Receptionist to post office counter clerk
A receptionist already meets 30% of what the post office counter clerk role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.3/ 100
1 How much of what a post office counter clerk is expected to do is already part of a receptionist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the post office counter clerk role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A post office counter clerk role treats 5 of its required skills as things a receptionist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate with customers
- customer service
- deliver correspondence
- issue sales invoices
- process payments
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A post office counter clerk role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a receptionist background worth leading with.
- already held deliver correspondence management skills
- already held process payments management skills
- already held issue sales invoices management skills
- already held customer service business, administration and law
- already held communicate with customers communication, collaboration and creativity
All 5 carried skills, including the 5 the post office counter clerk role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn sell post office products required
- still to learn satisfy customers required
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held offer financial services optional
- optional, not held promote financial products optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- still to learn operate cash register required
- still to learn handle financial transactions required
- optional, not held distribute pensions optional
- optional, not held register mail optional
- optional, not held convert currency optional
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
- optional, not held financial products optional
- optional, not held types of pensions optional
- still to learn assist customers required
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- optional, not held maintain store cleanliness optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a post office counter clerk role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 sell post office products practise this
- 02 assist customers practise this
- 03 characteristics of products study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 5 skills that carry over
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held customer service knowledge
- already held deliver correspondence skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held process payments skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held handle registered mail optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held distribute pensions optional
- optional, not held handle registered mail optional
- optional, not held register mail optional
- optional, not held carry out active selling optional
- optional, not held convert currency optional
- optional, not held maintain store cleanliness optional
- optional, not held offer financial services optional
- optional, not held promote financial products optional
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
- optional, not held financial products optional
- optional, not held types of pensions optional
30 held skills the post office counter clerk role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role administer appointments skill
- not needed by the target role assist at check-in skill
- not needed by the target role check tickets at venue entry skill
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role communicate verbal instructions skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate internal communications skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate messages to people skill
- not needed by the target role file documents skill
- not needed by the target role greet guests skill
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role handle mail skill
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain correspondence records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain logbooks skill
- not needed by the target role maintain reception area skill
- not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise facilities for office personnel skill
- not needed by the target role process booking skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role register visitors skill
- not needed by the target role respond to customers' inquiries skill
- not needed by the target role screen clients skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role use office systems skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- optional, not held sales argumentation optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
- optional, not held financial products optional
- optional, not held types of pensions optional
Other moves recorded from receptionist
- office clerk 42% covered · substantial
- secretary 38% covered · substantial
- administrative assistant 34% covered · substantial
- investment clerk 27% covered · substantial
- hotel concierge 27% covered · substantial
- hospitality establishment receptionist 25% covered · substantial
- usher 23% covered · substantial
- veterinary receptionist 22% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a receptionist become a post office counter clerk?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A receptionist already covers 30% of what a post office counter clerk is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 5 of which the post office counter clerk role treats as required.
What skills does a receptionist need to become a post office counter clerk?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is sell post office products.
How hard is the move from receptionist to post office counter clerk?
Its learning distance is 66.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.