsible for personnel administration, staff development, and salary management. You also support your manager in recruiting new employees. Together with middle management, you analyse which staff members require training. Based on your findings, HR managers determine appropriate measures.

• Accounts clerk in finance: As an accounts clerk in the finance department, you will handle straightforward bookkeeping tasks. You will support the controlling team with monthly financial statements and analyses. In some companies, you will prepare monthly reports for assigned departments and divisions. You will also be involved in securities and fund accounting. For project work, you will assist with administrative tasks.

• Marketing administrator: In this communicative specialist role, you assist the marketing managers and take on designated task portfolios. You support marketing campaigns and manage social media channels. Occasionally, you prepare PR activities and plan advertisements in media outlets. Promotional tools such as flyers, catalogues, or newsletters also fall within your responsibilities. You have an eye for presenting products effectively.

• Sales administrator: In this role, you handle everything needed to ensure customer satisfaction. You tend to work behind the scenes. Your responsibilities include processing orders, organising deliveries, and preparing invoices. If something goes wrong, you manage the complaints. You also keep the databases up to date.

Common job platforms show a wide range of salaries for clerks. How much you earn depends on the industry, company structure, and your responsibilities. Your education and work experience also play a significant role. As a clerk, you can expect an entry-level salary of around 50,000 CHF per year. This equates to approximately 4,200 CHF per month. In addition to your basic salary, some companies may offer allowances or bonuses. Certain employers also attract staff with better working conditions, such as part-time hours and extra holiday entitlement. By undertaking further training, you can enhance your skills and increase your salary. Find out more here about your gross pay as a clerk.

There is no apprenticeship as an administrative clerk. Typically, you choose a basic education programme (EFZ) in your preferred field. A good starting point is a three-year apprenticeship as a merchant (EFZ). You gain practical work experience during the apprenticeship. However, it is only after several years of professional experience that you become a seasoned specialist. Thanks to a solid foundational education, many doors are open to you. You might initially work as an accountant, sales assistant, or HR specialist. If you’re looking for more, you can qualify for a managerial role through further training. Check out the offerings from industry associations, vocational colleges, and further education centres.

Administrative clerks are in demand across all industries. If you want to get started in customs, accounting, or construction, you can attend specialised courses. Usually, you choose a position based on your preferences and strengths. If you enjoy working with numbers, you might look for a role in finance. If you find fulfilment in dealing with customers, you could specialise in sales or marketing. If you're more socially inclined, a career in healthcare might be the right fit. If you're fascinated by the world of technology, you can explore relevant opportunities. Through Randstad, you’ll find vacancies in all sectors. Are you looking for an attractive job with prospects? You’ll find such roles and more right here.

Thanks to a solid business education, you are perfectly prepared for the professional world. You have a broad foundation to establish yourself as a clerk. You acquire specialised knowledge through practical work experience. This means that even career changers have a good chance of becoming successful clerks. Many industries offer specialised additional training programmes for those switching careers. What matters most is that you bring a business-oriented foundation and the willingness to develop further.

As a clerk, you have many opportunities for advancement, provided you develop the necessary ambition. You could specialise in a particular area and become an absolute expert in that field. Perhaps you’re also willing to try something new and switch industries. If you decide, out of conviction, to take action against climate change, you can immerse yourself in that subject. Companies value employees who are motivated and committed to their work. Internal training programmes provide the essential expertise. A managerial position is also achievable with the right qualifications. How about furthering your education to become an assistant manager? If you enjoy supporting your superiors, you might consider a Bachelor’s degree. With a qualification in Business Administration, there’s nothing stopping your career from progressing. Want to develop further as a clerk? Take a look at our tests and tips.

So diverse as your responsibilities as a clerk are the skills required. Some essential ones are:

• IT skills: Your required IT knowledge depends on your tasks and the level of digitalisation within the company. You need to be proficient in the most common Office programmes. These include MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint. Whether you're preparing minutes, mail merges, or presentations, you can't do without them. In most departments, you'll also work with databases such as inventory management systems. In marketing, you'll be familiar with Content Management Systems, SEO tools, and image editing programmes. As a clerk in IT, you require in-depth knowledge of operating systems and programming languages.

• Communication skills: As an administrative clerk, you communicate personally, by phone, and electronically. You know how to start a conversation and keep it going. Grammar and spelling are second nature to you. Respectful and appreciative communication comes naturally. Thanks to your professional approach, operational processes run almost flawlessly.

• Carefulness: In your role as a clerk, meticulousness is a must. Mistakes can have serious consequences and lead to complaints. If you issue approvals incorrectly or list an excessively low selling price in newsletters, you could face significant trouble. Forgetting an item in an order and having the goods arrive incomplete to the customer is also problematic, so you tend to play it safe. You prefer to check documents twice before passing them on. Additionally, you use a tool for grammar, spelling, and style checks. Thanks to your sense of duty, you work with exceptional care.

• Organisational skills: In your role as a clerk, you often have multiple tasks to handle. This requires a certain level of skill in prioritising your activities. Usually, it’s about meeting deadlines. Your manager needs a presentation in three hours. A client has to submit their appeal within two days. Customers haven't received their goods. You prioritise and take care of these matters.

There are many good reasons to work at Randstad as a clerk:
✓ exciting jobs at well-known companies
✓ a reliable point of contact whenever you need one; personalised advice matters
✓ attractive employment conditions and good social benefits
✓ further education courses and personal development opportunities
✓ clear information in the myRandstad app
✓ do you have a fixed-term contract? Often, there’s the opportunity to secure a permanent position afterwards. Many well-known companies also recruit their staff directly through Randstad.

your training budget as a clerk at randstad.

If you work as a clerk for Randstad, you have access to further training courses. As part of the TempTraining programme from swissstaffing, you can attend training sessions. You will be reimbursed for the course fees later, provided you pass the course exam. Your consultant from Randstad is there to support you if you have any questions. This way, you can acquire additional language skills or job-specific knowledge—all during your working hours as a clerk.

Have you found your dream job as a clerk? It's not just qualifications and certificates that determine the success of your applications. Careful, error-free, and personalised documents will definitely help you in your job search. Here are a few useful tips to optimise your chances:

Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about working as a clerk.