Senior Typist

The work of this class primarily involves the performance of moderately difficult keyboarding on a microcomputer, typewriter, or mainframe terminal and clerical and related tasks requiring the exercise of independent judgment in the application of prescribed procedures and methods to routine cases. Duties in this class may involve public contact and/or work of a confidential nature. The work is performed under general supervision and is reviewed by observation, cross checks, periodic or spot checks, or by another step in the clerical process. An employee in this class may also supervise the work of others. Supervisors are available for consultation regarding new or difficult assignments. The incumbent does related work as required. A complete job description is available from the office of the Civil Service Commission.

Either:
(A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college, business college, or secretarial school with an associate’s in secretarial science, office management, office technologies, word processing, or closely related field, which shall have included or been supplemented by a course in keyboarding; OR
(B) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and three (3) years of clerical experience which shall have involved keyboarding

There will be a written test which you must pass with a score of 70 or higher in order to be considered for appointment. It will evaluate knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:
1. Spelling: These questions test your ability to spell words that are used in written business communications.
2. Grammar, Usage, Punctuation: The grammar and usage questions test for the ability to apply the basic rules of grammar and usage. The punctuation questions test for a knowledge of the correct placement of punctuation marks in sentences.
3. Keyboarding Practices: These questions test for a knowledge of preferred practices in such areas as letter format, capitalization, hyphenation, plurals, possessives, word division, word and figure style for numbers, and common proofreading marks. In addition, you will be given a passage to proofread and asked questions about how to correct the errors in the passage.
4. Office Record Keeping: These questions evaluate your ability to perform common office record keeping tasks. The test consists of two or more “sets” of questions, each set concerning a different problem. Typical record keeping problems might involve the organization or collation of data from several sources; scheduling; maintaining a record system using running balances; or completion of a table summarizing data using totals, subtotals, averages, and percents.
5. Office Practices: These questions test for a knowledge of generally agreed upon practices governing the handling of situations which office support staff, typists, and secretaries encounter in their work, as well as knowledge of efficient and effective methods used to accomplish office tasks. The questions will cover such topics as planning workflow; setting priorities; dealing effectively with staff, visitors, and callers; filing and retrieving information; safeguarding confidentiality; using office equipment; and making procedural decisions and recommendations which contribute to a well-managed office.

There is no residency requirement for this examination. Preference in appointment may be given to successful candidates who are residents of the City of Watertown in accordance with Section 23.4(a) of the New York State Civil Service Law and Rule VII(1) of the Municipal Civil Service Rules for the City of Watertown. To be eligible for appointment, an applicant must be a resident of Jefferson County or a resident of a contiguous county.

The list will be used to fill vacancies as they occur in the Watertown City School District.