As a law enforcement arm, the U.S. Postal Inspector investigates violations of postal laws, policies and procedures at state and federal levels. The USPIS has established a multi-faceted hiring process. Each step in this screening process must be passed in order to proceed to the next phase.
Following the submission of your qualified Application, you can expect to take a Postal Inspector Entrance Examination that assesses the reasoning ability and character traits necessary for effective job performance. This is a Pass/Fail test: Pass and you move on to a verification test that is comprised of a more detailed and longer cognitive/personality exam.
With a Pass on the verification test, you will need to take the Business Writing Test. During the selection process, you will work on an Application Packet, Background Investigation Questionnaire and Information Exchange. When you pass all of those steps, you find yourself in the midst of a Language assessment, if applicable; Assessment Center testing; polygraph; management interview; drug testing; medical examination; and the ultimate conditional employment offer.
This is a difficult process, but it is definitely doable with the proper preparation. Preparing for your U.S. Postal Inspector Exam will give you a heads-up as to the types of questions and exam format that you will face on the actual USPIS test. The more you work on USPIS practice tests, the greater your accuracy, speed and comfort level while taking the exam.
The Postal Inspector pre-employment test is a multiple-choice, computer-based exam. This exam is strictly timed. It does not require any prior training or on-the-job experience.There is no penalty for wrong responses, you will benefit from answering every question; guess if necessary. Be sure to carefully read and listen to all directions, and read each entire passage, question and alternative before marking your answer.
There are three sections in the USPIS test:
Deductive Reasoning – Deductive reasoning is the application of a given rule to a set of circumstances. Expect 10 questions to be completed within a time-frame of 22 minutes. Many items in this section present a set of rules or legal procedures. The task is to draw a logical conclusion through the application of the rules/procedures.
Inductive Reasoning – Generally, inductive reasoning involves finding the rule or link present in a set of objects, people or events. There are 2 questions with a time limit of 4 minutes. When taking the U.S. Postal Inspector Exam, you will find informational paragraphs, each followed by a question and five alternatives. Select the statement that is completely valid given the information presented in the paragraph.
Life Experience – You will have 30 minutes to complete the 60 questions on this part of the test. The items contained in the Life Experience section involve your own work preferences, opinions, interpersonal relations and personality traits. By practicing on sample questions, you will know what to expect when faced with the behavioral section of the USPIS exam.
If you pass these three exams you may be asked to take a writing exam as well.
Business Writing Test - Expect English usage, sentence and paragraph organization, spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary on this Writing Test. The test is divided into three parts:
Across the board, test preparation is known to enhance exam results. The postal inspector entrance exam is no exception. Through JobTestPrep's USPIS practice tests, Q&A analysis, study guide and helpful exam strategies you will score higher. JobTestPrep has developed an affordable and comprehensive Postal Inspector preparation pack. Exam familiarity that comes with USPIS test preparation improves the potential for a successful exam experience.
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