Clerical Aptitude: Alphabetical Filing, Checking and Coding
What to master
Clerical aptitude has three skills: alphabetical filing, checking (comparing strings for exact matches), and coding (applying a rule to convert letters and numbers). Learn letter-by-letter and word-by-word filing; when a rule says letter-by-letter, ignore spaces and punctuation and compare each character in turn. Remember nothing before something: Brown files before Browne. For personal names, last name first. For checking, compare character by character from left to right, watching for transpositions (59/95), substitutions (i/l, 0/O), and omissions. For coding, write the alphabet with position numbers 1–26 and the reverse alphabet (A=26) so shifts are quick.
Traps
- Filing Mac and Mc as if identical-file them as spelled.
- Ignoring hyphens or apostrophes when the rule says to consider them.
- Missing a transposed pair because the whole string looks right.
- Applying a coding shift in the wrong direction.
- Putting numbers before letters when the stated rule is the opposite.
Worked example
File: MacDonald, Mack, Mason. Compare letter by letter: MacD, Mack, Mas. At the fourth character D comes before k, and c comes before s, so the order is MacDonald, Mack, Mason.
Rule of thumb
For checking, read the pair backwards as well as forwards; transpositions stand out. For coding, write the key alphabet down before answering.