An office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs. They also do data processing, sorting mail, and filing documents for easy retrieval and reference, especially during meetings and company activities.

Take a few minutes to create or upgrade your resume. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Office Worker resume.

Office Worker Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real office worker resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Manage daily office operations maintaining accurate records for payroll and other checks.
  • Train in installing windows, showers and glass into homes and commercial businesses.
  • Used QuickBooks to accurately compute and produce invoices to be mail to various customer companies.
  • Serve as office secretary, organizing files, answering phones, delivering payroll and deposits, organize incoming mail and invoices.
  • Assist patients with sensitive and detail orient documentation, schedule appointments and verify insurance benefits.
  • Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.

Office Worker Job Description

Between the years 2018 and 2028, office worker jobs are expected to undergo a growth rate described as "decline" at -4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if the thought "should I become an office worker?" Has crossed your mind, maybe you should take the growth rate into account. In addition, the number of office worker opportunities that are projected to become available by 2028 is -110,600.

Office workers average about $19.71 an hour, which makes the office worker annual salary $41,003. Additionally, office workers are known to earn anywhere from $23,000 to $71,000 a year. This means that the top-earning office workers make $35,000 more than the lowest earning ones.

Once you've become an office worker, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include an administrative office specialist, front office specialist, business office associate, and office receptionist.

Learn More About Office Worker Job Descriptions
Find Better Talent in Less Time
Post a Job on Zippia and take the best from over 7 million monthly job seekers.

Office Worker Jobs You Might Like

12 Office Worker Resume Examples

Office Worker Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 28% of Office Workers are proficient in Data Entry, Administrative Tasks, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Office Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Data Entry, 28%

    Performed data entry tasks while upholding complete confidentiality with sensitive records.

  • Administrative Tasks, 22%

    Performed a wide variety of administrative tasks and responsibilities.

  • PowerPoint, 18%

    Worked various office assignments using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

  • Payroll, 16%

    Turn in Payroll and then once I get the information back, write a check to the employee for payment.

  • Customer Service, 4%

    Conduct exceptional customer service by responding to telephone and email inquiries in a timely and professional fashion

  • Telephone Calls, 2%

    Attend, generate and refer telephone calls and guide citizens as appropriate.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Office Worker Resume templates

Build a professional Office Worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Office Worker resume.

Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume
Office Worker Resume

Most office workers list "data entry," "administrative tasks," and "powerpoint" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important office worker responsibilities here:

  • Customer-service skills can be considered to be the most important personality trait for an office worker to have. According to a office worker resume, "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public" office workers are able to use customer-service skills in the following example we gathered from a resume: "organized data entry information into corporate database and processed products to be shipped to customers. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform office worker duties is the following: detail oriented. According to a office worker resume, "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills." Check out this example of how office workers use detail oriented: "job details: money handling paying bills scheduling appointments ordering inventory & parts answering calls creating spreadsheets billing filing customer service"
  • Organizational skills is also an important skill for office workers to have. This example of how office workers use this skill comes from a office worker resume, "general office clerks file and retrieve records" Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "assisted with various tasks concerning filing and organization of important documents* extensive work with microsoft excel* data entry and organizational duties"
  • See the full list of office worker skills.

    After discovering the most helpful skills, we moved onto what kind of education might be helpful in becoming an office worker. We found that 47.7% of office workers have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 3.9% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most office workers have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every five office workers were not college graduates.

    The office workers who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and psychology, while a small population of office workers studied accounting and general studies.

    Once you've obtained the level of education you're comfortable with, you might start applying to companies to become an office worker. We've found that most office worker resumes include experience from Aramark, The Salvation Army, and City of Houston. Of recent, Aramark had 39 positions open for office workers. Meanwhile, there are 3 job openings at The Salvation Army and 2 at City of Houston.

    If you're interested in companies where office workers make the most money, you'll want to apply for positions at Fred Hutch, Children's Home Society of Washington, and Santa Clara County Office of Education. We found that at Fred Hutch, the average office worker salary is $42,247. Whereas at Children's Home Society of Washington, office workers earn roughly $42,090. And at Santa Clara County Office of Education, they make an average salary of $41,590.

    View more details on office worker salaries across the United States.

    We also looked into companies who hire office workers from the top 100 educational institutions in the U.S. The top three companies that hire the most from these institutions include Boston University, The Ohio State University, and University of North Carolina.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious office workers are:

    Build a professional resume in minutes.

    Our AI resume builder helps you write a compelling and relevant resume for the jobs you want. See 10+ resume templates and create your resume here.

    resume document icon

    Don't Have A Professional Resume?

    What Administrative Office Specialists Do

    An administrative office specialist helps offices to run efficiently and smoothly by performing clerical support tasks. Their responsibilities often include preparing and processing documents, arranging meetings and appointments, monitoring the budgets and expenditures, answering calls and correspondence, handling the inventory and procurement of office supplies, and developing strategies to optimize office operations. They may also address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as an administrative office specialist, it is essential to coordinate staff, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

    In this section, we compare the average office worker annual salary with that of an administrative office specialist. Typically, administrative office specialists earn a $5,826 lower salary than office workers earn annually.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both office workers and administrative office specialists positions are skilled in data entry, administrative tasks, and powerpoint.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, an office worker responsibilities require skills like "scheduling appointments," "office machines," "computer system," and "computer programs." Meanwhile a typical administrative office specialist has skills in areas such as "phone calls," "hr," "travel arrangements," and "provides administrative support." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

    Administrative office specialists tend to make the most money in the technology industry by averaging a salary of $36,820. In contrast, office workers make the biggest average salary of $40,267 in the education industry.

    The education levels that administrative office specialists earn is a bit different than that of office workers. In particular, administrative office specialists are 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an office worker. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Front Office Specialist?

    A front office specialist performs varied duties and administrative tasks for an organization. These include maintaining the cleanliness of the front desk, greeting and welcoming guests and visitors, and answering questions and managing complaints. Other duties include answering telephone calls, receiving packages and letters, and checking, sorting, and forwarding emails. As front office specialist, you are expected to maintain updated files and records, prepare various types of written materials, and research a wide range of topics as requested.

    Next up, we have the front office specialist profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to an office worker annual salary. In fact, front office specialists salary difference is $9,296 lower than the salary of office workers per year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Office workers and front office specialists both include similar skills like "data entry," "customer service," and "telephone calls" on their resumes.

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, office worker responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "administrative tasks," "powerpoint," "payroll," and "scheduling appointments." Meanwhile, a front office specialist might be skilled in areas such as "patients," "medical terminology," "check-in," and "patient care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    In general, front office specialists study at similar levels of education than office workers. They're 1.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Business Office Associate Compares

    Business office associates are responsible for providing clerical and administrative support to the office staff for efficient and smooth operations of the office operations. They typically perform a number of tasks that include managing and entering data to spreadsheets and databases, organizing and maintaining files and documents, and assisting with bookkeeping activities. Additionally, they are responsible for managing work projects and overall office management, collaborating with other departments, and maintaining financial documents and customer information. Business office associates are also expected to oversee human resource activities such as handling of employment forms and administering health insurance.

    The third profession we take a look at is business office associate. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than office workers. In fact, they make a $11,374 lower salary per year.

    By looking over several office workers and business office associates resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "data entry," "powerpoint," and "payroll." But beyond that the careers look very different.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from office workers resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "administrative tasks," "telephone calls," "word processing," and "office machines." But a business office associate might have skills like "multi-line phone system," "vehicle sales," "patients," and "payable functions."

    Business office associates are known to earn similar educational levels when compared to office workers. Additionally, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of an Office Receptionist

    An office receptionist, or administrative assistant, performs various administrative tasks for an organization. These tasks may include answering phone calls, providing the public and customers with information, and warmly welcoming, greeting, and directing visitors or guests accordingly. Additionally, an office receptionist is responsible for maintaining security by issuing visitor badges, monitoring logbooks, and following procedures. Administrative assistants are also responsible for preparing and processing travel vouchers and other documents. Some employers prefer someone with a college or bachelor's degree, telephone skills, and excellent communication skills.

    Now, we'll look at office receptionists, who generally average a lower pay when compared to office workers annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $7,449 per year.

    According to resumes from both office workers and office receptionists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "data entry," "powerpoint," and "payroll. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "administrative tasks," "scheduling appointments," "computer programs," and "credit card" are skills that have shown up on office workers resumes. Additionally, office receptionist uses skills like patients, phone calls, appointment scheduling, and hr on their resumes.

    In general, office receptionists make a higher salary in the manufacturing industry with an average of $34,162. The highest office worker annual salary stems from the education industry.

    Office receptionists reach similar levels of education when compared to office workers. The difference is that they're 1.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.