Postal Service

Postal Service

Introduction

Tests are required for specific groups including secretarial and clerical, air traffic control, law enforcement, and for certain entry level jobs. The majority — approximately 80% — of government jobs are filled through a competitive examination of your background, work experience, and education, not through a written test.

Discussion

Mandatory testing for administrative careers has been eliminated. OPM and individual agencies announce professional and administrative job vacancies and interested people request and receive application material through the mail, internet, or fax. Applicants must return a simple questionnaire and a resume or optional application forms. Personnel offices score applications and generate hiring lists within two weeks of the job announcement's closing date. Agencies have the option to use a written test if they wish. Table 5-1 in The Test of U.S. Government Jobs provides a list of professional and administrative occupations that may be tested. Sample test questions are provided in this chapter. Additionally, Table 5-3 lists over 60 clerical positions that require written tests. The Postal Service has a huge workload. It delivers hundreds of millions of messages and billions of dollars in financial transactions each day as it serves eight million businesses and 305 million Americans.

Historically USPS employment levels have continued to rise as a result of its growing business. Increases in mail volume have historically led to increased hiring of both career and non-career or temporary, also called "Casual" employees. Â At present however postal volume has declined due to the recession and hiring is reduced. Few new hires, outside of casuals, are made in mail handler positions; although maintenance, truck driver and other non-mail handling jobs remain open. Â Hiring is expected to resume as mail volumes increase. USPS employs 750,000 workers, including 235,985 veterans and 47,937 employees with disabilities.

About 100 professional and administrative job series were originally filled using one of two options:

A written examination; (no longer mandatory) or

An application based on scholastic achievement, reflected by your grade point average (GPA), and work experience.

Entry level grades generally start at the GS-5 and GS-7 levels. College graduates with top grades can still be hired on the spot at OPM college fairs or by agencies under the Outstanding Scholar Program. Applicants who meet the requirements of the Outstanding Scholar Program are not required to take a written test and they may apply directly to agencies. Applicants who meet the requirements of the Bilingual/ Bicultural Program may apply directly to agencies at any time, (Steiner 2002 14-52) but they may be required to take a written test. This program permits federal agencies to hire directly individuals who are proficient in Spanish language or have knowledge of the Hispanic culture when public interaction or job performance would be enhanced by this skill or knowledge.

Entry-level professional and administrative job applicants now earn eligibility by either:

Earning a college grade point average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale or having graduated in the upper 10 percent of your class or major university subdivision, and impressing agency recruiters with experience and technical abilities ...