Career Quiz Atlas

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.

Most important skills

  1. Writing
  2. Reading Comprehension
  3. Active Listening
  4. Speaking
  5. Critical Thinking
  6. Judgment and Decision Making
  7. Social Perceptiveness
  8. Service Orientation

Key knowledge

  1. Administrative
  2. English Language
  3. Customer and Personal Service
  4. Economics and Accounting
  5. Mathematics
  6. Computers and Electronics
  7. Administration and Management
  8. Public Safety and Security

What the work involves

  • Prepare documents and correspondence, such as damage claims, credit and billing inquiries, invoices, and service complaints.
  • Compile data from records to prepare periodic reports.
  • Read incoming correspondence to ascertain nature of writers' concerns and to determine disposition of correspondence.
  • Maintain files and control records to show correspondence activities.
  • Gather records pertinent to specific problems, review them for completeness and accuracy, and attach records to correspondence as necessary.
  • Route correspondence to other departments for reply.
  • 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.
  • Present clear and concise explanations of governing rules and regulations.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Social.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (42.9% of respondents)
Related experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (34.7%)
On-the-job training
Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (29.2%)
Preparation level
O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Licensing
Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
  • Licensing for Correspondence Clerks is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
  • Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
  • Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
ConditionLevelCompared with other occupationsMost common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with othersVery highHigher on contact with others than 84% of occupations compared79% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the publicHighHigher on dealing with the public than 66% of occupations compared36% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
TeamworkModerateHigher on teamwork than 59% of occupations compared50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisionsModerateHigher on freedom to make decisions than 53% of occupations compared53% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressureModerateLower on time pressure than 52% of occupations compared40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situationsHighHigher on conflict situations than 72% of occupations compared38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry peopleHighHigher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 65% of occupations compared40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of errorLowLower on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared46% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

  • Time pressure: moderate
  • Conflict situations: high
  • Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
  • Consequence of error: low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions

Contact with others

  • No contact with others: 0%
  • Occasional contact with others: 0%
  • Contact with others about half the time: 0%
  • Contact with others most of the time: 20.66%
  • Constant contact with others: 79.34%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Dealing with the public

  • Not important at all: 5.56%
  • Fairly important: 0%
  • Important: 29.87%
  • Very important: 36.35%
  • Extremely important: 28.21%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Teamwork

  • Not important at all: 0%
  • Fairly important: 3.36%
  • Important: 5.28%
  • Very important: 41.12%
  • Extremely important: 50.25%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Freedom to make decisions

  • No freedom: 0%
  • Very little freedom: 0%
  • Limited freedom: 15.38%
  • Some freedom: 53.1%
  • A lot of freedom: 31.52%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Time pressure

  • Never: 0%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 10.11%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 23.17%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 40.47%
  • Every day: 26.25%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Conflict situations

  • Never: 4.83%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 38.48%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 17.61%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 12.83%
  • Every day: 26.25%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Dealing with unpleasant or angry people

  • Never: 10.11%
  • Once a year or more but not every month: 40.26%
  • Once a month or more but not every week: 11.69%
  • Once a week or more but not every day: 11.69%
  • Every day: 26.25%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Consequence of error

  • Not serious at all: 19.19%
  • Fairly serious: 45.83%
  • Serious: 12.1%
  • Very serious: 22.89%
  • Extremely serious: 0%

n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023

Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer

Where people with this background could move

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    Closeness 95/100

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  • Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

    Closeness 95/100 · job zone +1

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  • Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

    Closeness 94/100 · job zone +1

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  • New Accounts Clerks

    Closeness 94/100 · job zone +1

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  • Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

    Closeness 94/100

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  • Bill and Account Collectors

    Closeness 94/100

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Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job

O*NET-SOC 43-4021.00 · SOC 43-4021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8