Growing Demand For Mail and File Clerks

More than 11,080 are employed by all Agencies.

Some 19 vacancy announcements appear in the current Federal list for Mail and File Clerks. Some of the announcements cover multiple job openings. The opens occur throughout the U.S. and many agencies.

There is a growing demand for qualified applicants to fill Mail and File Clerk positions, GS-305, on a nationwide basis. These individuals are employed at virtually every Agency nationwide.

The position GS-305, Mail and File Clerk, position does not occur in the U.S. Post Office and does not qualify incumbents for transfer to the Post Office. Mail Handler and other positions which do occur in the USPO are filled through a written exam administered by the Post Office.

Duties and Qualifications

Mail and File Clerks are primarily responsible for the orderly processing of correspondence and other documents. Other duties include maintaining records and written materials in an Agency’s information center.

The following list of qualifications appears in a current vacancy announcement:

The job involves:

Maintaining filing systems, filing, pulling, sorting, storing, and retrieving individual records; Collecting, opening, routing, and sending incoming/outgoing correspondence and other forms of correspondence; Reviewing outgoing material for enclosures, and/or attachments, labels, and other missing information; Providing files upon proper request; Receiving, controlling, storing, routing files, controlled information and records; Searching for information using a central index system software computer system that tracks case files; Receiving and screening telephone calls requesting files and information from files; Typing memoranda, reports, and miscellaneous clerical services; Sorting, screening, and routing incoming mail; Knowledge of outgoing mail processing procedures, i.e., attaching proper postage using scales and postage meter and special processing.

Application Procedures

Entry Level: Most Mail and File Clerk positions require the ability to perform basic clerical duties. Applicants at the GS-1/4 level, the entry-level for these positions, must take a written clerical exam offered by the Agency with the job or given by Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Entry level means those without job experience in mail. Candidates should visit or write their state’s OPM (see address list on page 4) and request information about exam schedules and locations.

Exams are scheduled throughout the state and are given on a weekly basis in some locations. Once an applicant passes the OPM exam, he/she is placed on an OPM register and may be referred from that register to Agencies. Although a score of 70 is considered passing, an individual should score at least 85 to be competitive with other candidates.

Candidates may not have to take the exam at OPM. Some Agencies may offer the tests on their premises. The location for the exam will be announced by the Agency with the vacancy when the candidate responds to the vacancy announcement.

Above entry level: should look for vacancy announcements in the Federal Jobs Nationwide section of Federal Jobs Digest. Candidates can also check listings under "U.S. Government" in the phone books for Agencies in the areas in which they wish to work. Some Agencies field calls and provide vacancy information on the phone. All pertinent application forms and information will be forwarded, if an opening exists.

Merit Promotion

Current Federal employees can move laterally into Mail and File Clerk positions from other Clerical positions. The written test requirement would be waived for these employees into every Federal Agency except the U.S. Postal Service. Other Federal employees can not transfer into the Postal Service without taking the postal exam.

Federal employees presently filling Mail and File Clerk positions may use the clerical experience they have gained to advance into other fields. Those with Mail and File Clerk experience may qualify for positions such as Financial Clerical and Assistant positions, GS-503, Personnel Clerk and Assistant, GS-23, Archives Technicians, GS-1421 and Coding Clerks, GS-357. Interested individuals should check with their Agency’s personnel department for job vacancy information. They should also scan the Federal Jobs Nationwide section of Federal Jobs Digest for current openings.

KR