The 473 Battery Exam
The 473 Battery examination covers four occupational groups
including:
- City Carrier
- Rural Carrier (Added in 2008)
- Mail Processing Clerk
- Mail Handler
- Sales, Services, And Distribution Associate
Review Chapter Five in "Post Office Jobs" to improve your test scores and to become familiar
with the test taking process and strategies, application forms, answer
sheets, and sample questions. The 473 examination and completion of forms
will require approximately two hours and fifteen minutes.
Chapter Six presents a complete study guide with practice exams, including
sample answer sheets.
The Four Key Testing Areas:
Every stage of the mail sorting process must be done accurately and
efficiently. If either a Postal Clerk or Carrier misreads an address, mail
is misdirected or delayed. Therefore, Postal personnel must be able to tell
whether two addresses are the same or if they represent two entirely
different destinations. Sometimes, differences between addresses are
subtle—small differences in spelling, for example, or transposed numerals.
An applicant must be able to quickly scan the address lists in this section
and make an accurate determination to this effect.
You will be presented with various sample forms and asked questions about
what is to be entered on the form. For example, you might be presented a
form with 9 blocks, and block 5 may be the Zip Code block. A possible
question would be where would you enter the zip code. The answer would be
"block 5." You could also be asked what type of data goes in a specified box
such as a number, check mark or name.
The second portion of the 470 test focuses on memorization. Postal Service
employees must memorize city-wide routes to become proficient mail sorters.
Large city schemes can be very involved. Employee's must be able to memorize
their routes or they will will may not keep their job beyond probation.
Successful completion of this section can make the difference between
success and failure. The memory system described in "Post Office Jobs" will
help you pass this section and improve your day-to-day memory skills.
This memory system is easy to master with practice. Many readers of this
book have mastered this exam technique.
Postal exams often use duplicate numbers in their memory tests. There may be
several 1900-1999 street addresses. Post Office Jobs by Dennis Damp
describes methods you can use to memorize numbers and sample exams to help
you practice for the exam. The practice exams in the book
"Post Office Jobs"
are similar to what you will see on the tests. The practice exams in Chapter
Six will help you build proficiency for number recall.
Personal work experience and unique characteristics. For example you will be
asked your likes and dislikes, whether you have experience in certain areas.
You really can't prepare for this section, it's your personal profile and if
you answer the questions honestly the Postal Service will be able to
identify the job that is best suited to your characteristics.
Study Guide
I suggest that you download the "Test 473 Orientation Guide for Major
Entry-Level Jobs," Publication 60-A, direct from the U.S. Postal Service. Go
to http://usps.com/employment to
locate this publication and to access their exams schedules. It provides an
overview of the new exam with instructions. Direct links to the Postal
Service's online exam schedules are also available on our
RESOURCES page.
For a complete practice exam with guidance and ways to score higher on your
test pick up a copy of Post Office Jobs.
