CLERK TYPIST, CLERK TYPIST I, EXAM #10-018

CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT EXAMINATION

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED CONTINUOUSLY AND EXAMINATIONS HELD BY APPOINTMENT

CANDIDATES WILL BE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR TESTING IN THE ORDER IN

WHICH THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE FILED

Candidate eligibility begins when the name is placed on the list and continues for two (2) years. Successful

candidates’ names will be inter-filed on the Eligible List in the order of the final score, regardless of the date the

examination was taken.

FILING FEE: EXAM FEES FOR JURISDICTIONS UNDER THE ALBANY MUNCIPAL CIVIL SERVICE

COMMISION HAVE BEEN WAIVED EFFECTIVE JULY 2023.

Individuals who are on military leave or recently discharged from military service are permitted to

file for an examination up to ten days prior to the examination.

VACANCY: Resulting eligible list to be used to fill vacancies in the City of Albany, Albany Housing Authority

and Albany School District.

SALARY RANGE: $27,691 - $48,500 Annually

DUTIES OF THE POSITION: This is routine clerical work of limited complexity and variety requiring the skilled

use of a computer and/or typewriter. Employees in this class perform duties, the clerical aspects of which are

standardized and repetitive, but which require training in keyboarding input. Detailed instructions are given at

the beginning of the work and on new assignments, but employees familiar with the operations and procedures

may work with some independence, and some initiative and judgment is utilized as experience is gained.

Employees may make arithmetic or other checks upon the work of other employees for accuracy although direct

supervision is not usually exercised. Work is subject to close supervision and is reviewed by a superior upon

completion for both content and accuracy.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet the minimum qualifications on or by the date of the examination.

a) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma which shall include or be

supplemented by a course in typing; OR

b) One (1) year of satisfactory fulltime paid clerical work experience which shall have included substantial part-time typing

duties; OR

c) Any equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (a) and (b) above.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT FOR APPOINTMENT IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND BOCES:

Per Chapter 180 of the Laws of 2000, and by Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, to be employed in a position

designated by a school district or BOCES as involving direct contact with students, a clearance for employment from the

State Education Department is required.

A COPY OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT MAY BE SECURED AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS OR AT THE CITY OF ALBANY

WEBSITE: https://jobs.albanyny.gov/exams

Amended: September 26, 2023

Kathy M. Sheehan Civil Service Commission Albany City Hall

Mayor Thomas McNaughton, Chair 24 Eagle Street, Rm 301

Michael Cassidy (p) 518-434-5049

Akosua Yeboah (f) 518-434-5269

Page 2 of 6

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS

#1 AGE LIMITS:

Unless otherwise specified in the examination an-

nouncement, there are no age restrictions. However

there may be statutory restrictions on your employ-

ment if you are under 40 or over 70 years of age.

#2 APPLICATION FORMS:

Applications can be submitted by visiting

jobs.albanyny.gov

A standard application must be submitted for each

examination. The applicant should be certain that

every question is answered and that the application is

complete in all respects, including the title of the

examination.

#3 VETERAN'S CREDITS:

For the purpose of claiming veteran's credits on a civil

service examination, an applicant must have been

honorably discharged or released under honorable

circumstances after serving on active duty with the

armed forces of the United States during time of war.

Disabled and non-disabled veterans who establish

eligibility for additional credits and are successful in

the examination are entitled to have 10 and 5 points,

respectively, (5 and 2.5 points in the case of

promotional examinations) added to their earned

scores, provided they have not used such credits to

obtain permanent appointment or promotion.

Veterans may determine to waive the use of their

credits at any time up to the time of permanent

appointment or promotion.

#4 TRANSCRIPTS:

Whenever college transcripts or diplomas are

requested, they should be submitted with the

application for the examination or as soon thereafter as

possible BEFORE the examination.

#5 ADMISSIONS TO EXAMINATION:

The Commission does not acknowledge receipt of

applications but all applicants are notified of the

disposition of their applications. Approved candidates

will be notified at least four days in advance of the

place, date and hour of the examination. Applicants

who have not received notice by this deadline should

contact the office of the Commission.

Every candidate should bring his or her notice to

appear, social security number and photo ID to the

examination. Do not interpret a notice to appear for,

or an actual participation in, the examination to mean

that you have been found to meet fully the announced

requirements. Applicants are admitted to the

examination on the basis of statements made in the

application. These statements may not be verified

until after the examination has been held. Those

candidates not meeting the requirements are

disqualified at that time.

Inquiries may be made as to character and ability of

candidates. All statements made by candidates in their

applications are subject to verification.

#6 SATURDAY SABBATH OBSERVERS &

HANDICAPPED PERSONS:

Please indicate within your application if you require

special accommodations or would like to request an

alternate test date.

If your application has already been submitted, please

email CivilService@AlbanyNY.gov with your name,

exam, and relevant information for your special

accommodation requirement or alternate date request.

#7 RATINGS REQUIRED:

This examination will be prepared and rated in

accordance with Section 23.2 of the Civil Service

Law. The provisions of New York State Civil Service

Law, rules and regulations dealing with the

preparation and rating of examinations, will apply to

this examination.

#8 MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS:

Candidates may be required to have a medical

examination to determine if they are physically

capable of performing the duties of the position.

#9 ELIGIBLE LISTS:

Eligible lists are established for a minimum duration

of one year but may be extended by the Commission

before expiration, for a total of no more than four

years.

Changing conditions may make it necessary to certify

to future vacancies at higher or lower salaries than

those originally announced.

#10 CHILDREN OF POLICE/FIREFIGHTERS

KILLED ON DUTY CREDITS:

In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service

Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed

in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive an

additional ten points in a competitive examination for

original appointment in the same municipality in

which his or her parent has served. If you are qualified

to participate in this examination and are a child of a

firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty in

this municipality, please inform this office of this

matter when you submit your application for

examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a

minimum of two months from the application dead-

line to provide the necessary documentation to verify

additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may

be added after the eligible list has been established.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Page 3 of 6

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Residency requirements have been suspended for this examination due to recruitment difficulties.

***Preference in appointment may be given to successful candidates who have been legal residents of the

City of Albany for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the written exam.

When preference in certification is given to residents of the City of Albany, in order to be included in

certification as a resident of such municipality an eligible must be a legal resident on the date of the

examination and must be a legal resident of the City of Albany at the time of certification and at the time

of appointment.

EFFECTIVE 2/26/15 LOCAL LAW F – 2014

Section 62-1 of Chapter 62 of the Code of the City of Albany.

D. Residency for new employees. Except as otherwise provided by the section, the Common Council hereby

establishes a residency requirement for all prospective employees of the City. Every person initially employed by

the City of Albany, shall, as a qualification of employment, be or become a resident of the City of Albany within

180 days of the date of initial appointment for said City. Furthermore, employees hired after the effective date of

this section shall continue to be a resident of the City of Albany throughout their employment with the City, and the

failure to move into the City, shall be deemed a voluntary resignation. The City may require annual proof of residency

from affected employees.

SCOPE OF THE EXAMINATION

THE TEST MAY BE IN WRITTEN FORM OR IT MAY BE ADMINISTERED ON A PERSONAL

COMPUTER (PC). THE TYPE OF TEST WILL BE STATED ON THE ADMITTANCE NOTICE.

PC-Administered/written test designed to test for 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. Alphabetizing

These questions test your ability to file material in alphabetical order.

3. Record Keeping

These questions evaluate your 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.

4. Clerical Operations with Letters and Numbers

These questions test your skills and abilities in clerical operations involving, comparing, checking and counting. The

questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing,

comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

STUDY GUIDE: The NYS Department of Civil Service has published a test guide intended for candidate

preparation use for this particular examination. This test guide contains important test-related information as well as

sample test questions similar to the questions that will be used in this written test.

Page 4 of 6

The NYS Department of Civil Service is making a copy of this test guide and other related information available on

its web site at http://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm. In addition, a copy of this test guide can be obtained

at the City of Albany Municipal Civil Service Office or at the City of Albany website: http://www.albanyny.gov/

THE USE OF CALCULATORS IS RECOMMENDED: Candidates are permitted to use a quiet hand-held, solar

or battery powered calculator. Devices with typewriter keyboards such as computers, spell checkers, personal digital

assistants, address books, language translators, dictionaries and any similar devices are prohibited. YOU MAY NOT

BRING HIGHLIGHTERS, FIREARMS, BOOKS OR OTHER REFERENCE MATERIAL TO THE TEST.

PC-ADMINISTERED/WRITTEN TEST RETEST POLICY: Candidates who do not receive a passing grade on

the written test will be permitted to take the written test after six months.

PERFORMANCE TEST: Candidates who receive a passing score on the written test must also qualify on the

typing performance test. You must pass both the written test and performance test to be considered for appointment.

Since the performance test will be a qualifying (pass/fail), if you pass the performance test your final score for the

exam will be the score that you achieve on the written test. Candidates may be invited to the performance test in the

order of the scores they achieve on the written test. The City reserves the right to give the performance test to only

as many candidates as are needed to fill available vacancies. The performance test is a test of keying speed and

accuracy. It utilizes a standard keyboard and is given on computers. The computer program requires no prior

knowledge of software. A written description of the software will be provided at the test site.

The test is five (5) minutes long and is preceded by a three- (3) minute practice session. The text passage is contained

at the top portion of the computer screen. Candidates enter (“key” or “type”) as much of that passage as they can

during the time available.

In order to pass the test, candidates must enter the text at a rate of at least 35 words per minute, with at least 96 percent

accuracy. For example, if a candidate enters the text at 35 words per minute, the maximum allowable number of

errors is 8. (Note: A word is defined as five characters. The rating formula divides the total number of characters

by five to determine the number of words entered.)

PERFORMANCE TEST RETEST POLICY: Candidates who fail the performance test will be retested the same

day as the original performance test. Candidates who fail the retest performance exam may be rescheduled after six

(6) months.

WAIVER POLICY: The performance test may be waived for candidates who have passed a typing performance

test at a rate of at least 35 words per minute. The performance test must have been administered by the Albany

Municipal Civil Service Commission, the New York State Department of Civil Service, the New York State

Department of Labor or any local municipal civil service agency within the State of New York. Candidates must

have passed the performance test within 1 year of the written examination. Such candidate must provide verification

from the agency that administered the performance test, including the agency name and address, title of the

examination, test date and the passing rate of speed.

TERMINATION OF THE PROGRAM: The Albany Municipal Civil Service Commission reserves the right to

terminate this special recruitment program at any time and re-establish a program of periodic testing for this title.

CROSS-FILER STATEMENT: If you have applied for other Civil service examinations for employment

with New York State or any other local government jurisdiction, you must make arrangements to take all the

examinations at one test site.

If you have applied for both State and local government examinations, you must notify the City of Albany at

Civilservice@AlbanyNy.Gov of your intent to take both a State and a local government examination. When

taking both a State and a local government examination you will be required to take all your examinations at a

State examination center. You will be advised by letter when and where to report for your examinations.

Page 5 of 6

If you have applied for other local government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service agency to make

arrangements. You must make your request for these arrangements no later than 14 days before the date of the

examination. You must notify all local government Civil Service agencies with which you have filed an

application of the site where you wish to take your examinations. A cross-filer application must be completed

for City of Albany examinations.

VETERAN’S CREDIT:

Veterans or disabled veterans who are eligible for additional credit must submit an application for veteran’s

credit and a DD-214 with their application within 60 days after the last filing date of the examination.

Applications for veteran’s credit are available from this office by emailing Civilservice@AlbanyNy.Gov and on

the “Info on Taking Exams” tab of the website. Veteran’s credits can only be added to a passing score on the

examination.

Veterans Credits will not be added after the establishment of an eligible list unless a scoring error has been

made. If an error has been made you must notify our office in writing no later than 30 days after receiving your

score. If you are claiming Veterans Credits, you must indicate it within the online exam application, answer all

questions accurately and completely, submit an application and a DD-214 form. Candidates who are currently

serving in the Armed Forces of the United States on a full-time active duty basis (other than active duty for

training) may file for Veterans Credits by providing documentation of active duty status.

If you are claiming credits as a disabled veteran, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs must also

certify that you were disabled in the actual performance of duty in a war, that the disability is rated at ten percent

or more, and that the disability existed at the time of application for appointment or promotion. In addition to

the proof above, applicants must also submit a “Veterans Disability Records Release” form.

All requests for Veterans Credits must be verified and all statements you make in support of your claim for

Veterans Credits are subject to investigation and substantiation by the City of Albany Civil Service Office. In

the event of subsequent discovery of any material misstatement or fraud in your claim, your appointment may

be rescinded and you may be disqualified from further appointment to any position on which you have been

granted additional credits.

Effective January 1, 2014, additional Veterans Credits may be granted to veterans who (1) used non-disabled

Veterans Credits to obtain a civil service appointment or promotion with New York State or a local government,

and (2) were certified by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as having a service connected disability rated

at 10% or more after that civil service appointment.

APPLICATION FEE WAIVER:

You can request a fee waiver through the online application when completing the application. You may also

complete a “Fee Waiver Application and Certification” form and submit it to CivilService@AlbanyNY.gov by

the date of the examination.

Exam fees may be waived if you are (1) unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household,

(2) eligible for Medicaid, (3) receiving Supplemental Security Income payments or Public Assistance

(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance); (4) a certified Job

Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency, or

(5) a recent graduate of a high school located in Albany, NY (for one exam a year). All claims for application

fee waiver are subject to verification.

No fee is due if you are a Veteran discharged under honorable conditions from the Armed Forces of the United

States or New York State, applying for an examination. A “Fee Waiver Application and Certification” form and

DD-214 showing a discharge under honorable conditions must be supplied in order for the fee to be to be waived.

Page 6 of 6

FINGERPRINTING REQUIREMENT FOR APPOINTMENT TO CERTAIN POSITIONS: If appointed

on or after September 1, 2013, employees of the Police Department who have access to unencrypted Criminal

Justice Information System (CJIS) shall be subject to a state and national fingerprint-based background check

for the purpose of a criminal history check.