Careers at Royal Mail
Royal Mail is Britain's postal service and courier company. A household name, Royal Mail has been delivering mail across the UK for over 500 years. Its workforce of 150,000 employees ensures the post arrives for over 3 million addresses.
Royal Mail offers frontline and management roles, as well as apprenticeships and graduate schemes for those who are new to the workforce.
There are opportunities available under eight business areas: Posties and Sorting, Drivers, Operations Management, Facilities, Technology, Head Office, Fleet Maintenance, and Engineering.
A job search on the Royal Mail Group careers site will help you explore current vacancies in your area.
How to Get Hired at Royal Mail
Royal Mail seeks employees that are a good fit for its organisational culture, which is underpinned by three core values. To secure a role at Royal Mail, you'll need to evidence your alignment with these throughout the recruitment process.
The Royal Mail values are:
Be Positive – Royal Mail prides itself on high-quality customer service delivered with a friendly and positive attitude. Seek to display your enthusiasm and optimism during each stage of the hiring process.
Be Brilliant – Convey to the recruiters your sense of curiosity and dedication to a job well done. Royal Mail strives to be knowledgeable and innovative to fulfil customer needs now and into the future.
Be Part Of It – To work for Royal Mail is to be part of a community, and customers are a central part of that community. Show that you are a team player, and work best within a dynamic and diverse environment.
Royal Mail Application Process
To secure a role with Royal Mail, you'll need to impress at every step of the application process. This includes an online application, an online psychometric test, and an assessment centre - involving a group exercise, individual task, and a competency-based interview.
Royal Mail Online Application
The first step in the hiring process is to complete an online application for your chosen role via the Royal Mail Group Careers page. This requires you to upload your CV, so ensure yours is up-to-date and tailored to highlight experience relevant for the position.
The recruitment team reviews many CVs, so a well-structured document that clearly and concisely conveys your strengths will improve your chances of being shortlisted.
Royal Mail Online Assessment
Within 24 hours of submitting your application, you'll receive a link via email asking you to complete an online assessment.
Royal Mail tests the cognitive ability and personality of prospective employees using a timed online psychometric assessment. This will be made up of sections, each testing a different ability area.
Once you've received your link, you'll have 24 hours to complete the assessment. Candidates that score highly will progress to the assessment centre stage of the recruitment process.
The types of test questions you'll encounter will depend upon your chosen role, but the test may include the following sections:
Royal Mail Numerical Reasoning
Numerical reasoning assesses a candidate's ability to manipulate numbers. The questions cover mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, sequences, general arithmetic, and basic algebra.
You'll need to perform these mathematical functions to answer multiple-choice questions based on data displayed in charts, graphs, and tables. Numerical reasoning questions are timed, so you'll need to work fast.
Royal Mail Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning explores the ability to rapidly absorb and interpret written information. Questions involve passages of text and connected statements.
For each question, candidates review and analyse the information given to ascertain whether the given statement is 'true', 'false', or if they 'cannot say' based on the text. You'll have a limited amount of time to answer each question, so the ability to work quickly under pressure is key.
Royal Mail Logical Reasoning
Logical reasoning questions test problem-solving ability and the interpretation of non-verbal information. They feature spatial sequences, involving shapes and patterns.
You'll be required to deduce the rule(s) governing each sequence presented and identify the next figure from several multiple-choice options. Like other reasoning test styles, logical reasoning questions are also timed.
Royal Mail Personality Questionnaire
Personality questions seek to shed light on a candidate's behavioural traits, to determine whether they are a good fit for the Royal Mail culture. Multiple-choice questions gather insight into your motivations, drivers, values, personality traits, and behavioural preferences. You'll be presented with a series of statements and asked to indicate how strongly you agree or disagree. This section of the assessment will be untimed.
Royal Mail Error Checking Test
Error checking tests assess the ability to rapidly review detailed data and identify mistakes. They are commonly used for posting and sorting office roles. You'll have a set amount of time to work through questions involving postcodes or full addresses. In each question, you'll need to compare the two pieces of data presented and indicate any discrepancies.
As the Royal Mail online assessment is completed at home, if you advance in the process you may be asked to sit a facilitated verification test during the assessment centre.
Royal Mail Telephone Screening Call
After you've submitted your online assessment, you may receive a call from the recruitment team as part of the shortlisting process. This call will be to review your CV and explore your relevant skills and experiences. You will also be asked a few questions about your motivations - for wanting to work for Royal Mail, and your chosen role.
Royal Mail Assessment Centre
If you are shortlisted based upon your application and online test result (and your screening call, if applicable), you'll be invited to attend a Royal Mail assessment centre day. This may be held in person or online, depending upon the circumstances.
The assessment centre will feature a group exercise, individual tasks, and a competency-based interview.
For some roles, you'll need to attend an additional interview. Your contact in the Royal Mail recruitment team will convey the particulars of your recruitment process to you.
Royal Mail Group Exercise
Sense of community is important at Royal Mail, so you'll need to display that you are a strong team player. The group task is your opportunity to display how well you collaborate with others to achieve results. You'll be presented with a case study or discussion topic and given a limited amount of time to produce an output as a team.
Royal Mail Individual Exercise
For some roles, you'll be asked to complete an individual exercise as well as a group task. This task will involve a case study analysis exploring a scenario relevant to your chosen business area. You may be asked to present your recommendations or be asked to discuss them in an interview.
Royal Mail Role play
If you are applying for a customer-facing or management role with Royal Mail, you may also be asked to complete a role play exercise. You'll be given a workplace scenario and a few minutes to prepare, before being asked to act out the situation with a member of the recruitment team.
Royal Mail Competency-Based Interview
Your Royal Mail interview will be competency-based and focus upon exploring your relevant skills and experience. You'll need to back up your responses with evidence, so be sure to carefully review the job description and match your experience to the essential criteria in preparation.
Follow the STAR format (situation, task, action, result) to ensure your answers are concise and well-structured.
As with any interview, it is a two-way process - so allow the discussion to flow and try not to be overly nervous. Come up with a few questions to ask your interviewer, as these will display your curiosity and enthusiasm for the role. Insightful questions can also adeptly convey your industry knowledge.
Tips to Get Hired at Royal Mail
The Royal Mail recruitment process is competitive, so you'll need to prepare comprehensively for each stage. To increase your chances of success, follow these top tips.
Understand The Hiring Process
The Royal Mail hiring process is demanding, as it assesses candidate ability across a wide variety of skills – from numerical reasoning and error checking, to teamwork and case study analysis. Dedicated preparation time is needed to perform strongly across all areas.
It is, therefore, important to know exactly what is required of you during the recruitment process, so you can tailor your preparation accordingly. Good knowledge of the different tasks will enable you to prioritise study time around the aspects you know you will find the most challenging.
Do Your Research
Royal Mail wants to hire enthusiastic candidates keen to work within the company. Display your desire to work for Royal Mail through a solid knowledge of the organisation, your chosen business area, and any recent initiatives, innovations, or news stories. This research will allow you to deliver insightful responses in your interview and impress with your level of sector awareness.
Practice Tests
To be shortlisted in the Royal Mail recruitment process, you'll need to achieve a high score in the online psychometric assessment. The best way to prepare for this assessment is to sit practice tests. As you only have 24 hours to complete the test once you receive the email link, you'll need to prepare for the assessment in advance of submitting your Royal Mail application.
Completing timed practice tests will help you to become familiar with the format, structure, and content of the different test styles that will be featured in your assessment. It will also allow you to hone your pace, so you can work both quickly and accurately in the official test.
