Career profile for Deli Clerk

What does a Deli Clerk do?

Deli Clerks perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.

What kind of tasks does a Deli Clerk perform regularly?

Deli Clerks are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Clean and sanitize work areas, equipment, utensils, dishes, or silverware.
Store food in designated containers and storage areas to prevent spoilage.
Portion and wrap the food, or place it directly on plates for service to patrons.
Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.
Prepare a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, or desserts, according to customers' orders or supervisors' instructions, following approved procedures.
Place food trays over food warmers for immediate service, or store them in refrigerated storage cabinets.
Package take-out foods or serve food to customers.
Stock cupboards and refrigerators, and tend salad bars and buffet meals.
Wash, peel, and cut various foods, such as fruits and vegetables, to prepare for cooking or serving.
Carry food supplies, equipment, and utensils to and from storage and work areas.
Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers.
Remove trash and clean kitchen garbage containers.
Cut, slice or grind meat, poultry, and seafood to prepare for cooking.
Weigh or measure ingredients.
Receive and store food supplies, equipment, and utensils in refrigerators, cupboards, and other storage areas.
Inform supervisors when equipment is not working properly and when food and supplies are getting low, and order needed items.
Assist cooks and kitchen staff with various tasks as needed, and provide cooks with needed items.
Add cutlery, napkins, food, and other items to trays on assembly lines in hospitals, cafeterias, airline kitchens, and similar establishments.
Use manual or electric appliances to clean, peel, slice, and trim foods.
Scrape leftovers from dishes into garbage containers.
Load dishes, glasses, and tableware into dishwashing machines.
Make special dressings and sauces as condiments for sandwiches.
Mix ingredients for green salads, molded fruit salads, vegetable salads, and pasta salads.

The above responsibilities are specific to Deli Clerks. More generally, Deli Clerks are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People		Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People

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

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

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

Handling and Moving Objects

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

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

What is a Deli Clerk salary?

The median salary for a Deli Clerk is $26,070, and the average salary is $26,820. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Deli Clerk salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Deli Clerks earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Deli Clerks earn less than $18,460 per year, 25% earn less than $21,400, 75% earn less than $30,850, and 90% earn less than $37,000.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Deli Clerks is expected to change by 6.4%, and there should be roughly 149,800 open positions for Deli Clerks every year.

Median annual salary: $26,070
Typical salary range: $18,460 - $37,000
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 6.4%

What personality traits are common among Deli Clerks?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Deli Clerk are usually higher in their Realistic and Conventional interests.

Deli Clerks typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Deli Clerks typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Deli Clerk tend to value Relationships, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Deli Clerks moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Deli Clerks moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Deli Clerks very slightly value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Deli Clerks must consistently demonstrate qualities such as self-control, cooperation, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Deli Clerks, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Social Orientation		Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Social Orientation

Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

What education and training do Deli Clerks need?

Working as a Deli Clerk may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Deli Clerks need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

Educational degrees among Deli Clerks

24.0% did not complete high school or secondary school
40.0% completed high school or secondary school
20.4% completed some college coursework
6.7% earned a Associate's degree
7.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.2% earned a Master's degree
0.3% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Deli Clerks

Deli Clerks may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, administration and management, or public safety and security knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Deli Clerks might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Food Production		Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Food Production

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

Production and Processing

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

Important Abilities needed by Deli Clerks

Deli Clerks must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Deli Clerks need abilities such as near vision, oral expression, and arm-hand steadiness in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Deli Clerks, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Information Ordering		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

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

Manual Dexterity

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

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Critical Skills needed by Deli Clerks

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Deli Clerks frequently use skills like active listening, speaking, and social perceptiveness to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Deli Clerks, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness		Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Deli Clerk

Deli Clerk

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