Typing and data entry are the basic necessities for any job. Employees will have to be able to maintain records of their work, send and receive information, save and convert data, etc. depending on the job.
Apart from being a part of other jobs, data entry is an exclusive job on its own. There are many firms that hire candidates with minimum or no experience to enter the data from a physical format to a digital format. These are entry-level jobs and require the candidate to type pages of information in a single day. The basic criteria for these jobs are for the candidates to read and type faster.
Does that mean these jobs do not require elaborate recruit process? In a way, the answer is yes. But, it does not mean the enterprises will not test the employee for their typing speed before hiring them. There are many companies in the market that conduct employee assessment tests on behalf of the enterprises. The businesses can use a pre-defined test form already existing in the database of the company to conduct the tests. So when looking for data entry test, enterprises should consider a few things that will help them not only design a perfect test form, but also help them shortlist the most eligible candidates.
As much as the typing speed which is also known as WMP (Words Per Minute) is important, it is equally crucial that the entered data is accurate and does not have spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. It means that the candidates should have basic knowledge in the subject and the language of the data they will be working on.
This is where the test form changes from one industry to another. An enterprise from the food industry would need the candidate to have basic knowledge about the ingredients used, utensils or equipment required, types and a variety of foods, etc. This would be entirely different from a firm that converts classic literature from old books to a digital format. Here the candidate should have a good command over the language and should be able to type long passages from those without too much effort and errors.
KPH (Keystrokes Per Hour) is another aspect which is taken into consideration. Sometimes it is substituted in place of WPM. The following can be assessed using this parameter.
- Addresses: As it contains alphabets, numbers, and symbols.
- Money: Entering prices, amounts, figures, etc. in a data sheet.
- Phone Numbers: Many companies have databases where they store the phone numbers of customers and clients to call or send messages to them.
- Credit Card Details: Credit card details are again a mix of numbers and alphabets.
- Customer Care: Customer care executives will have to enter the data they receive from customers who call the helpline. They will have to type a varied set of information simultaneously when interacting with a person.
Technical Information
Every industry has technical information that is specific to their work. The candidates should be aware of the terms and their meanings. As much as spellings are important, the content entered should also be accurate and provide the right information.Programming Code
Though this is specific to some industries, the candidates who are applying for a job in those particular industries should know the basics of the subjects. Programming code is tricky, uses numbers, alphabets, symbols, is case sensitive, and has keywords that should be used as they are for a program to run successfully.Languages
Data transcription jobs also come under data entry. The data has to be translated from one language to another and presented in a different format as specified. In such instances, the candidates are tested in both languages to ensure that they are capable of doing the job with accuracy.When looking for data entry test enterprises can use the extensive database provided by the companies that conduct the assessment tests or they can upload their information into the system. The test forms can be interactive with audio files (that read aloud the data to be entered) as a part of the test form.
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