With how the US Postal Service (USPS) is currently expanding and improving their facilities in order to better serve the American public at large with their logistical needs, it is very likely that you have stumbled upon a job listing of theirs online, through the papers, or even via word of
mouth.
Due to demand rising almost annually, the USPS could barely keep up with the workload with how many people depend on them and thus are always hoping to hire eager job hunters.
Of course, just because you want to join them and have your resume at the ready, that doesn’t mean that you can walk in and be given a job immediately.
Many years ago, the USPS would have every applicant pass postal exam 473 expectations in order to prove that they have what it takes to take on the duties and responsibilities of the position that they are applying for.
Unfortunately, this exam is no longer in use, meaning that whatever reviewer or study materials that your parents or relatives may have on it are now also obsolete because the company now uses the 474, 475, 476, and 477 USPS assessments.
Each of these USPS tests are specifically designed to measure a candidate’s ability to perform and succeed as a mail carrier, handler, processor, or customer support.
So if you’re aiming for any of those positions, you need to know how to tackle each section of each exam.
- You have to be honest with your employment history
While this may seem surprising, the main reason why a lot of applicants are turned away is because they weren’t truthful in their answers in the Tell Us Your Story section of their respective USPS test.
This part of the assessment works like a bio data form or a life experience survey where details of your previous jobs are brought to light such as how many absences you’ve made, what’s the longest you’ve held a job, among others.
Although it may be tempting to try and make your record look better, you must remember that the USPS can call up your previous employers to confirm the details that you have provided.
If they discover any discrepancies, then it is very likely that you will be disqualified even if you did well in the other parts of the USPS test.
As a result, it is better to be honest about any shortcomings in your work history because at the very least you are showing the USPS that you are someone that can admit their mistakes and that you can still be trusted.
- Act accordingly based on the job that you are applying for
When you take the Describe Your Approach and Work Scenarios sections of the USPS assessments, you need to prove two things: that you can adjust your behavior at work and that your workplace ethic is compatible with the core values of the company.
The Work Scenarios test is a situational judgement exam where you will be provided with a passage containing a scenario of sorts that is regularly encountered by a USPS employee in the position that you are applying for.
These situations have a conflict or problem that you will need to solve by selecting or ranking the choices available from most to least effective or vice versa.
So if you are a mail handler, it is very likely that most of the questions will revolve around problems faced by an USPS mail handler on a daily basis.
The same goes for the carriers, associates, or processors, though it is not uncommon for them to include questions aiming to measure your interpersonal skills.
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To effectively answer them, you need to read up on the duties and responsibilities of the job that you are applying for because acting accordingly based on the way an employee is expected to act is more important than being overly friendly or accommodating.
For the Describe Your Approach section, this is basically the personality test of the USPS assessment, and you will need to choose which statement suits you best.
Depending on your responses, you will either present yourself as someone who is the best fit for the company or someone that should not be given a role in the USPS.
- You need to have a good eye for details
Three USPS tests, namely the 475, 476, and 477 exams, contain an ability assessment that you will need to pass.
For the 475 and 476, this will be the Checking for Errors assessment, while for the 477 USPS exam, it will be the Work Your Register assessment.
For the Checking for Errors test, you will be provided with a table containing a series of alphanumeric characters. For each row, you will need to determine if the two cells are a perfect match or if there is a mistake.
On the Work Your Register test, you will, in essence, have to play cashier and provide the correct amount of change with the least amount of bills or coins needed. So if the change needed is ten dollars, you are expected to give them a single ten-dollar bill instead of ten one-dollar bills.
It is extremely important that you do your best to get a perfect score in these tests because any mistake can put your ability to be a mail handler, processor, or clerk into question.
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Why? Because those alphanumeric characters will stand for the addresses, invoice numbers, and even customer names that you will have to check in order for a parcel to be delivered successfully.
If you make a single mistake, then the hiring manager will think that it is very likely that you will spell the name or address wrong into the system or deliver the parcel to the wrong address because you didn’t pay attention.
- Get as much practice as you can
In order for you to have a chance of being hired, you will need to have a minimum score of 70 out of 100 in any of the USPS tests that you are required to take.
If you fail to meet this score, you will receive an email stating that you are ineligible, and you will need to wait one year before you can retake it.
Unfortunately, you will not have the luxury of just settling for the minimum score either because there is a high chance that applicants that managed to get a near-perfect or a perfect score in their respective USPS assessment will be given prioritization.
So if you managed to get a score of 70 but another applicant got 95, then you can be sure of them getting a better shot of landing the job, especially if only a single slot is left.
This means that if you truly want to have a solid chance of getting hired in the USPS, you will need to take advantage of any online resources and study materials that you can get so that you can familiarize yourself with the question types and test format of the USPS test that you will have to take.
