The Brazilian Postal Service, known as Correios, has recently reported the results of its latest hiring examination, marking its first extensive public recruitment drive in over thirteen years. The exam, which took place on December 15, 2024, aimed to fill 3,511 immediate job vacancies as the state enterprise seeks to bolster its workforce.
With over 1.6 million applicants, the attendance rate for the exam was 59.85%, as reported by the company. This statistic translates to approximately 1,000,692 candidates who successfully completed the examinations. Fabiano Silva dos Santos, the president of Correios, expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of the exams, stating, "Estamos felizes em realizar, com competência e tranquilidade, as provas deste concurso público. [...] levar serviços eficientes para o povo brasileiro, onde quer que esteja" ("We are happy to conduct these public exams competently and calmly. [...] provide efficient services to the Brazilian people wherever they are").
The recent competition saw the largest number of candidates since the last nationwide recruitment drive held back in 2011, when 1.1 million registered for over 9,000 positions. This year's exam is set to fill 3,511 roles—3,099 for mail carriers, predominantly requiring high school completion, and 412 roles for analysts, which necessitate higher educational qualifications. Interestingly, about 93% of the total candidates, or 1,560,704 individuals, competed for the mail carrier positions.
The examination process varied based on the position. Candidates vying for the mail carrier role faced 50 multiple-choice questions covering topics such as Portuguese language, mathematics, general knowledge, and ethical guidelines. The exam lasted four hours. Similarly, candidates for analyst positions, such as lawyers, system analysts, architects, archivists, social workers, and engineers, also underwent assessments with multiple-choice formats followed by writing assignments.
The Brazilian Postal Service plans to release the preliminary answer key for the objective tests and the exam questionnaires by December 16, 2024—just one day following the examinations. Following this, the schedule for subsequent phases of the hiring process, including initial appointments, will be disclosed by January 2025.
Salaries for the newly hired individuals will vary from R$ 2,429.26 for entry-level positions to R$ 6,872.48 for higher-skilled roles. Alongside competitive pay, Correios bolsters its employee benefits package which includes:
- Meal allowance of nearly R$ 1,400 per month.
- Transportation assistance available to all employees.
- Health insurance options.
- Childcare assistance up to R$ 714.72 for employees with children under seven.
- Reimbursement for expenses for dependents needing special care, reaching R$ 1,030.58.
- Extra pay for weekend work at 15% of base salary.
- Cash bonuses for positions involving handling cash, valued at R$ 267.64.
Overall, the recruitment initiative attempts to address significant manpower shortages within the company. Unions argue these vacancies are insufficient to meet Correios' operational needs, especially after voluntary redundancy programs led to workforce reductions. Observers anticipate Correios will require to appoint more candidates than initially announced, even if the official documents do not currently mention any reserve lists.
President Silva dos Santos emphasized the importance of this recruitment for the company's strengthening capacity, saying, "Com o reforço do efetivo, nossa empresa agora tem melhores condições para executar os projetos estratégicos [...] para o povo brasileiro" ("With the reinforcements to our workforce, our company now has improved conditions to execute the strategic projects [...] for the Brazilian people"). This hiring drive not only aims to fulfill current needs but also supports the government's directive to provide efficient services across Brazil.
With expectations for more candidates to be called for positions and the promise of principal and supportive roles within the company, all eyes will be on the forthcoming announcements this January. The Brazilian Postal Service is heading toward refreshing its workforce and facilitating the required services expected by its users nationwide.
