Residence Requirements:

An examination will be held to fill vacancies as they occur in the above title in Erie County Departments, Towns, Villages, School Districts and Special Districts.  Salaries vary among municipalities and districts.

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:  CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT.*  There is one vacancy at th Town of Tonawanda. 

Successful candidates will be placed on the eligible list for Erie County.  When certification is made to towns, villages or school districts, it may be limited to candidates who were legal residents of that municipality for four months immediately preceding the date of the written test and are legal residents of the same municipality or district at the time of certification.

*Candidates who reside in a school district which, for civil service purposes is administered by the Erie County Personnel Commissioner, but who are not legal residents of Erie County may apply for this examination.  However, they will be certified for appointment only in the school district in which they are legal residents.  Under current New York State Law, candidates seeking employment with school districts in New York State will be required to undergo fingerprinting and a criminal history background check prior to appointment.  A processing fee may be required.

Examples of Duties:

A Clerk Stenographer takes dictations and transcribes the notes of letters, memoranda, reports, and summaries which may include technical terms;

Type letters, reports, and other material from rough draft, transcribing machine, or other copy;

Handles routine correspondence from oral directions or written notes;

Maintains mailing lists;

Gives information to inquiries either at the counter or over the telephone;

Types bills and vouchers;

Sorts, indexes, and files material alphabetically and numerically;

Takes and transcribes notes on hearing, proceeding or meetings;

Utilizes enhanced computer systems and equipment in the completion of assigned clerical tasks.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

 Graduation from high school* or possess of a high school equivalency diploma supplemented by courses in stenography and typing.

Notes:

A copy of A Guide to the Written Test For The Entry-Level Clerical/Steno/Typist Series may be viewed and/or downloaded at the New York State Civil Service web site located at http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm.  If you do not have Internet access, you may obtain a copy by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope (size required to accommodate the guide – manila 10” x 13”) to the Erie County Personnel Department,95 Franklin Street,Buffalo,New York 14202 or by picking one up in person at Room 604.

Subjects of Examination:

The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

I. ALPHABETIZING -These questions are designed to test a candidate's ability to file material accurately in alphabetic order.

2. RECORDKEEPING- These questions are designed to test a candidate's ability to perform common 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.

3. CLERICAL OPERATIONS. WITH LETTERS AND NUMBERS These questions are designed to test a candidate's visual perception and basic clerical accuracy in working with alphanumeric
characters. The candidate is required to read, compare, check, reorder, and count letters and numbers following specific directions for each question. Knowledge of the alphabet and the
ability to count are required.

4. SPELLING- These questions are designed to test the candidate's ability to spell words that office employees might encounter intheir daily work.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Use of a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator is recommended. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers.., " Personal Digital Assistants",
"Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similardevices are prohibited. You may not bring books or otherreference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $15.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.