What does a postal clerk do?
A postal clerk is responsible for organizing mails for delivery and categorizing other mailroom supplies. Postal clerks sort mail and packages, verify the accurate addresses, and deliver to the correct location. They also operate various postal tools and equipment for labeling documents and weighing parcels. A postal clerk must be highly communicative and organizational, especially on responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about their deliveries and handling fragile packages with utmost care to avoid complications and operational delays.
Postal clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real postal clerk resumes:
- Manage $24K official mail account, expertly track expenditures ultimately saving the DoD $1K with little to no supervision.
- Maintain cleanliness of the company warehouse, operate warehouse machinery and organize the warehouse to ensure proper product placement.
- Assist with various duties including spreadsheet development, payroll information and data population.
Postal clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Postal Clerks are proficient in Customer Service, Postal Service, and Postage Rates. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical strength, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Postal Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 24%
Performed customer service duties at a service window providing friendly and professional assistance to customers involving a wide variety of transactions.
- Postal Service, 20%
Delivered postal services for over 10,000 customers within the community and maintained accountability of over 60 confidential and highly sensitive packages.
- Postage Rates, 11%
Responded to complaints regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes.
- ZIP Codes, 4%
Lifted and sorted mail bags; operated hand trucks and dollies; Sorted mail according state, country and zip code.
- USPS, 4%
Forward all misspent mails to proper locations in compliance with IAW current Postal regulation, CENTCOM directives, and USPS policies.
- Mail Delivery, 3%
Supervised and trained co-workers on basic mail delivery regulations and procedures.
Common skills that a postal clerk uses to do their job include "customer service," "postal service," and "postage rates." You can find details on the most important postal clerk responsibilities below.
Physical strength. The most essential soft skill for a postal clerk to carry out their responsibilities is physical strength. This skill is important for the role because "postal service workers must be able to lift heavy mail bags and parcels without injuring themselves." Additionally, a postal clerk resume shows how their duties depend on physical strength: "opened and closed store for daily sales participate in counting store's physical weekly inventory made bank deposits"
Customer-service skills. Many postal clerk duties rely on customer-service skills. "postal service workers, particularly clerks, regularly interact with customers," so a postal clerk will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways postal clerk responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "assisted customers, selling money orders, taking passport photos and ensured mail had correct zip codes and addresses. "
The three companies that hire the most postal clerks are:
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University1 postal clerks jobs
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Postal clerk vs. Data entry assistant
A data entry assistant is responsible for performing data entry procedures, updating customer information, as well as logging business transactions on the company's database accurately and efficiently. Data entry assistants compile and sort documents, escalating incomplete information for verification, and following the business' procedures on disposing and eliminating unnecessary data. They also provide administrative and clerical support on office operations, including assisting visitors on their needs or directing them to the appropriate personnel for their concerns. A data entry assistant maintains a safe and secured database and immediately call for support in case of unauthorized access and system inconsistencies.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between postal clerks and data entry assistant. For instance, postal clerk responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "postal service," "postage rates," and "zip codes." Whereas a data entry assistant is skilled in "company database," "re-enter data," "computer system," and "hr." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Data entry assistants earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $35,180. On the other hand, postal clerks are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $46,539.On average, data entry assistants reach similar levels of education than postal clerks. Data entry assistants are 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Postal clerk vs. Data entry associate
Data entry associates are a group of professionals using computers and data processing programs to supply information into a database or documentation platform or to transcribe data via phone conversations or recordings. They can multitask effectively with excellent verbal and written communication skills and perform repetitive tasks accurately with excellent attention to detail. Part of their task is to maintain the database by encoding new and updated customer account information by preparing source data for computer entry, compiling, and sorting information. To be effective, typing speed and accuracy must be considered.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real postal clerk resumes. While postal clerk responsibilities can utilize skills like "postal service," "postage rates," "zip codes," and "usps," data entry associates use skills like "computer database," "data entry," "computer system," and "payroll."
Data entry associates earn a lower average salary than postal clerks. But data entry associates earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $52,978. Additionally, postal clerks earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $46,539 annually.data entry associates earn similar levels of education than postal clerks in general. They're 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Postal clerk vs. Data entry operator
A data entry operator is someone responsible for entering collected information into a database using different computer software. Data entry duties include updating customer data, transcribing information, and entering accounting records. Also, it is their responsibility to organize collected data and maintain their accurate record on the database so it can be accessed at any time. Data operators must be proficient in typing skills, keen to details and able to manage a large amount of data. They must also be familiar with using spreadsheets, along with other word processing programs.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, postal clerks are more likely to have skills like "postal service," "postage rates," "zip codes," and "usps." But a data entry operator is more likely to have skills like "data entry equipment," "computer database," "computer system," and "wpm."
Data entry operators earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $38,543. Postal clerks earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $46,539.data entry operators typically earn similar educational levels compared to postal clerks. Specifically, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Postal clerk vs. Clerk typist
A clerk typist is responsible for data entry procedures and document transcriptions, alongside other clerical and administrative duties as required by the employer. Clerk typists create reports and presentation materials, transcribe audio meetings, write business drafts, and send documents to appropriate office personnel or clients. A clerk-typist must show excellent organizational and time-management skills, especially with handling various typing tasks under strict deadlines and minimal supervision. They also respond and take calls from clients and customers, assisting with their inquiries and concerns.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between postal clerks and clerks typist, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a postal clerk might have more use for skills like "postal service," "postage rates," "zip codes," and "usps." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of clerks typist require skills like "data entry," "telephone calls," "payroll," and "clerical support. "
The education industry tends to pay the highest salaries for clerks typist, with average annual pay of $32,312. Comparatively, the highest postal clerk annual salary comes from the government industry.clerks typist reach similar levels of education compared to postal clerks, in general. The difference is that they're 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of postal clerk
Updated January 8, 2025











