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More info
- Help customers in post offices and post office counters in shops
- You'll need good maths skills and good communication skills for understanding customer needs and explaining services
- You could progress to a position in a larger branch, or become an assistant branch manager or branch manager
As a post office assistant, you'll be involved in selling and advising customers on a wide range of products.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Selling financial products and services to meet targets
- Selling stamps and dealing with letters and parcels
- Paying out pensions and benefits
- Accepting bill payments
- Dealing with vehicle registrations and car tax
- Checking passport and driving licence applications
- Selling travel insurance and foreign currency
- Making sure the books balance at the end of the day
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Your working environment might be physically demanding at times.
You'll need
To be a post office assistant, you'll need customer service skills, the ability to work well with others, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, thoroughness and attention to detail, sensitivity and understanding, good initiative, excellent verbal communication skills, and the ability to sell products and services.
You could do a college course in customer service to teach you some relevant skills and knowledge.
You could get into this job through a customer services practitioner intermediate apprenticeship.
You'll need a good standard of education with numeracy and literacy skills to apply for jobs. The Post Office's selection process includes an online questionnaire to test your accuracy and number skills, followed by a telephone interview. After passing these, you'll attend a face-to-face interview. Privately-run post offices will have their own recruitment processes.
Previous customer service experience in banks, offices, or shops would be very helpful.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience you could progress to a position in a larger branch, or become an assistant branch manager or branch manager.