The entire process took just over a month, and about a month and a half till the start of orientation (Remember this is a government job so there's always extensive screening processes). I did an online application on December 10th, 2014. Following my submission, I was emailed a link to complete an online assessment. They both were fairly easy; it seemed more or less to see if you were competent (the second was more personality based questions). A week later on December 17th I was emailed a link to sign up to do a proctored exam. This you have to complete within x amount of days (I think it was complete it within 5 days). I was worried since I obviously was working a different job and it was a week before Christmas. Luckily there was a date and time that I was available for. I signed up for Exam 473 Delivery, Distribution and Retail and took the exam on the last available day: December 22nd, 2014. There's plenty of practice exams and examples online so research it! Its not a typical exam and not a good one to walk into blindly. They will email you your results before you get home from the exam. I think the passing grade that qualifies you for the CCA position is 82% A week later on December 29th, 2014 I was emailed an invite to interview face-to-face. Along with this email, they also send you links to complete a background check and to go in to a place to do a drug test (urinalysis). They do mass interviews/orientations so they tell you a date and time and there's not much leeway. Mine was for January 6th, 2015. I walked into a conference room with 50 other people there for the same position. (I live in a large city with many cities/post offices so there were plenty of positions open). We filled out paperwork (In case we were offered a position it would be done already) and then the HR rep gave more details about the position to weed out any weak ones (which some people actually got up and left). Then we all were individually interviewed (5 at a time and my luck I was the last round of interviews...it took over 2 hours until my turn). On to the actual interview: It was easy...really easy. Whenever I do any job interview I always find something to connect me with my interviewer. Luckily this happened immediately. I like finding a connection because then you can mostly talk about that (instead of the job) and build a relationship getting them to really like you. My advice: be the one to ask questions and lead the interview. Anywho, the questions were so simple, mostly just to see if you are willing to battle the weather. Since I live in a region that gets bombarded with blizzards in the winter and extreme humidity in the summer, they just wanted to see if you were up to being outside and walking in the extreme conditions. It was basically just a compatibility interview to see if you grew up with a strong work ethic and if you can handle the outside world. At the end of the interview my interviewer told me she was going to recommend me for the position