How to Hire a Bank Teller

Why hire a bank teller?

Hiring a bank teller will not only fulfill an essential function for your financial institution but also aid in workplace productivity. Bank tellers process deposits and facilitate withdrawals and other banking transactions for customers. Having a dedicated person on your team to oversee this aspect means your customers will be well provided for and confident in their bank.

• Assisting customers with financial transactions
• Customer support
• Accountability for customers’ financial transactions

What are the experience levels of bank tellers?

Bank teller is typically an entry-level position. The American Bankers Association has developed a bank teller certificate course, but certification is not a legal requirement. Most financial institutions don’t demand that their tellers obtain this extra education.

However, when hiring a bank teller, also called a bank clerk, consider the amount of experience you want your candidates to have and whether you want a candidate who’s seeking advancement within the bank. Here’s some information on the levels of experience bank tellers may have.

• Junior bank teller: Entry-level position with little to no experience. New tellers typically have a high school diploma or GED and train on the job for about four to six weeks.
• Float teller: Bank teller who floats between their employer’s bank branches, working at each one as needed.
• Senior teller: Experienced bank teller. May oversee and help other less senior tellers with any issues or problems.
• Head teller: Managerial teller position with many years of teller experience. Trains and supervises new tellers. May oversee the vaults, inventory and junior tellers’ daily cash supply needs. Also takes on various customer services roles on the front end.

Where to find bank tellers

To find the right bank teller for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Make use of Job fairs. Participate in virtual and in-person job fairs to recruit candidates who are actively seeking work. This may be especially effective if you’re searching for a junior bank teller.
• Make a website careers page. Create a webpage on your website dedicated to job openings. If your bank already has one, be sure it’s updated and optimized for visibility.
• Employ social media. Spread the news that you’re looking for talented bank tellers via your bank’s Facebook account, LinkedIn, Twitter and any other social media platforms where your bank has a presence.
• Create an employee referral program. Establish an employee referral program that rewards workers who refer suitable candidates for employment at your financial institution.
• Post your job online. Try posting your bank teller job on Indeed to find and attract quality bank teller candidates.

What are the experience levels of bank tellers?

Bank teller is typically an entry-level position. The American Bankers Association has developed a bank teller certificate course, but certification is not a legal requirement. Most financial institutions don’t demand that their tellers obtain this extra education.

However, when hiring a bank teller, also called a bank clerk, consider the amount of experience you want your candidates to have and whether you want a candidate who’s seeking advancement within the bank. Here’s some information on the levels of experience bank tellers may have.

• Junior bank teller: Entry-level position with little to no experience. New tellers typically have a high school diploma or GED and train on the job for about four to six weeks.
• Float teller: Bank teller who floats between their employer’s bank branches, working at each one as needed.
• Senior teller: Experienced bank teller. May oversee and help other less senior tellers with any issues or problems.
• Head teller: Managerial teller position with many years of teller experience. Trains and supervises new tellers. May oversee the vaults, inventory and junior tellers’ daily cash supply needs. Also takes on various customer services roles on the front end.

Writing a bank teller job description

A thoughtful description is important in finding qualified bank teller candidates. A bank teller job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your bank teller job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on bank teller jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Bank teller
• Bank
• Teller
• Banking
• Data entry
• Remote work from home
• Monday through Friday
• Banks
• Hiring immediately

Interviewing bank teller candidates

 Strong candidates for bank teller positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Previous experience handling money
• Customer service philosophy
• How they add value to the company 

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of bank teller interview questions for examples (with sample answers).