Clerical Exams CLERICAL Following Instructions 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A memo states: 'All expense reports must be submitted by the 15th of each month. Reports received after the 15th will be processed in the following month's cycle.' An employee submits an expense report on March 16th. When will it be processed?
- March's cycle
- April's cycle (Correct answer)
- It will be rejected
- It depends on the supervisor's approval
Correct answer: April's cycle
The memo clearly states that reports received after the 15th will be processed in the following month's cycle.
Question 2: The office procedure manual states: 'When a visitor arrives without an appointment, check if the requested staff member is available. If available, escort the visitor to the staff member's office. If unavailable, take a message and offer the visitor a seat in the lobby.' A visitor arrives asking for Mr. Torres, who is in a meeting. What should you do?
- Interrupt Mr. Torres's meeting
- Ask the visitor to come back tomorrow
- Take a message and offer the visitor a seat in the lobby (Correct answer)
- Send the visitor directly to Mr. Torres's office
Correct answer: Take a message and offer the visitor a seat in the lobby
Since Mr. Torres is unavailable, the procedure requires taking a message and offering a seat in the lobby.
Question 3: An instruction reads: 'Sort incoming mail by department. Place letters marked URGENT on top of each department's stack. Deliver department stacks by 10:00 AM.' You finish sorting at 9:45 AM but notice one URGENT letter was placed at the bottom of the Finance stack. What should you do first?
- Deliver all stacks immediately as they are
- Move the URGENT letter to the top of the Finance stack before delivering (Correct answer)
- Only deliver the Finance stack after fixing it
- Wait until after 10:00 AM to fix the error
Correct answer: Move the URGENT letter to the top of the Finance stack before delivering
The instructions require URGENT letters on top, so you must correct the placement before delivering by the 10:00 AM deadline.
Question 4: A directive states: 'File all completed applications alphabetically by last name. If two applicants share the same last name, file by first name. If both names are identical, file by date of application, earliest first.' How should you file applications from Maria Santos (applied Jan 5), Pedro Santos (applied Jan 3), and Maria Santos (applied Jan 2)?
- Maria Santos (Jan 2), Maria Santos (Jan 5), Pedro Santos (Jan 3) (Correct answer)
- Pedro Santos (Jan 3), Maria Santos (Jan 2), Maria Santos (Jan 5)
- Maria Santos (Jan 5), Maria Santos (Jan 2), Pedro Santos (Jan 3)
- Pedro Santos (Jan 3), Maria Santos (Jan 5), Maria Santos (Jan 2)
Correct answer: Maria Santos (Jan 2), Maria Santos (Jan 5), Pedro Santos (Jan 3)
All share last name Santos; the two Marias are filed by date (Jan 2 before Jan 5), and Pedro follows both Marias alphabetically by first name.
Question 5: Office policy states: 'Photocopies of 50 pages or fewer may be made at the department copier. Requests for 51-200 pages must be submitted to the copy center with a 24-hour turnaround. Requests exceeding 200 pages require supervisor approval before submission to the copy center.' A staff member asks you to copy a 175-page report needed tomorrow afternoon. What is the correct action?
- Make the copies at the department copier
- Submit the request to the copy center (Correct answer)
- Get supervisor approval first, then submit to the copy center
- Tell the staff member it cannot be done by tomorrow
Correct answer: Submit the request to the copy center
A 175-page request falls in the 51-200 range, which requires submission to the copy center with 24-hour turnaround.
Question 6: Instructions state: 'Answer the main phone line by the third ring. Greet callers with: Good [morning/afternoon], City Clerk's Office, how may I help you? Transfer calls only after confirming the extension is active. If the extension is busy, offer to take a message or place the caller on hold.' A caller asks for Extension 402, which rings but no one answers. What should you do?
- Transfer the call anyway
- Hang up and call Extension 402 yourself
- Offer to take a message or place the caller on hold (Correct answer)
- Ask the caller to try again later
Correct answer: Offer to take a message or place the caller on hold
Since the extension is not actively answered, it is effectively unavailable, so you should offer to take a message or place the caller on hold.
Clerical Exams CLERICAL Following Instructions 2
A memo states: 'All expense reports must be submitted by the 15th of each month.
Reports received after the 15th will be processed in the following month's cycle.' An employee submits an expense report on March 16th.
When will it be processed?