Receptionist Cover Letter Example & Writing Guide

You've got the skills of Joan Holloway and the demeanour of Miss Moneypenny. Show you know how to take command of the front desk with your receptionist cover letter.

Jacques Buffett, CPRW

Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Career Expert

Updated 27/09/2023

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As a receptionist, you deal with your fair share of letters and you probably don’t even give them a second thought. After all, dealing with incoming mail is part and parcel of the job. But there’s one piece of correspondence that you should get to know better. Your receptionist cover letter.

It’s the key to landing the best front desk jobs out there, and in less time than it takes to sort today’s incoming post, you’ll learn how to write one.

This guide is going to show you receptionist cover letter examples that’ll give you an easy-to-follow formula to write your own.

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Sample cover letter for a CV—See more cover letter examples and create your cover letter here.

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Receptionist Cover Letter Sample

Saira Khan

68 South Park Road

Battersea

SW11 2NY

sairakhan_zety@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/sairakhan_zety

0777 777 7777

23rd June 2020

Ruth Epstein

Head of Facilities

Synthetix Group

3-7 Newbold Place

London

SW1A 1FG

Dear Ms Epstein,

I am writing to apply for the role of front desk receptionist at your Newbold Place office. As an experienced receptionist with exceptionally high standards, and a strong command of administrative procedures. I am confident I could serve you well as the public face of Synthetix.

Synthetix’s move to new, larger offices has no doubt created new challenges as well as benefits. A larger more central location increases footfall from the public and from hub offices alike. At Cohen and Cohen I’ve learned to deal with high footfall whilst constantly meeting and exceeding targets for administrative tasks. I am also accustomed to providing support to the wider facilities team to overcome logistical obstacles, a can-do approach that I intend to contribute to Synthetix.

My speedy call handling skills have helped to reduce wait times by 20%, and I can see ease of communication is part of your core offering to your customers. I would love to help you reach new levels of success in this key aspect of the business. Working for a company with such an outstanding reputation for customer service would be an honour.

Thank you kindly for taking the time to consider my application. I’d be delighted to speak to you at your convenience so we can discuss the role further and I can give you more details about how I intend to deliver outstanding service to your customers.

Yours sincerely,

Saira Khan

You’ve just seen a great example of a cover letter for receptionist jobs and you’re about to learn how to write your own. But remember—

Even a perfect cover letter for a receptionist is useless without a great CV to accompany it. And we’ve got just the guide to help you write one: Receptionist CV Example & Writing Guide

And if you need advice for other careers we’ve got you covered too.

Receptionist Cover Letter Template

Here’s how to write your cover letter for a receptionist job application.

1. Start with a Professional Receptionist Cover Letter Format

Every good receptionist knows that first impressions count. You’re the face of your employer and you take pride in being perfectly presented and professional. Treat your cover letter the same way by ensuring its formatting is as impeccable as you are. Here’s how.

Have your page margins set at one inch in width and set your line spacing to single or 1.15.
Make use of an attractive, easily readable font. The best CV fonts are perfect for cover letters as well.
And be aware of cover letter length before you start writing. It shouldn’t be more than one page.

2. Write Your Receptionist Cover Letter Header

No doubt you’ll have sent some business correspondence in your time. It’s worth remembering that a cover letter for receptionist jobs is also a formal business document and needs to follow the standard rules for layout. So here’s a refresher on setting out your header correctly.

Make sure you’ve written the cover letter address properly. Right-align your own contact details and the date, making sure it’s written in the correct format, e.g. 23rd June 2020.
Include your phone number, email address and LinkedIn profile as well as your address.
Then change back to left alignment and write the hiring manager’s name and address.

Using a name is really important as it takes advantage of a powerful psychological effect. Quite simply, when you read your own name you pay more attention, and that’s exactly what you want the hiring manager to do. Do a little detective work to discover the hiring manager’s name and it’ll pay off. The easiest way is just to phone the company and ask.

3. Open with a Personal Greeting and an Attention-Grabbing First Paragraph

Now it’s time to get started on the main content of your receptionist cover letter. Your opening has to be positive and convince the hiring manager that they should keep reading.

Start with the standard formal greeting, ‘Dear [hiring manager’s name]’. Whatever you do, avoid ‘To Whom it May Concern’ and ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, they’re both far too stiff and formal.
And if you don’t have a named person to send it to? Use ‘Dear Hiring Manager’ instead, it’s much more warm and personalised than ‘To Whom It May Concern’.
In the first paragraph, ensure you name the role you’re applying for so you make your intentions clear and show you’ve written a specifically tailored cover letter.
Then throw in a ‘hook’ to catch the recruiter’s attention. Mention an impressive professional accomplishment that shows you’re a great candidate.

4. Add More Proof That You’re the Best Candidate

In the middle of your receptionist cover letter you should add more evidence that you’ll be a great choice of employee. Here’s how to keep up the momentum.

Plan your second paragraph using the job advert. It’ll mention all of the skills and experience the hiring manager wants in their ideal candidate. Your job is to show your own experience and abilities match up with their expectations.
Do this by mentioning additional accomplishments tailored to the requirements of the job. Quantify them with numbers for an even more powerful effect.
And use accomplishment statements to add structure to your achievements. This way you’re not just saying what you did, but proving how well you did it.

5. Show How Much You Want the Job

For the third paragraph you need to show some passion and explain just why you want this job with this employer. This is particularly important when you’re writing a receptionist cover letter with no experience. Energy and enthusiasm show that you’ll hit the ground running and make a positive contribution, even without a relevant work history. Here’s how to write it.

Research the employer, check their corporate website, read employee reviews or find some recent news stories about them. Then use this to highlight a positive fact about the company that makes you want to work for them.
And show how you can help solve their challenges. E.g. if you’re a phone system whiz, explain how you can help reduce call waiting times.

Using this strategy will prove that you’ll make a productive and committed team member.

6. End with a Call to Action & Say Thank You

Your last paragraph of your receptionist cover letter should tie everything together and convince the hiring manager that their front desk has your name on it. This is how to do it.

Use a call to action to encourage the hiring manager to interview you. All you need to do is ask them to get in touch with you to discuss the role further. Simply asking for an interview significantly increases your chances of getting one.
Say thank you! That’s not just a throwaway either. It’s another clever psychological trick to tip the odds in your favour because gratitude is proven to motivate people.
Underline your credentials as a candidate. Throw in another professional achievement or mention your goals to grow and learn in your new role.
And one thing you don’t need to say? ‘Please find attached my CV’. It’s a bit redundant these days and there are better ways to say it if you really need to.

7. Use a Strong Sign-Off

Just as with your receptionist cover letter header you need to use formal business formatting.

Sign off using your full name and add a scanned copy of your handwritten signature.
Use ‘Yours sincerely’ if your letter was addressed to a named person and ‘Yours faithfully’ if it wasn’t.
And if you’re sending your cover letter for a receptionist job as the body of an email, change your layout and include your contact details in your email signature.

This piece about writing a UK receptionist cover letter is intended as a quick guide. If you’d like more detailed advice then read more here: Complete Guide to Writing a Cover Letter

And one last reminder before I go. A well-written cover letter example for receptionist jobs is a powerful addition to your job hunt, but it always needs a great CV to go with it.

When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

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When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Thanks for reading our guide. You’ll now know everything there is about writing an effective and simple cover letter for receptionist jobs. Perhaps you’d like to know more about specific situations, like writing a medical receptionist cover letter? If so, then please let me know in the comments section and I’ll be happy to help.

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