43-9051.00 · Learning planner
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service: a task-based learning plan
Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Time-stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.
Explore the complete task inventory first →
Understand the profile before choosing priorities
The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 31 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.
| Skill | Importance / 5 | Level / 7 | Rating date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.00 | 2.88 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Monitoring | 3.00 | 2.88 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 2.75 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.00 | 2.62 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Time Management | 3.00 | 2.62 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Coordination | 2.88 | 2.88 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Operation and Control | 2.88 | 2.88 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Active Listening | 2.88 | 2.75 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Writing | 2.88 | 2.75 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 2.88 | 2.62 | 07/2016 · Analyst |
Anchor the plan in an actual task
Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Determine whether a subordinate has a good excuse for being late
Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses
What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Proofread and correct a letter
Level 4: Monitor a meeting and revise the agenda to ensure important topics are discussed
What result or exception would you inspect during the task, and when would you revisit it?
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Greet tourists and explain tourist attractions
Level 4: Interview applicants to obtain personal and work history
How would you explain the task, audience needs and next step in a short conversation?
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Read step-by-step instructions for completing a form
Level 4: Understand an email from management describing new personnel policies
Which instruction, constraint or exception in a document would you need to explain accurately?
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Keep a monthly calendar of appointments
Level 4: Allocate the time of subordinates to projects for the coming week
What needs to happen first, where is the deadline, and what would you do if time runs short?
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Schedule appointments for a medical clinic
Level 4: Work with others to put a new roof on a house
Who would need what information, and at which handoff would timing matter?
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Navigate the settings on an office printer to print on both sides of the paper
Level 4: Adjust the speed of assembly line equipment based on the product being assembled
Which authorized training and documented operating limits would you need to understand first?
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Take a customer's order
Level 4: Answer inquiries regarding credit references
What would you ask the other person to clarify, and how would you confirm you understood?
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Write down a guest's order at a restaurant
Level 4: Write an email to staff outlining new directives
What document would another person need, and how would you check that they could act on it?
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.
Level 2: Decide how scheduling a break will affect work flow
Level 4: Evaluate a loan application for degree of risk
Which options, constraints and consequences would you compare, and what could change the choice?
Review the result
Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.
Keep your worksheet
Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.
Source and practice material
Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.
Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.