FedEx Package Handler Job Description & Interview
Job Description and Duties
What Does a FedEx Package Handler Do?
Prior to employment, FedEx package handlers must pass physical evaluations and hold valid driver’s licenses. Applicants must also possess the ability to lift up to 75lbs. and communicate effectively in often-noisy surroundings. Background checks and drug screenings may also prove necessary for employment as FedEx package handlers.
Workplace Safety
Applicants also undergo testing to gauge knowledge of workplace safety regulations. The position involves the handling of goods and documents. Primary job duties include ensuring successful transfer and delivery of goods to intended destinations.
Other Duties
Additional responsibilities include sorting packages for delivery, operating heavy machinery, such as forklifts, trucks, and hydraulic conveyor belts, and, on rare occasions, picking up and delivering packages. Prospective workers must meet the minimum age requirement of 16 to gain hiring consideration.
Salary and Compensation
How Much Do They Get Paid?
The position of package handler represents an entry-level job opportunity at FedEx branch locations. Package handler employees typically begin earning roughly $12.00 an hour, depending on previous experience. Pay scales rise to about $14.00 an hour for experienced package handler workers.
Flexible Scheduling
The position features both part-time and full-time flexible work schedules and provides paid training for new hires. FedEx package handlers may also take advantage of available career paths featuring annual salary options and access to comprehensive employment benefits packages.
Additional Benefits
FedEx typically offers package handler employees access to pension plans, 401(k) retirement plans, and healthcare options. Additional job benefits become available to senior or tenured workers. As the online shopping industry continues to flourish, companies like FedEx benefit from the demand for ground and air shipping.
Seasonal Opportunities
Individuals looking for jobs in the shipping and delivery industry should continue to find viable employment opportunities as demand increases, especially around busy shopping holidays.
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FedEx Freight Handler Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer:Please describe your job title and primary duties.
FedEx Freight Handler:I was a freight handler, basically what would happen is we were at a consolidation center and we would take kind of just moving packages from small trucks that would be coming from stores into the warehouse. Then putting those on larger trucks to go to a bigger distribution center.
Interviewer:What was the work environment like?
FedEx Freight Handler:It was a warehouse, for anybody that’s ever worked in a warehouse it wasn’t too different than anything else. Kind of hot in the summer, cold in the winter, that kind of deal.
Interviewer:What was your favorite part about working there?
FedEx Freight Handler:I liked how the hours are pretty flexible. If you wanted to say, have a three day weekend you could go work a couple extra hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That was kind of a perk.
Interviewer:Please describe the application and interview process.
FedEx Freight Handler:It’s pretty easy. I applied around the holidays and I guess what they do is they bring a lot of temporary people on for that holiday rush and then after that if they like what you did or if they need people at that specific location they’ll keep you on. But it was an online application that was pretty straight forward.
Interviewer:What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
FedEx Freight Handler:I never really had a vocal interview. I sent a resume in, they wanted a cover letter too, kind of why I wanted to work there. But as far as the interview went, I’d say they just wanted to make sure I was able to lift packages and that I was okay working in a warehouse.
Interviewer:What set you apart from other candidates?
FedEx Freight Handler:Part of the problem with working for a big company like this is it does take awhile. I applied and probably in three weeks they sent me an email letting me know that I was hired. I never had a phone call with a live person, which was kind of interesting.
Interviewer:What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
FedEx Freight Handler:I’d say there’s a lot of jobs out there and if you just put your name in the hat somebody will give you a call. Especially in shipping.
FedEx Package Handler Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
FedEx Package Handler: I was a package handler, so basically just come in for the pre-sort meeting. That was the first thing, lasts about five minutes – talk about what we’re going to do for the day. Then, we get to work. So, the receiving… trucks that have been there and already receiving would get unloaded and sent up through a series of belts and chutes, and as that would come across, it would get sorted into their different destinations that we’re going to be sending them out to. So as we sort them, they get sent to their own individual belts across a long line. We had at least 30-some doors. And as they got sent to their individual trucks, we would just have to make sure to use a scanner, a little hand scanner that would track the barcode and make sure it’s going to the right truck. It gets put in the truck and sent to the back. And then you have to do a good job building the walls, so you could get as much packages into the proper trucks as possible.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
FedEx Package Handler: I would say definitely it helped with the hours and the people there. The people there were good, but just the hours I would have – you go in for the afternoon… you get there at five and just work until the end of the day. So, it just enabled me to do other things: go to school. A flexible schedule for the most part, that I could work around school and other jobs. That was important.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
FedEx Package Handler: It was very short. They had a… everyone came in and basically went on a small tour. They had 20-some people, a lot of people come in, and all at once gave you a quick tour and small job description of everything – told you what you’re going to be doing. And after that, they had everyone get on their own computer system and do a 15-minute resume and profile description. And then after that, you just kind of waited until they called you back.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
FedEx Package Handler: I think they just wanted to know a lot of what your schedule was. Are you better suited to do the morning shift, which would be very early in the morning, like 4am or earlier that they got there, and then they’d work until 9 or 10? Or are you better for the pre-sort, or the evening? Because there was multiple shifts. So, I think they were just more concerned with which one you fit into better with your time constraints.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
FedEx Package Handler: You just have to be willing to go in there and work. It’s definitely a strenuous… in terms of the conditions, it can be strenuous to arms, back, and you’ve got to make sure you’re properly hydrated because you’re sweating off a lot when it’s hot in there. But as long as you’re able to physically handle the workload and just follow people’s advice… and there’s different tricks for picking up and placing packages that’ll help you save your back and that sort of stuff. So as long as you pay attention to that and go in and work hard, you’ll do fine.
FedEx Safety Manager Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
FedEx Safety Manager: Well, I started out as a package handler, but I was appointed to the safety committee. While doing my job, I was responsible for making sure people followed safety rules, and I would look for and find ways to make the work environment safer for package handlers out on the floor… and just other safety issues that I could find that we could address.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
FedEx Safety Manager: The environment, it’s a warehouse, so you’re not going to have a lot of customer interaction unless you’re in a QA position. It’s just you and your assigned duties, and you get those duties done with your coworkers. Everyone works along well. If you work as a team, you get done fast.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
FedEx Safety Manager: Favorite part about working there… probably the people. Some of the best friends I have, I met at FedEx. Even after they left or we all moved on to different jobs or graduated, I still keep in contact with them and see them on a regular basis.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
FedEx Safety Manager: Routines, you come in, you would sit down for a sort meeting where we discuss the numbers for the previous day and where we can improve on efficiency and productivity. Then, you would get out there on the floor. The unloaders would get their stuff up on the belts, the sorters would sort it and get everything to the trailers where they need to go, and the loaders would get it into trailers. It’s a pretty tight machine they run there. Everyone’s got their role, and everyone’s getting their roles done. If you stick to it and manage time and manpower accordingly, you can knock it out and have no problems.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
FedEx Safety Manager: I know you had to apply online. You had to go in for a sort op, which you’ll show up and you get a 10, 5-minute kind of thing where they walk you out on the floor, they show you just exactly… you can look hands-on what you’re going to be doing. You’re not going to be in the dark. You’re going to get to see all the guys in action doing their stuff. Then, you’ll do your interview, and you’ll come back and you’ll go through the application, the drug test, and you’ll watch a series of videos, safety videos – you get paid for that. You get paid to watch videos. Then your first week on the job now – I think it’s your first two weeks – they have a training regimen. They have you assigned to an assigned trainer who will walk you through the steps and show you how everything works before they let you out on your own.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
FedEx Safety Manager: Before they hired you… well, one of the things they definitely want to know is if you’re comfortable in a fast-paced work environment and if you’re physically fit. You’ve got to lift 50, 70-pound boxes every day. Not on a regular basis, a few times a night. You’re going to be in a trailer, you’re going to be working fast. You have to have some sort of physical endurance to do it. That’s a big major… that you’re committed. If you’re not going to show, they’re not going to want you. I mean, just about any place could say that.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
FedEx Safety Manager: If you’re a college student, I would say absolutely go to FedEx Ground. The benefits are ridiculous. After 60 days, you get your $1,500 tuition reimbursem*nt a year. It starts out $9.50 an hour. After 1,000 hours, you’re entitled to medical, vision, and dental benefits. They take good care of you, and it’s only part-time work. You’re doing 20 to 25 hours a week, if you’re just doing the part-time package handler like I did. So you have plenty of time to do your classes and your school, and you’re making money on the side, and it’s paying for your schooling. So, it’s outstanding if you’re a college student.
FedEx Sorting Supervisor Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: I was a sorter/package handler supervisory position. I controlled several people from five, six, up to seven or eight people at a time loading trailers, moving them to where they needed them to be.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: It’d probably be the sense of accomplishment you feel after you’re done with your work. You walk in and think that there’s too much to do, and then somehow you all manage to come together and pull it off as a team. It really feels good at the end of the day.
Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: You would walk in, and your manager would sit everyone down at the same time and go over the work that needs to be done that day, what companies you’re getting, how much of it, and the goals that they’d like to see you accomplish for the day. So, you would then head to your positions. As a sort manager, you would go up to the tower to a conveyor belt that would transfer packages along across you, and then you would sort them to individual trailers. Each person or people in those trailers would then load the boxes, scan them, load them in the trailer, and then you would do that for the next four hours until boxes stopped coming. Generally, workdays are anywhere between three to five or six hours, and the evening shift starts at about five, generally speaking. But it’s not… it’s mostly laidback as far as environment goes.
Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: Before you can get hired at FedEx, you have to go through a walkthrough, which they lead potential employees around into the workplace. They show you the different stations, they introduce you to upper management, and generally make you feel comfortable. And the next phase is going in to actually fill out the application. They’ll have you sit down at a computer and answer several simple questions that any employer would probably ask you. And then you would come back for an interview after the application process. At the interview, they would let you know whether you would be in morning sort or evening sort, depending on your schedule or their schedule.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: They would want to know if you had ever done any type of physical activity. That’s very important – being able to maintain a healthy body image and the ability to complete physically tough work – lift over 30 pounds or sustain cardiac movement of longer than an hour at a time. It’s mostly job titles like landscaping or construction or any type of physical activity would be preferable.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
FedEx Sorting Supervisor: I would say it’s very laidback. As long as you can accomplish your work in a set, quick manner – in an efficient manner – then you’ll have absolutely no issues at FedEx.
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