What does a Postal Service Mail Carrier do?

Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Day to day that includes work like scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt and Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.

What skills should a Postal Service Mail Carrier put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Postal Service Mail Carrier list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Address Management System AMS, Automated Data Collection System ADCS, Delivery operations information system DOIS, Delivery Routing System DRS, and Electronic Time Clock ETC. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Postal Service Mail Carrier work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including City Letter Carrier, Letter Carrier, Mail Carrier, and Rural Carrier Associate. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Postal Service Mail Carrier need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Postal Service Mail Carrier role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Postal Service Mail Carrier resume example

A resume for a Postal Service Mail Carrier needs to show the work itself: sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Day to day that means work like this: scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt; obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

City Letter Carrier
Letter Carrier
Mail Carrier
Rural Carrier Associate
RCA
City Carrier
City Carrier Assistant
CCA
City Mail Carrier
Rural Carrier
Rural Mail Carrier
Rural Route Carrier
RCA Professional
USPS Letter Carrier
USPS Mail Carrier
Carrier
Carrier Associate
Carrier Driver

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.
Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.
Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.
Turn in money and receipts collected along mail routes.
Leave notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not be delivered.
Maintain accurate records of deliveries.
Bundle mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Address Management System AMS
Automated Data Collection System ADCS
Delivery operations information system DOIS
Delivery Routing System DRS
Electronic Time Clock ETC
End of Run Report EOR
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Time and Attendance Collection System TACS
Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Delivery unit computers
Handheld computers
Mail distribution cases
Mail relay boxes
Mail sorting trays
Passenger vehicles
Portable barcode scanners
Postal vehicle tire chains
Route cases
Small trucks
Time clocks
Wheeled carts

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

sort mail
deliver items

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Critical Thinking
03Social Perceptiveness
04Speaking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Public Safety and Security
Sales and Marketing

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

78%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
15%Less than a High School Diploma
7%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Postal Service Mail Carrier do?: Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Day to day that includes work like scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt and Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
What skills should a Postal Service Mail Carrier put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Postal Service Mail Carrier list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Address Management System AMS, Automated Data Collection System ADCS, Delivery operations information system DOIS, Delivery Routing System DRS, and Electronic Time Clock ETC. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Postal Service Mail Carrier work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including City Letter Carrier, Letter Carrier, Mail Carrier, and Rural Carrier Associate. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Postal Service Mail Carrier need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Postal Service Mail Carrier role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.