Candidates looking for a job at the US postal office need to clear the postal exam 473. The exam has the reputation of being one of the most comprehensive and toughest ones undertaken by USPS. It is regularly taken to assess the suitability of the candidates for the following line of work:

• Carrier
• Clerk
• Mail Handlers
• Distribution Associates

You will be illegible for the test once you apply online. As soon as you apply, you will be asked to register and give an initial postal exam.

The test is designed in a way to predict the abilities of candidates regarding the different aspects of work that they will manage once selected. The skill test serves as an indication of what you know and how you can implement that knowledge into your practical work to benefit the organization. The skill test assures the postal services that the individual being hired is competent enough to perform from the very start.

473 Exam Outline

The 473 exam replaced the battery exam 470, and is the latest entry test used by the US postal services to select individuals for the jobs mentioned above. The test is distributed into various different sections. The outline is as follow:

• Part A: Address Checking. Candidates will get 60 questions in this part and will be given a time period of 11 minutes. The questions judge the ability of the candidate to determine similarities between two addresses.
• Part B: Form Completion. Candidates will be required to solve 30 questions in this part, within a maximum time limit of 15 minutes. It tests the candidate’s ability to correctly fill forms.
• Part C (i): Coding. Candidates will be required to solve a minimum of 36 questions in this part, within a time limit of 6 minutes. Candidates will have to use proper codes and figures to assign to various addresses.
• Part C (ii): Memorizing. Candidates will be required to solve 36 questions within a time limit of 7 minutes. The section will test the candidate’s ability to memorize the codes assigned to a range of addresses.
• Part D: Personal characteristics and experiences. Candidates will be given 90 minutes to answer a total of 236 questions. The questions address the candidate’s character, experiences and qualifications which might be related to the job.

Strategies for the Test

The first step is to make sure you study and prepare yourself for the test. Here are a few strategies that can help you ace the postal exam 473 and get the US postal office job you want.

• If you are not sure about the right choice in an MCQ, start by eliminating the wrong options one by one till you are left with just the one logical choice
• If two of the given choices are completely opposite, take your time on them, because chances are that one of them is the correct answer.
• Don’t waste time on one question. Mark a question you’re unsure about and get back to it at the end if you have time left.
• Avoid answers with words like ‘always’, ‘never’ and ‘all’. These answers can be tricky and require you to be skeptical.