New Jersey Civil Service Clerical Aptitude and Filing Questions and Answers

Question 1

You are tasked with filing the following four business folders alphabetically. Which folder should be filed FIRST?

Accepted Answer

St. James Medical Supply

Answer

Standard alphabetizing rules for business names require treating abbreviations like 'St.' as if they are fully spelled out ('Saint'). 'The' at the beginning of a name is disregarded for filing purposes. Hyphenated names are treated as a single word. Therefore, 'Saint James' comes before 'Smith', 'South-East', and 'Southard'.

Question 2

A municipal clerk is verifying a batch of sequentially issued permit numbers before archiving the daily report. The standard format is YY-DD-#### (Year-Department-Sequence). Which of the following statements accurately describes the error in this sequence: 24-07-1056, 24-07-1057, 24-07-1058, 24-07-1060, 24-07-1061?

Accepted Answer

A number is missing from the sequence.

Answer

The permit numbers are issued sequentially. In the list provided, the number jumps from 24-07-1058 to 24-07-1060, indicating that permit number 24-07-1059 is missing from the batch.

Question 3

A new clerk in a county administration office is responsible for coding incoming mail based on the following system:
- FIN: Correspondence related to budgets, invoices, or purchasing.
- HR: Correspondence related to personnel, benefits, or job applications.
- PRC: Correspondence from the public regarding services or complaints.
- LEG: Correspondence from attorneys or related to legal matters.
The clerk receives a letter from a resident asking about the status of a recent job application and inquiring about the health benefits for the position. What is the correct code for this piece of mail?

Accepted Answer

HR

Answer

The letter's content, which involves a job application and employee benefits, directly corresponds to the 'HR' category, which covers personnel-related matters. The other codes relate to finance, public comments, and legal issues.

Question 4

The procedure for processing a travel reimbursement form is as follows:
1. Employee submits Form TR-101 to their immediate supervisor.
2. The supervisor reviews and signs the form.
3. The supervisor forwards the signed form to the Department Head.
4. The Department Head approves the form. If the total is over $500, the Department Head must also attach a 'High-Value Justification' memo.
5. The form (and memo, if applicable) is sent to the Finance Department.
An employee submits a correct TR-101 form for $650 to their supervisor, who signs it and forwards it to the Department Head. What is the correct next step for the Department Head?

Accepted Answer

Approve the form, attach the justification memo, and send both to Finance.

Answer

According to step 4 of the procedure, any reimbursement request exceeding $500 requires the Department Head to attach a 'High-Value Justification' memo before forwarding the approved form to the Finance Department. Since the amount is $650, this step is mandatory.

Question 5

A clerk is verifying data entered into a new system. By comparing the 'Data Entry List' against the 'Original List' below, on which line was the error made?

Original List:
Line 1: Michele P. O'Connell
Line 2: David R. Andersen
Line 3: Catherine J. Stephenson
Line 4: Thomas E. MacGuire

Data Entry List:
Line 1: Michele P. O'Connell
Line 2: David R. Anderson
Line 3: Catherine J. Stephenson
Line 4: Thomas E. MacGuire

Accepted Answer

Line 2

Answer

When comparing the two lists, the name on Line 2, 'David R. Andersen', was incorrectly typed as 'David R. Anderson' in the data entry list. The other three lines match perfectly. This type of detail-oriented checking is a critical clerical skill.

New Jersey Civil Service Exam Practice Test

New Jersey Civil Service Exam Practice Test

New Jersey Civil Service Clerical Aptitude and Filing Questions and Answers