Receptionist Job Description for Creating a Resume

When you apply for a job, separating yourself from the other candidates begins with your resume. Hiring managers often use this essential document to narrow down the field of potential employees before making the final decision based on an interview. If you want to ensure you make it to that last stage of the hiring process, you must craft a strong resume that includes all the information employers want to see.

As you draft your resume, consider the skills, education, certifications, and responsibilities employers are expecting to see. One way to make sure you aren’t leaving anything out is to study professional sample documents, such as our receptionist job description for creating a resume. Use this sample along with the writing guide to ensure your resume has the best chance to wow potential employers.

Using a Receptionist Job Description for a Resume

As a receptionist, you will likely be part of a pool of jobseekers who come from a variety of professional and educational backgrounds, but despite these differences, there are still some vital industry-standard skills and qualifications employers expect to see on your resume.

Receptionist Summary

If your resume starts off with an old-school objective statement, it’s time for an update. The professional summary section is your marketing pitch, and your goal is to show the reader the level of value you would bring to the company. You don’t need to be overly detailed; rather, use a few sentences to cover your most relevant and impressive qualifications. Important areas to mention include customer service, communication, professionalism, and organizational skills.

Receptionist Education & Certification

Depending on the company, there may not be a strict educational requirement for the receptionist position. However, that doesn’t mean this section of your resume is unimportant. In fact, it is your chance to separate yourself from the competition by listing any degrees or professional certifications you hold. Stick to accomplishments that are relevant to the job, but don’t be afraid to list academic honors, such as graduating cum laude, and relevant extracurriculars, such as organizing events.

Receptionist Duties & Responsibilities

The receptionist often serves as the face of a company; he or she is responsible for interacting with clients, greeting guests, and facilitating communication between internal and external parties. As such, it’s essential to use your resume to draw attention to your customer service and communication abilities to help the hiring manager feel confident that you would represent the company in a positive and professional manner.

Use your professional summary and work experience sections to show examples of your receptionist skills in action. Instead of simply listing your daily tasks at previous positions or saying you are a good receptionist, describe situations where you used your communication, organizational, interpersonal, and customer-service abilities successfully. Think of your career achievements and describe them using metrics to show the positive impact of your work.

Receptionist Skills

This second section on your resume uses bullet points to draw a reader’s gaze and get your point across quickly. Condense your list of abilities down to the ones that are most relevant to the position; you can figure out what skills the employer cares about the most by studying the job description. Be sure to balance your soft skills, such as communication, friendliness, and dedication, with examples of technical proficiency, such as typing speed and familiarity with scheduling software.

Receptionist Resume

How To Get Your Receptionist Resume Past an ATS

Your goal is to create an impressive resume that will catch a hiring manager’s attention and lead to an interview. However, you may have an additional obstacle to clear before your resume even lands on a hiring manager’s desk: a computerized Applicant Tracking System. Many companies are utilizing this technology to complete an initial screening of submitted resumes before sending them along to the hiring manager.

The good news about preparing your resume to pass an ATS is that many of the steps are things you would be doing anyway to improve your resume. You’ll need to eliminate spelling mistakes and grammatical errors since they can confuse an ATS. It’s also important to make sure your document is easy to read by choosing a standard professional font and using a clear format. This will increase your chances of impressing both an ATS and a hiring manager.

There are a few additional steps to take to optimize your document to earn an ATS program’s approval. Most systems search resumes for specific terminology and keywords, so you should use a receptionist job description for a resume to make sure you include the right words at the correct frequency. Not sure what keywords you should use? Try feeding several receptionist job listings into a text analysis program, such as one that creates a word cloud. The results can help you easily see likely keywords.

Once you have your keywords, how should you incorporate them into your resume? Focus on using them naturally and not overusing them, as keyword stuffing will likely lead to a poor ATS score. In the sample receptionist resume, some of the keywords repeated throughout the text include communication, customer service, scheduling, and organization. Start your resume off well with a strong professional summary that includes your job title and describes a few outstanding achievements using keywords.