Occupation Profile

Order Clerks

(SOC Code : 43-4151)

in California

Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, classified ads, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, shipping dates, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints. Exclude "Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance" (43-5032) who both dispatch and take orders for services.

Employers usually expect an employee in this occupation to be able to do the job after Short-term on-the-job training .

View a Career Video for this occupation from America's Career InfoNet (requires Windows Media Player)

Occupational Wages

[Top]

Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$16.45	$12.43	$15.63	$19.26

View Wages for All Areas About Wages

Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

[Top]

Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	31,000	38,000	7,000	22.6	1,570

View Projections for All Areas About Projections

Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

[Top]

Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in California

Within miles of Zip Code.

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

[Top]

Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Electronic Shopping & Mail-Order Houses

1,785

11.7%

Electronic Markets and Agents/Brokers

2,823

6.6%

Misc Nondurable Goods Merchant Whsle

4,253

4.6%

Electric Goods Merchant Wholesalers

7,773

4.3%

Apparel/Piece Goods Merchant Wholesalers

3,358

4.0%

Grocery Product Merchant Wholesalers

5,559

4.0%

Commercial Goods Merchant Wholesalers

7,080

3.5%

Machinery & Supply Merchant Wholesalers

8,676

2.7%

Motor Vehicle/Part Merchant Wholesalers

4,445

2.4%

Hardware & Plumbing Merchant Wholesalers

3,780

2.2%

Furniture & Furnishings Merchant Whsle

1,924

1.7%

Lumber and Supply Merchant Wholesalers

3,312

1.6%

Newspaper, Book, & Directory Publishers

5,427

1.4%

Paper/Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers

1,744

1.3%

Management of Companies and Enterprises

914

1.3%

Warehousing and Storage

1,606

1.2%

Printing and Related Support Activities

6,989

1.2%

Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing

745

1.1%

Building Material and Supplies Dealers

16,446

1.0%

Department Stores

3,486

1.0%

Health and Personal Care Stores

17,459

1.0%

Chemical Merchant Wholesalers

756

1.0%

Medical Equipment and Supplies Mfg

3,367

1.0%

About Staffing Patterns

Data for Training Programs not available.

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

[Top]

Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Obtain customers` names, addresses, and billing information, product numbers, and specifications of items to be purchased, and enter this information on order forms.

Prepare invoices, shipping documents, and contracts.

Inform customers by mail or telephone of order information, such as unit prices, shipping dates, and any anticipated delays.

Receive and respond to customer complaints.

Verify customer and order information for correctness, checking it against previously obtained information as necessary.

Direct specified departments or units to prepare and ship orders to designated locations.

Review orders for completeness according to reporting procedures and forward incomplete orders for further processing.

Check inventory records to determine availability of requested merchandise.

Attempt to sell additional merchandise or services to prospective or current customers by telephone or through visits.

File copies of orders received, or post orders on records.

More Tasks for Order Clerks

Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

More Skills for Order Clerks

Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

More Abilities for Order Clerks

Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

More Work Values for Order Clerks

Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

More Interests for Order Clerks