Mail Sorter Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a mail sorter. Feel free to use our mail sorter job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a mail sorter.
Who is a Mail Sorter?
A mail center can process over a million things in a single shift, including letters of love and news from far away, engagements and exam results, payslips, and deliveries. A postal sorter is someone who sorts mail and operates mail sorting machinery. As part of his tasks, the mail sorter sorts bulk mail geographically and by postage type, and then prepares batches that proceed to the next destination in the proper sorting and delivery procedure.
They organize mail and ensure that items are delivered accurately to firms, shipping companies, or state postal agencies. You should enjoy working with your hands and be mechanically inclined to be a great mail sorter. A good mail sorter should be orderly and have sound judgment.
To be a competent mail sorter, you should enjoy working with your hands and have strong mechanical skills. You should also be organized and have a solid judgment to be an excellent mail sorter.
What Exactly Do these Mail Sorters do?
Mail sorting is a reasonably normal job with good pay, according to the job outlook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, mail sorters made an average annual pay of $48,750 in May 2012.
As a mail sorter, you receive parcels and letters and inspect them for legible addresses when you unload the containers. You must also return these things to the sender and ensure that it is the correct item.
When the postage is insufficient, the mail sorter applies a “postage due” label on the mail. Although each postal facility has its own set of procedures and equipment. Mail sorters, on the other hand, are designed to process incoming mail and route outbound mail.
Outgoing mail is sorted by zip code and prepared for transmission to another postal zone. The routes allocated to the drivers at the post office are used to sort incoming mail, and each driver is responsible for sorting these mails before they leave.
The sorting process is completed by the use of processing equipment, and the mail is then loaded into the sorter. Accuracy must be maintained during the machine sorting process, so the equipment should be modified to ensure accuracy.
Mail sorters assist carriers in organizing their routes to ensure that mail is delivered on schedule. They accomplish This is accomplished by ensuring that mail is sorted by zip code.
In addition to mail sorting, you can assist customers with package purchases and mail distribution to the building’s post office boxes. Mail sorters are in charge of packing ripped or broken goods and manually canceling postal stamps.
A mail sorter inspects and modifies parcels as needed. You clean and repair equipment as needed, and you tidy your workspace at the end of your shift. When you get more expertise, you can also train new mail sorters about the post office’s policies.
Mail sorter applicants must be at least 18 years old to be considered for this position. Post offices favor those with high school diplomas or GEDs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, once hired, you must pass a Civil Service exam that assesses your ability to recognize names and follow distribution protocols. Working with an experienced mail sorter is frequently part of the training.
Mail Sorter Job Description
Below are the mail sorter job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a mail sorter job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a mail sorter include the following:
- Sort mail into trays and place them in incoming mail bins.
- Examine all outbound mail for dates, addresses, barcodes, and other postage information.
- Examine incoming mail for tampering, damage, and suspicious content.
- Sort and categorize mail by hand, as well as run mail processing devices and postage meters.
- Prepare mail for distribution by categorizing and labeling it correctly.
- Update mail database records and scan packages for tracking and logging.
- Ensure that the mail processing machines and equipment are in good working order.
- Report any problems with the mail or machinery to the supervisor.
- Keep an eye on mailroom inventory levels and notify managers when supplies are running short.
- Create a variety of containers and boxes for products that must be prepared and palletized.
- Pack completed units and ensure they have been packaged following the company’s guidelines.
- Responsible for the general upkeep of the working environment and premises to keep the working area running smoothly.
- Responsible for processing huge volumes of mail accurately and on time, as well as preparing large company goods for courier pickup.
- Pick or place all items (acquired from Warehouse, Print Room, and Production) in the correct order into the envelope or tray, ensuring that it is the correct book or supplement.
- Return to the warehouse any incorrect or incomplete items.
- Keep track of missed work and report it to the Coordinator.
- Assist the Coordinator or Supervisor in preparing volume reports.
- Work with the Management Team to ensure the quality, accuracy, and consistency of the workflow.
- Ensure that the sorted forms have all of the necessary information for processing (first and last name, SS#, and three-letter client code).
- Examine mail from email and fax accounts.
- Manage the postage that will be billed to clients.
- Determine the suitable task configuration for inserters depending on the forms that will be inserted using the inserting software system.
- Follow the directions and instructions supplied by the Production Supervisor on all production releases.
- Oversee the proper sorting of inserted mail following USPS specifications.
- Check final inserts for appropriate folding, sealing, and address placement.
- Create numerous accounting reports and perform positive pay bank uploads daily.
- Load and change mail processing or sorting as needed.
- Keep track of all shipments, pouches, and sacks.
- Load mail into the hopper of the conveyor belt.
- Read the monitor and choose the appropriate run for the work being processed.
- Take mail from bins and place it in mail trays.
- Label trays using the criteria specified.
- Make minor repairs and clean the machine.
- Read monitor to find out where the problem is and how to fix it.
- Check to verify if the machine is sorting correctly, and if not, fix the problem.
- Fill out log sheets based on particular parameters.
- Examine the mail for presorting endorsement.
- Transfer mail to the warehouse’s receiving dock.
- Prepare outgoing metered mail by reviewing the proper date, postage, and acceptable quality barcodes before being sent into production.
- Remove mail piece jams from the machine and troubleshoot them.
- Communicate problems and recognize incorrect barcodes found in the mail to the operator or supervisor to avoid re-work of mail.
- Maintain delivery standards while meeting manufacturing quotas.
- Record and aid in the resolution of regular equipment and production problems of modest extent and complexity.
- Examine the output for completeness and accuracy.
- Stick to the set norms and procedures.
- Make suggestions for process improvement and cost-cutting measures.
- Sort mailbags by hand into cages and compartments.
- Take mail and parcels into the automatic sorting equipment.
- Deliver sorted mail and goods to delivery people.
- Redirect mail and shipments with wrong addresses.
- Maintain and update customer information databases
- Act as a team leader, managing other mail and parcel sorters and assisting in the training of new employees.
- Sort, scan and pack all work to be transported to facility bins.
- Take the initiative to learn any new mail and delivery techniques to improve department efficiency.
Qualifications
The basic requirements for this role are as follows:
- Possession of a high school diploma or an equivalent diploma.
- Experience working in a mailroom is preferred.
- Knowledge of mail processing devices and equipment such as postal meters.
- Basic computer skills and knowledge of programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel are required.
- Physical fitness and the ability to stand for extended periods, operate mail processing machinery and lift heavy mail bins are required.
- Having a work style that is versatile and flexible.
- Precision in comparing documents to data on the visual display unit.
Essential Skills
Below is a list of the essential skills required for this career path:
- Ability to communicate effectively: The most important aspect of this job path is effective communication abilities. You must be able to communicate with your coworkers, team leaders, and supervisors as a mail sorter. If you’re unsure about something, you should feel at ease contacting them.
- Physical fitness: Because it is a physically demanding job, you must be willing to put in some elbow grease and work hard.
- Passion for learning: This work is similar to sports in that the more fit you are, the more satisfaction you will gain from whatever you are doing. Similarly, your job efficiency in mail sorting is closely tied to your capacity to study and collect knowledge of indexes, use information technology, and matching of papers to their owners.
- Proper arrangement skills: Like a mail sorter it is expected of you to know how to arrange things properly. The documents under your custody are to be sent to the rightful owners and not be misplaced or mishandled.
- Multi-Tasking: the mail sorter on many occasions is presented with many tasks all at once and it is expected that he responds to them according to their relative importance and with efficiency.
- Computer Skills: Mail sorting involves a few computer skills to function on the job. These include especially the knowledge of Microsoft packages especially Microsoft Word and Excel which are needed for mail sorting.
How to Become a Mail Sorter
To become a mail sorter you need to take the following steps:
- First and foremost, even if you lack official qualifications, you can operate as a Mail Sorter. Although some on-the-job training may be provided as you advance in your career. Some mail sorters hold Vocational Education and Training (VET) certifications in fields such as warehousing, distribution, and business.
- Second, in some places, such as New Zealand, becoming a mail sorter requires passing competency tests (on critical reading, memory, and hand-eye coordination) as well as a pre-employment drug test. In this state, new employees must also go through six weeks of introductory training to check their speed and accuracy. Because mail sorters also handle freight, a forklift license is required.
Where to Work as a Mail Sorter
As a mail sorter you provide mail sorting services to the following places:
- Corporations
- Shipping companies.
- State postal services
Mail Sorter Salary Scale
A mail sorter’s weekly wages are $1,074, which is significantly lower than the national median of $1,593.
However, it has been discovered that three out of every four workers earn more than $984, with one out of every four earning more than $1,351.
However, in the United Kingdom, the average Mail Sorter salary ranges from £17,898 to £30,056 per year.
