Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Teaching others how to do something.

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Using mathematics to solve problems.

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

Writing computer programs for various purposes.

Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.

Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.

Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.

Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

The ability to see details at a distance.

The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.

The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.

The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.

The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.

The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.

The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.

The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.

The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.

The ability to see under low-light conditions.

The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.

The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.

The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.

The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.

The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.

The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.

The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.

Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.

Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

A tendency to believe in one's work-related capabilities and ability to control one's work-related outcomes.

A tendency to be careful, deliberate, and risk-avoidant when making work-related decisions or doing work.

A tendency to establish and maintain personally challenging work-related goals, set high work-related standards, and exert high effort toward meeting those goals and standards.

A tendency to exhibit determination and resolve to perform or complete tasks in the face of difficult circumstances or obstacles at work.

A tendency to be proactive and take on extra responsibilities and tasks that may fall outside of one's required work role.