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. It employs more than 130,000 people, and its postal network reaches around 32 million addresses across the UK.
Royal Mail offers frontline and management roles, as well as apprenticeships and graduate schemes for those who are new to the workforce.
Frontline roles are grouped into Delivery and Sorting, Drivers, Operations Management, Fleet Maintenance, Engineering, Property and Facilities, and Customer Service and Administration. Head office teams include finance, HR, legal, technology, sales and marketing, communications, and change projects.
A job search on the Royal Mail Group careers site will help you explore current vacancies in your area.
Royal Mail Application Process
To secure a role with Royal Mail, you'll need to impress at every step of the application process. Royal Mail's careers site sets out these steps: an online application, a screening call with a recruiter for some roles, online tests for some roles such as delivery and sorting, an interview with the hiring manager, and then an offer and pre-employment checks. Delivery and sorting roles also list a practical driving assessment.
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. Royal Mail asks you to submit your application through its website. If the form asks for a CV, make sure it is up to date and shows the experience most relevant to the role.
Royal Mail Online Assessment
If the role you apply for uses online tests, Royal Mail Group will email you a link to them.
Royal Mail's online assessments can include ability tests and a personality questionnaire. Each ability test states its time limit and number of questions before you start, and the timer only begins when you click 'Start test'. The personality questionnaire has no time limit.
Each assessment has a deadline, which is given in the invitation email. If you miss it, your application cannot go any further. Royal Mail does not publish how the tests are scored or what the pass mark is.
The tests you are set depend on the role. The candidate FAQ for Royal Mail's assessments mentions verbal, abstract and mechanical reasoning, numerical tests and a personality questionnaire. The sections below describe how these question types usually work.
Royal Mail Numerical Reasoning
Numerical reasoning tests assess how well you work with numbers. Royal Mail's FAQ says you can use a calculator in its numerical tests unless the instructions say otherwise. It does not describe the question content, but numerical tests often involve percentages, ratios and reading data from charts and tables, all against the clock.
Royal Mail Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning explores the ability to rapidly absorb and interpret written information. Questions involve passages of text and connected statements.
A common format asks whether a statement is true, false or cannot be determined from the text. Royal Mail does not publish the format of its verbal test, so practise more than one style and work to a time limit.
Royal Mail Abstract 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 the other ability tests, abstract reasoning tests are 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 Screening Call
For some roles, a recruiter will contact you by phone or video call before the interview. Royal Mail does not publish what this call covers, so be ready to talk through your experience and why you want the role.
Royal Mail Interview
If you are shortlisted, the next published step is an interview with the hiring manager. Your invitation should explain what to expect.
Preparing for the Interview
Royal Mail does not publish its interview format. Expect questions about your skills and experience, and back up your answers with examples. Review the job description and match your experience to its essential criteria.
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 let the discussion 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
Depending on the role, the Royal Mail hiring process can include online tests of verbal, numerical, abstract and mechanical reasoning, as well as an interview with the hiring manager. 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
Royal Mail does not publish a pass mark for its online tests, so aim to do your best in every section. One good way to prepare is to sit practice tests. Each test has a deadline set in the invitation email, so it pays to start preparing before you apply.
Completing timed practice tests will help you to become familiar with the format, structure, and content of the test styles that may feature in your assessment. It will also allow you to hone your pace, so you can work both quickly and accurately in the official test.
