You came to the right place to write a perfect receptionist resume.
One that will land you that dream job with this amazing company you always wanted to work for.
That will present you not as just one of 500 other candidates but one in 500.
One that will make the hiring manager say:
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is the future face of our company. The one we’ve been waiting for!”
This guide will show you:
A receptionist resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
How to write a receptionist resume in our builder and land more interviews.
Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a receptionist resume.
How to describe your experience on a resume for receptionist positions to get any job you want.
Here's a sample resume for a receptionist made using our resume builder.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
The hiring manager, we’ll call him James, has a pile of 500 receptionist resumes on his desk staring him in the face.
He won’t read them. He’ll merely skim them for important details. If he doesn’t like what he sees at a first glance—the resume goes to the bin.
Make James grasp the value proposition in your receptionist resume fast. Go for a chronological resume format. It puts your recent jobs first. That saves James’ time.
Use big section headings, go heavy on white space, and pick presentable resume fonts.
Divide your receptionist resume into the following sections, in this very order:
Receptionist Resume Template
Contact information
Resume objective or summary
Work experience in reverse-chronological order
Education
Skills
Additional Sections (Certifications, Awards, Volunteer Experience, or Hobbies and Interests)
Pro Tip: Once done, save your receptionist resume in PDF. Word resumes can go south in transit.
Feel like you could use another string to your bow when designing your resume? We’ve got you covered!
In our builder, you can change the template of your receptionist resume with a single click. Even after you’ve written all the contents.
And you can choose from more than 20 different styles and 400 color combinations approved by recruiters to boost your chances of landing a job interview!
See these two front desk receptionist resume examples:
Resumes for Receptionist Positions: Sample Templates
Pro Tip: It’s best to make a resume the style of which matches the culture of the company you’re applying to. Eying a corporate receptionist position in a conservative organization? Go for an elegant, formal resume style. For jobs with relaxed companies, make a modern, creative resume.
We know there’s no one-size-fits-all resume template for front desk jobs. That’s why in our builder you can create and customize a resume tailor-made to fit the employer’s expectations with your minimum effort.
Write a Good Receptionist Resume Objective or Summary
Congratulations!
Your resume landed you a job as a receptionist at a Fortune 500 company!
The hiring manager knew he wanted to hire you right after starting to read your resume.
A dream scenario, right? Here’s the first step to make that dream come true:
A the top of your receptionist resume, put a carefully-curated resume objective or a summary—a short and sweet paragraph that explains why you’re the perfect candidate.
Which one to use on your resume?
Receptionist resume summary gives an outline of your career and highlights your best achievements. It works like a trailer for the rest of your resume. Use it if you’ve got relevant receptionist job experience.
Resume objective for receptionist jobs, in turn, discusses what you’ve learned so far and shows how you’d fit in. If you’re writing an entry-level receptionist resume with little experience, choose the resume objective.
See how that works in this example of a receptionist resume summary.
Example of Receptionist Resume Summary Statement
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Receptionist with over 5 years' experience working in both the public and private sectors. Diplomatic, personable, and adept at managing sensitive situations. Highly organized, self-motivated, and proficient with computers. Looking to boost students’ satisfactions scores for ABC University. Bachelor's degree in communications.
wrong
Former Penn State alum with a bachelor’s degree in communications. I’m looking to work as a receptionist.
See the difference, right? The right example is specific and makes an offer. The wrong one? It reads along the lines of “I want a job because I studied for a job.”
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Now, see these two very different examples of entry-level resume objective statements for a receptionist position.
Sample Receptionist Resume Objectives
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Outgoing college grad hoping to work in the private sector. Looking to apply proven organizational and technical skills in a receptionist role. Eager to expand my skill set in an organization that will help me grow.
wrong
Looking to work for a job at a university because I need job security and better benefits.
But it’s such a hard job! One that requires master-level multitasking and time management skills. Can you convey that on a resume?
Yes. There’s a special way to describe your work history to make your receptionist resume stand out from the crowd like Ariana Grande in a Dunkin’ Donuts.
How to Describe Receptionist Duties on a Resume
Start with your current or most recent position. Follow it with the one before it, and so on.
List: your job title, the company name, and the dates worked.
Under each position, add up to 5 bullet points.
In the receptionist job description for a resume, don’t just enter your duties. Focus on achievements.
Quantify whenever possible. Numbers add meaning to the work you’ve done.
Tailor every resume you send to the specific position you’re targeting. Focus on what you’ve done that’s relevant to this job.
A lot of information to process?
Don’t worry.
Our resume builder will walk you step by step through every section of your receptionist resume. You’ll get insider tips from career experts and examples you can copy, tweak, and use on your receptionist resume. Here’s how it works in practice:
Ready-to-use examples written by HR pros to help you land that job interview. Try our resume builder now.
If you just want to see sample descriptions of receptionist duties, look no further.
Receptionist Job Descriptions for a Resume: Examples
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RECEPTIONIST / 2015 - Present The Weston Center / Boston, MA
Fielded communications from clients and colleagues, triaging requests.
Acted as liaison between the company and priority clients.
Managed training and travel schedules for employees.
Implemented a new CRM with reporting capabilities. Cut costs by 30% and improved efficiency.
Achievements backed up by metrics—that will make every hiring manager want to call in this candidate for an interview!
wrong
The Weston Center / 2015-Present
I answered phones, organized mail, and scheduled training for the company.
I was polite with customers in the waiting area.
I took a lot of initiative.
Could you be any more generic?
If you want to highlight some parts of your resume, you can use bold for the bits you’re most proud of.
And if you choose to make a resume with our builder—
You can format the text however you please: bold, italics, underlines, links to proofs of your proudest professional wins—with our easy-to-use text editor, sky's the limit!
You can be sure the recruiter will notice your resume straight away.
To save space and impress recruiters with your key skills right away, move the skills sections to the sidebar on your resume. Use descriptions and bar charts to indicate your proficiency level—this way, you boost your chances of passing the ATS resume scan!
Add, remove, and move around your receptionist resume sections using our builder. Create your resume now.
Use the “Add & Remove Sections Tool” to move all sections around your resume. You can choose what goes where so that recruiters notice your best achievements at first glance.
To see in-depth instructions on how to list specific skills on a resume, make sure to read one of our guides:
Is listing your education on a receptionist resume the easiest part? Perhaps.
Does it mean it’s least important? Hell no!
You still need to include your education and describe it right. Employers might not care about your academic details, but they will want to know you have a degree.
In the education section of your resume, list:
Your degree type
Your major (and minors, if you have them)
School name
Graduation date
Like this:
Medical Receptionist Resume Example: Education
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA B.A. in Communications, summa cum laude
2010
No professional experience at all? In such case, do two things:
Move your education section above your work experience.
Elaborate on what you’ve learned and achieved at school a bit more.
Best receptionist resumes don’t just show your skills and experience. They prove them.
How?
By using additional resume sections. They showcase your verifiable achievements.
Have a look at some ideas of what to include in that extra section of your receptionist resume:
Examples of Receptionist Resume Extra Sections
Awards
Certifications
Additional training
Participation in conferences
Blogging and influencing
Can’t boast any of the above yet? Don’t worry. A receptionist resume with no experience can still benefit from an additional section. Check out these ideas:
Entry-Level Receptionist Resume Extra Sections
Volunteer experience
Hobbies and interests
Academic achievements
Yes, if you have little experience, it’s a great idea to include a list of hobbies and interests in your office receptionist resume.
After all, as a receptionist, you're the face of a company. You need to be friendly and personable. You also need to match the company culture.
Showing that you're a fun and interesting person will not only make your resume more memorable. It'll also tell the recruiter you're a good fit for the company.
Half of recruiters won’t even bother to open your resume if there’s no cover letter attached.
Plus, you can use a well-written receptionist cover letter to your tremendous advantage.
Think about looking for a job with no experience? Daunting, isn’t it?
Unlike a resume, a cover letter can explain your passion for the industry. A sense of purpose in pursuing your career.
Finally, it can tell a story. And humans love stories much more than data sheets.
But not only entry-level candidates should write cover letters.
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a spa receptionist resume, a medical office receptionist resume, a dental receptionist resume, or any other kind of a resume.
Attaching a cover letter doubles your chances of getting hired.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
Here’s how to write a receptionist resume step by step:
Open your receptionist resume with a resume objective or a resume summary. Highlight your proudest wins and make an offer.
In the job descriptions, focus on your achievements, not just clerical duties. Add numbers to validate your results.
Match your office skills list with the skills required by the employer.
Add extra sections that prove your value.
Personalize every resume you send. Use the name of the company you’re applying to and tailor the contents of your resume to the requirements in the job description.
Got more questions? Need further assistance? Drop me a line in the comments, I’ll get back to you straight away!
Michael, a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW) is a career writer and the newsletter coordinator at Zety. Apart from sharing his own resume-writing expertise, Michael reaches out to recruitment and hiring gurus to help you learn the most effective strategies for managing your career.
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