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Postal Service Clerks

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Perform any combination of tasks in a United States Postal Service (USPS) post office, such as receive letters and parcels; sell postage and revenue stamps, postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money orders; place mail in pigeon holes of mail rack or in bags; and examine mail for correct postage. Includes postal service clerks employed by USPS contractors.

Related: Mail Clerks & Mail Machine Operators Postal Service Mail Carriers Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, & Processing Machine Operators Postmasters & Mail Superintendents Shipping, Receiving, & Inventory Clerks

Industries: Government

Summary
Details

Order retail items and other supplies for office use.
Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referrals for investigation.
Receive letters and parcels, and place mail into bags.
Provide assistance to the public in complying with federal regulations of Postal Service and other federal agencies.
Complete forms regarding changes of address, or theft or loss of mail, or for special services such as registered or priority mail.
Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions.
Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail.
Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels.
Rent post office boxes to customers.
Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders.
Put undelivered parcels away, retrieve them when customers come to claim them, and complete any related documentation.
Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes.
Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referrals for investigation.
Transport mail from one work station to another.
Feed mail into postage canceling devices or hand stamp mail to cancel postage.
Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage.
Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices.
Provide customers with assistance in filing claims for mail theft, or lost or damaged mail.
Cash money orders.
Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing.
Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels.
Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage.
Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders.

Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
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.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

60590/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

29.13/hr

Currently Employed

1,620

Yearly Projected Openings

140

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Self Control
Stress Tolerance

Automatic postal or mailing machine
Bar code reader equipment
Bin handlers
Box sealing tape dispensers
Carts
Cash box trays
Dollies
Franking or postage machines
Hand trucks or accessories
Mailing bags
Material handling racks
Optical character recognition systems
Point of sale POS terminal
Postal scales
Rubber stamping stamps
Security tag detacher
Security tags
Sorters
Stamp canceling machines

Accounting software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Human resources software
Inventory management software
Operating system software
Point of sale POS software
Time accounting software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Postal Service Clerks

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