By Colleen Kay Watson, Career Professionals®

The teller is the person most people associate with a bank. Tellers make up 25 percent of bank employees, and conduct most of a bank's routine transactions. Among their responsibilities are the following:

• Cashing checks
• Accepting deposits and loan payments
• Processing withdrawals
• Replenish cash drawers and ATM machines

Some tellers specialize in handling foreign currencies or commercial or business accounts.

As banks begin to offer more and increasingly complex financial services, tellers are being trained to identify potential sales opportunities. This requires them to learn about the various financial products and services the bank offers so they can briefly explain them to customers and refer interested customers to appropriate specialized sales personnel. In addition, tellers in many banks are being cross-trained to perform some customer service representative's duties.

Tellers, which are often thought of as an entry-level position, frequently transition in to a personal banker position. According to Heidi Gesell, president of Cherokee Banks, tellers can more up in the bank to both front line and backroom careers. It all depends on the personal interests and education of the teller.

Tellers held about 499,000 jobs in 2000; about 1 out of 4 worked part time. The overwhelming majority worked in commercial banks, savings institutions, or credit unions. The remainder was employed in a variety of other financial service companies.

Many job openings will arise from replacement needs because turnover is high in the teller profession. This is not too surprising, as being a teller characteristically require little formal education and offer relatively low pay. Most tellers start at a little more than minimum wage.

Teller employment also is being impacted by the increasing use of 24-hour phone centers by many large banks. These telephone centers allow a customer to interact with a bank representative at a distant location, either by telephone or video terminal. Customer service representatives, who can handle a wider variety of transactions than tellers, including loan applications and credit card issuance, usually staff such centers.

Even though some banks have streamlined their branches, the total number of bank branches is expected to increase to meet the needs of a growing population. Branches are being added in nontraditional locations, such as grocery stores, malls, and mobile trailers designed to reach people who do not have easy access to banks. Often, these branches are open longer hours and offer greater customer convenience. Many of these nontraditional branch offices are small and are staffed by tellers who also have customer service training.

As the financial services business continues to expand the need for teller will also grow. It is up to the individual to decide how far they will take their teller experience. Flexibility and a willingness to learn will be the hallmark of successful and promotable tellers.

Tellers who can provide a variety of financial services will be in greater demand in the future.