US Postal Exam: Completing Exercise - Personal Characteristics and Experience Inventory

Completing Tasks
Part D of the test consists of 236 test items to be completed in 90 minutes. The items in this test part check several personal characteristics, tendencies, or experiences related to performing effectively as an employee of the Postal Service.

Read each item carefully, and decide which of the response choices is most true about you. For some items, more than one response may describe you. However, be sure to mark one and only one response for each item. It is important to respond to each item, even if you are not completely sure which response is best. Also, it is generally best to work at a fairly fast pace.

Whenever possible, respond to the items in terms of what you have done, felt, or believed in a work setting. If you cannot relate the item to your work experiences, base your response on other experiences that are similar to work, such as school or volunteer activities. For example, if an item involves how often you have gotten into arguments with others, respond in terms of how often you have gotten into arguments with co-workers. If you have not held a job before, or if the item cannot be related to your work experiences, draw on whatever experiences are necessary to choose the response choice that best describes you.

This part of the test is divided into three sections. One section includes items with four response choices, ranging from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree”. Another section includes items with four response choices ranging from “Very often” to “Rarely or never”. The final section includes items with anywhere from four to nine response choices.

Scoring Answers
Your score for Part D of test 473 is based on your responses to the items in this section. This test part calls for your honest responses. Dishonest self-descriptions are not to your advantage. All responses you give will be considered in determining your results.

Reducing Errors
- Read each statement carefully before marking your responses.
- There is no particular advantage to practicing your responses to these statements. You should read each statement carefully and respond based upon your personal experiences or preferences.

Sample Question from Agree/Disagree Section
You like having your work interrupted.
A.   Strongly Agree
B.   Agree
C.   Disagree
D.   Strongly Disagree

Sample Question from Frequency Section
You do not plan things in advance.
A.   Very often
B.   Often
C.   Sometimes
D.   Rarely

Sample Question from Experience Section
The items in this section of the test assess your experience in areas related to performing effectively as an employee of the Postal Service.
Read each item carefully, and decide which of the response choices best describes your experience. Although for some items, more than one statement may describe your experience, be sure to mark only one response for each item.

What type of work do you like the least?
A. tasks that require sitting or standing in one place for hours
B. tasks that require working at a very fast pace
C. tasks requiring too many decisions
D. doing the same thing day after day
E. would not mind doing any of these
F. not sure

There is no exercise for Part D.