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Virtual Entry AssessmentMC (477) – Customer ServiceClerk JobsPSE Sales & Svcs/Distribution Associate
Postal exam 477, also called Virtual Entry Assessment CS 477 and theCustomer Service VEA Exam, is newly launched test used to fill allcustomer service positions including Sales Service & DistributionAssociate, PSE Sales Service & Distribution Associate, and Casual SalesService & Distribution Associate.After applying for one of these jobs, you are sent an email withinstructions and a link for taking the test. You must complete the examwithin 72 hours of applying. If you do not complete the exam within 72hours, your application is deleted. If you do not complete the examwithin 72 hours, you can apply for other jobs that become available,but you will not be considered for the original job you applied for.This is a self-administered exam that lasts about 45 minutes. You takeit on your own at home or wherever you choose. You do not have totravel to a supervised testing site to take it.You can use a computer, a tablet, or a smart phone to take the exam.At the beginning of the test, you must select which of these devicesyou will be using.You are encouraged to complete the exam in one sitting, but you canexit the exam and return to finish it later if so desired. Your answersare saved up to the point you left the exam, and you are able pick it upand start again where you left it. But as previously mentioned,whether you finish the test in one sitting or leave it and come back tofinish it later, you still must complete the exam within 72 hours ofapplying.The test is formatted as a slide show with audio narration. Allinformation, instructions, and questions are given both verbally and inwriting as you progress from screen to screen.Your score is available immediately upon completion of the exam. Tosee your score, log into your eCareer Candidate Profile on the PostalService website. Your score can be found under the “Assessments” tab.
The highest possible score is 100, and the passing score is 70. (Militaryveterans entitled to preference points may be able to score slightlyhigher than 100.) If you fail or score below 70, rather than being givena numerical score, you are simply ranked as ineligible. The PostalService will release no info about the scoring formula for this exam,and it is not possible to find out why you made a certain score.It is imperative that you achieve the highest possible score due to thePostal interview policy. This policy states that only the top threescoring applicants are invited for an interview. You must have one ofthe top three scores for any chance whatsoever.And you absolutely must make the highest possible score right nowwhen you have the chance because, whether you pass or fail, you willnot be able to take this exam again for twelve months. If you blow itnow by failing or by not getting a high enough score, you are out of luckfor a whole year. You can apply for jobs filled from different testsduring that one year period, but you will not be able to apply for jobsfilled from this exam.Exam 477, by the way, is very similar to exam 474 which is used to fillmail delivery jobs. It is logical that these two exams are similar sincethey both fill jobs that deal with customers. Exam 477 fills jobs servingcustomers at the front counter, and exam 474 fills jobs delivering mailto customers.Why Preparation for this Exam Is So EssentialThere are various types of test preparation needed for different kindsof exams. Preparation for this exam is critical so that you know exactlywhat to expect and so that you will not be blown away by the bizarrequestions and the odd way they are to be answered. Out of the 90questions on this exam, 87 of them - 97% of all the questions - fit thisbizarre description. Only 3 questions are purely objective where thereare definitive right and wrong answers. It is not unusual for applicants
to fail because they never really understand the questions or how toanswer them.What is so strange about the questions and answers on this exam? The questions are all multiple choice where you are to select an answer thatbest fits you, your probable response to a work situation, your experience, yourpreferred approach to work, your personality, etc. The questions are mostly theoretical or hypothetical in nature and can often bemisunderstood or not understood at all. Any or all of the answer choices can seem reasonable depending upon yourparticular personality and experience, and there is never one obvious answerthat stands out as the best choice. In fact, different answers can be thecorrect choice for different people and/or for different jobs. In one section of the exam you are to select two answers, the action you wouldbe most likely to take and the action you would be least likely to take inresponse to a given situation. In another section, each question consists of two descriptions that may bequite similar or radically different. You are to choose which description ismore like you and then choose to what degree it is like you.Although the scoring formula for this exam is not known, we do knowthat the Postal Service scores you by (1) creating a profile of you basedupon your answers to these bizarre questions and then (2) comparingyour profile to a theoretical profile of a theoretical perfect employee.And the theoretical profile of a theoretical perfect employee variesfrom one job to another. A numerical score is somehow developedbased upon this comparison of profiles.Preparation is also important to overcome test-taking anxiety, a veryreal problem that causes applicants to perform below their potentialand to score poorly. Test-taking anxiety can only be overcome bybecoming familiar and comfortable with exam content. That isespecially true on a strange exam like this one. That is one of thereasons we give you such detailed information about the exam and suchrealistic practice test questions. By the time you complete this guide,
you will know exactly what to expect, and you will feel cool, calm, andconfident when taking the exam.You may expect a test prep guide to tell you what answers to choose onthis exam, but that is simply not possible on a test like this. Applicantssometimes try to choose answers that they think would make them lookgood to the Postal Service rather than answers that reflect their truepersonality, preferences, etc. Some of these applicants get away withit and even get a job, but many who try it fail. Answering questions inthis fashion is known as test manipulation.We cannot in good conscience suggest that you manipulate this test bytrying to select answers you think they prefer. There are built-in trapsand indicators within the questions specifically designed to exposemanipulation attempts. The software that scores this exam isprogrammed to look for indications of manipulation and to deductsubstantial points from your score for each manipulation attemptindicated. Both ethically and practically, your best and only course isto answer honestly and sincerely. Attempts to manipulate this exammay end up being the fastest route to failure.Exam ContentThe exam consists of an introduction and four sections. Theintroduction, which lasts about five minutes, gives you a brief bit ofPostal Service history and a description of the jobs filled from thisexam. Following are a description, instructions, and a sample questionfor each exam section.Work Situations SectionThis section is called “Work Situations” on exam 477, but it is called“Work Scenarios” on exams 474, 476, and 476. The Work Situationssection usually takes about eight minutes to finish. The instructionsencourage you to work quickly, but it is not timed, so you can take asmuch time as you need.
This section has ten questions, each of which describes a situation thatyou might encounter on the job. The questions are presented one perscreen. As you move from one question to the next, you are taken fromone screen to another. The four answer choices are potential actionsthat you could take in response to the situation described. You are toselect two answer choices, the action you would be most likely to takeand the action you would be least likely to take.Select your answers by marking one answer choice on the left for theaction you would be most likely to take and one answer choice on theright for the action you would be least likely to take. As discussedabove, there are typically no obvious best answers for Most Likely or forLeast Likely. All the answer choices may seem reasonable. You mustsimply choose the most and least likely actions that you personallywould take.Once you have made answer choices by clicking your most and leastlikely actions, a “NEXT” button appears at the bottom right corner ofthe screen. Clicking this button takes you to the next question. But donot click the “NEXT” button until you are really ready to move onbecause you cannot return to the previous question once you click the“NEXT” button.Below is a sample Work Situations question. Most people will find thatall of the answer choices for this sample question seem reasonable.There are no obvious correct answers. You must nonetheless choosewhich you would be most and least likely to do in the situationdescribed.
Work Your Register SectionThis is the only purely objective section in exam 477 where there aredefinitive right and wrong answers. Your answer is correct or it isincorrect, there is nothing in between.The Work Your Register section has only three questions and usuallytakes about two minutes to finish. The questions are presented one perscreen. As you move from one question to the next, you are taken fromone screen to another. This section is not timed, so you can take aslong as you want. But the instructions say: “Work quickly and
accurately; the less time it takes you, the better.” This obviouslymeans (1) that your score on this section is partly based on how long ittook you to answer the questions and (2) that finishing quickly will yielda better score.Each question describes a transaction by giving you the total amount ofthe purchase, the amount paid, and the change due. You do not haveto calculate how much change is to be given, they tell you how much.You are to calculate the smallest number of bills and coins that can beused to give the customer his change. The instructions say you canused a calculator if you wish. Once you answer a question and clickNext, you cannot go back to previous questions.The below sample question will assist in understanding how to answerWork Your Register questions.You select answers by clicking the boxes over the bills and coins. Whenclicking a box, as displayed in the below illustration, number choices
appears in a drop down window. You choose the number of bills orcoins needed by clicking a number in the drop down window.In this illustration, we have clicked the box over the 10 bill, and thedrop down window with numbers has appeared. We would next clickthe number of 10 bills we need to make change, and that number willappear in the box over the 10 bill.In our sample question, you are told that the purchase was 3.57, thatthe customer paid with a 20 bill, and that the change due is 16.43.To make 16.43 in change, you need one 10 bill, one 5 bill, one 1bill, one quarter, one dime, one nickel, and three pennies. Here is howyou should answer. Click the box over the 10 bill and select the number 1 in the drop down window.Click the box over the 5 bill and select the number 1 in the drop downwindow.
Click the box over the 1 bill and select the number 1 in the drop downwindow. Click the box over the quarter and select the number 1 in the drop downwindow. Click the box over the dime and select the number 1 in the drop down window. Click the box over the nickel and select the number 1 in the drop down window.Click the box over the penny and select the number 3 in the drop downwindow. We have now correctly answered the question by selecting one 10 bill, one 5bill, one 1 bill, one quarter, one dime, one nickel, and three pennies. Ouroriginal question with the correct answer choices is illustrated below.Tell Us Your Story SectionThe Tell Us Your Story section consists of 21 questions about your workexperience and background. The questions are presented one perscreen. As you move from one question to the next, you are taken from
one screen to another. For each question in this section, you onlyselect one answer choice by clicking it.This section usually takes about two minutes to complete. As with theprevious section, the instructions encourage you to work quickly, but itis not timed, so you can take as much time as you need.Immediately upon clicking an answer to a question, you will beautomatically taken to the next question. You can go back onequestion, but only one question, at any time if you need to doublecheck your previous answer.Below is a sample Tell Us Your Story question.Describe Your Approach SectionThe Describe Your Approach section consists of 56 questions aboutnumerous topics such as your preferred approach to work, yourpersonality, how you relate to other people (especially customers,coworkers and supervisors), and - how you handle stress, etc. Thequestions are presented one per screen. As you move from onequestion to the next, you are taken from one screen to another. You
only select one answer choice for each question, but this is anothercase of bizarre questions and odd answer choices.This section usually takes around six minutes to complete. Theinstructions encourage you to work quickly, but again it is not timed, soyou can take as much time as you need.Immediately upon clicking an answer to a question, you areautomatically taken to the next question. You can go back onequestion, but only one question, at any time if you need to doublecheck your previous answer.Below is a sample Describe Your Approach question. It will be mucheasier to describe the questions and how to answer while you arelooking at the sample question.Here is how you answer questions in this section. You only select and click one answer choice for each question despite theconfusing structure of the questions.
First choose which statement is more like you, the top statement or the bottomstatement. If the top statement is more like you, click either “Most like me” or “Somewhatlike me” under the top statement depending upon how well that descriptionfits you. For this question, if you are an outgoing person as stated at the top,and if you are a very outgoing person, you might click “Most like me” under the top statement.If the bottom statement is more like you, click either “Most like me” or“Somewhat like me” over the bottom statement depending upon how well thatdescription fits you. For this question, if you are a rather quiet - but not a veryquiet - person as stated at the bottom, you might click “Somewhat like me”over the bottom statement.The Describe Your Approach questions can indeed be bizarre.Sometimes the top and bottom statements can be quite opposite as inour sample question - outgoing vs. quiet. Other times the top andbottom statements seem to say the same thing in different words, so itis very difficult to choose an answer. And it is virtually never obviouswhich answer choice may be best.Complete Practice ExamFollowing is a complete practice exam. How realistic are thequestions? They are actual questions from the real test paraphrased sothey will not be in violation of copyright law.However, you may or may not see these specific questions when takingyour exam. There are a number of versions of the exam, and thedifferent versions have different questions. It may be that only a fewquestions are different, or all the questions may be different. Or youmay see the same questions but presented in a different order. If youhappen to take the same version that these practice test questionscame from, you will see these same questions in the same order but intheir original wording. Regardless of what questions you see, theactual exam will be formatted exactly like this practice test.
As explained earlier, the Postal Service will not release any informationabout how this test is scored, so it is not possible to score this practiceexam. And except for the few Work Your Register questions, there areno definitive right or wrong answers, so it is not possible to provide anoverall answer key. When taking both the practice exam and the actualtest, you are to answer the questions honestly and sincerely, so answersthat may be right for you that accurately describe you may bewrong for another applicant.The purpose of the practice exam is therefore not to score you or tojudge the accuracy of your answers because such is simply notpossible. The purpose is to assure that you know exactly what toexpect when taking the real test, that you are not blown away by thebizarre questions, that you do not suffer from Test Anxiety, and thatyou are prepared to achieve your highest possible score.The practice exam is broken down into its various sections. You willtake it one section at a time. You can take all sections in a singlesitting or take them individually as preferred. You have unlimitedaccess and can return to the practice test as many times as you like.The actual exam is taken visually on a computer, tablet, or smart phonescreen. This practice exam is therefore taken the same way. To take itvisually, read the questions and review the answers choices on yourdevice screen, and then select answer choices in your mind. Markinganswers is not necessary since, per previous discussion, the practiceexam cannot be scored. The purpose of this practice exam is not to bescored since that is impossible. The purpose, as emphasizedthroughout this guide, is to assure that you know exactly what toexpect when taking the real test and that you do not suffer from TestAnxiety.Work Situations Practice TestYou are to select two answer choices for each of these ten questions,the action you would be most likely to take and the action you would
be least likely to take, in response to the described situation. Thissection usually takes about seven minutes to finish. You areencouraged to work quickly, but this section is not timed, so you cantake as long as you need.
Work Your Register Practice TestEach question in this section describes a transaction by giving you thetotal amount of the purchase, the amount paid, and the change due.You are to calculate the smallest number of bills and coins that can beused to give the customer his change. You can use a calculator if youwish.This is the only section on exam 477 that has definitive right and wronganswers. So that you can check your accuracy, there is an answer keyafter the questions with the correct answers. The answer key for each
question is a copy of that question with the correct number of bills/coins displayed in the boxes over the bills/coins. If the number in thebox over the bills/coins still displays a zero, that means the correctanswer includes none of those particular bills/coins.
Work Your Register Answer Key
Tell Us Your Story Practice TestFor each of the 21 Tell Us Your Story questions, select one answerchoice that best describes your experience or background. This sectionusually takes about two minutes to complete. You are encouraged towork quickly, but this section is not timed, so you can take as long asyou need.
Describe Your Approach Practice TestThe Describe Your Approach section has 56 questions and usually takesabout six minutes to finish. You are encouraged to work quickly, butthis section is not timed, so you can take as much time as you need.Each question consists of two statements, one at the top and one at thebottom. You are to (1) choose which statement (top or bottom) that ismost like you and then (2) select the answer choice - “Most like me” or“Somewhat like me” - for that statement that best fits you.
best fits you, your probable response to a work situation, your experience, your preferred approach to work, your personality, etc. T h equestoi nsaremostyl t heoretci aol rhypot hetci ani l nat ureandcanoft enbe misunderstood or not understood at all. Any or all of the answer choices
