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Understand what the position demands. Educate yourself. Build your software skill set. Work on typing speed.
A data entry job requires a wide array of skills and is not limited to a single task or duty. The responsibilities of data entry clerk vary greatly depending on a company's needs and goals.  In short, data entry involves translating information into electronic forms. Usually, some form of company-specific software is used for data entry.  Data entry is an incredibly far reaching field. Data entry jobs are advertised using a variety of names, such as data entry specialist, data entry clerk, or information processing worker.  Nearly every company at one point or another needs data entry work done. This is part of what makes data entry experience great for employment prospects. As a potential employee, experience in data entry makes you appealing to a variety of companies. Work in data entry involves preparing and organizing data, checking documents for accuracy, updating data, deleting unnecessary files, transcribing information into an electronic format, scanning documents, and general clerical duties. There is no specific educational background required to become a data entry specialist. You only need a high school diploma to qualify for most data entry jobs. However, taking college classes or even community college classes in relevant areas can improve your chance of landing a job. Telecommunications, computer sciences, and software development are areas of study that look impressive on a data entry resume. For data entry, having a diverse background in a variety of softwares can make you a more appealing candidate. Different companies use different softwares for data entry work. The more software skills you have on your resume, the better chance you have of snagging a job.  The most commonly used software applications in data entry are Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Project and Open Office. Be aware that lots of companies hold data on in-house systems that may be MS based or not. Familiarity with a variety of databases with graphic user interfaces is very useful.   Many people find they can successfully teach themselves software skills by following instructions and playing around with the software on their own. There are also online tutorials, many of which are free, that can teach you about basic software. Colleges, community colleges, and even some community centers offer classes in career-related computer skills. See what is available in your area and look into enrolling in a course. Typing is one of the most important assets of a good data entry worker. The job requires a lot of clerical duties and is therefore typing heavy. Not that typing is not the same as data entry. Typists are generally required to be accurate at 60 words a minute or more. Data entry should be faster and more accurate since data is often numeric and spell checkers don't work on numbers!  Accuracy is very important in the world of data entry. So much information comes in the form of codes, digits, and prices that must be transcribed exactly. As there is such a high level of data that is input, you need to be able to touch type. That means, typing without looking down at the keyboard. Learn to use the number pad for figures, not the top row of the keyboard.  Speed is also important. The minimum words-per-minute most companies expect is 60, although 80 to 90 is preferred. You can find out your typing speed by taking a free test online.  Typing skills are built through time and practice. In order to improve your typing or data entry skills, try transcribing a document, like a book or a poem or a newspaper article, each night before bed. You can also take typing classes through community colleges or community centers. Even practicing typing tests online can improve speed and accuracy. Remember you likely won't be typing sentences in data entry. Names, sales figures, product codes etc are far more commonly added to data bases than news paper articles.