14 Receptionist Resume Examples for 2025

Looking to build a good resume for a receptionist role? This article provides trusted examples and tips to help you highlight your skills, experience, and knowledge. Learn how to format your resume and use keywords that hiring managers look for in receptionist applications.

  Compiled and approved by Liz Bowen
  Last updated on See history of changes

  Next update scheduled for

At a Glance

Here's what we see in the best receptionist resumes:

  • Use Numbers To Show Impact: Show visitor satisfaction rates, call response times, appointment scheduling efficiency, and front desk productivity. Numbers help show your value.

  • Choose The Right Skills: Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned on the job description. Some popular ones are Microsoft Office, phone systems, data entry, calendar management, and customer service software. But don't include all of them, choose the ones you have and are mentioned in the JD.

  • Adapt To Technology: The job now often involves technology. Mention skills like office software or CRM systems.

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Position the education on your resume

As you craft your resume for a receptionist role, think about where your education fits best. If you have recently graduated or are currently a student, place your education near the top. This positions you as someone who is newly trained and ready to apply your learnings. Consider including any relevant coursework or certifications that can show your ability to handle front office tasks.

If you have been working for some time, then your work experience will likely take the spotlight. In this case, your education should follow your job experiences. Ensure to highlight any courses or qualifications related to customer service or administration, as they are crucial for receptionist positions. Always remember to keep your resume clear and show your most relevant experience first to catch the hiring manager’s attention.

Emphasize customer service expertise

For anyone seeking a role at the reception desk, displaying customer service skills is essential. Explain how you excel in providing service to all visitors.

  • Detail instances where you've successfully managed customer complaints or provided solutions that enhanced visitor satisfaction.
  • Include any recognition you received for outstanding service, like 'Employee of the Month' awards or positive reviews.

These points show you understand the importance of making a good first impression and can maintain a welcoming environment, which is critical in such a front-facing role.

Optimal resume length

As a hiring manager, I recommend that you keep your resume concise. For a receptionist position, aim for a one-page document. This length is sufficient to outline your skills, experience, and education without overwhelming the reader. Ensure everything on your resume is relevant to the job you are applying for.

Focus on including recent work experience and any receptionist-specific skills, such as managing phone lines or scheduling appointments. If you have extensive experience or qualifications that span over 10 years, you may extend to two pages. However, remember that hiring managers typically review the first page with greater attention, so place your strongest points there. Keep the font and margins at a readable size, avoiding the need to cram too much information on one page.

Display organizational prowess

As the first point of contact, your ability to organize and manage tasks efficiently is critical. To convey this effectively:

  • Include specific examples of how you've maintained organization within a busy front office area.
  • Describe the systems or methods you've used to streamline administrative processes or improve office workflow.

Remember, concrete examples can demonstrate that you're highly qualified in maintaining order amidst various tasks that reception work involves.

Additionally, consider mentioning how your organizational skills have contributed to a positive office environment or enhanced the overall productivity of the team.

Beat the resume screeners

You need to know about resume screeners and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) when applying for receptionist jobs. These are tools that employers use to sort and rank resumes. They search for keywords and phrases that match the job description. Make sure your resume is ATS-friendly so it gets seen by a hiring manager.

  • Include job-specific terms like 'customer service' and 'appointment scheduling' that show your direct experience.
  • Use a clear, standard font and format to ensure the ATS can read your resume without errors.

Remember, the goal is to get your resume past the screeners and into human hands. Your experience as a receptionist is important, so make it easy for the ATS to find.

Show software proficiency

Receptionists often use office software to schedule appointments and manage data. List any software you know well, like Microsoft Office or appointment scheduling tools.

Highlight any experience with phone systems or customer management software. This shows you can handle the technical parts of the role.

Ignoring relevant skills

When you apply for a job as a receptionist, it's easy to not focus on the specific skills needed. You might know these, but if you don't show them on your resume, hiring managers won't see how you fit the role. A good resume should highlight two key skills: multitasking and communication. Receptionists often do many tasks at once and talk to many people each day.

Make sure your resume talks about any experience you have with handling multiple tasks and speaking with others in a clear, polite way. This could be in a previous job as a front desk agent, or in roles where you worked with many customers. If you have used phone systems or schedules in other jobs, these are also good to include as they are part of the daily work for receptionists.

Highlight communication skills

For a receptionist position, show your strong communication skills. Employers look for people who can answer phones and greet visitors professionally.

Include specific examples of tasks like scheduling, handling inquiries, and managing the front desk. This shows you have the right experience for the job.

Showcase your achievements

When you apply for receptionist roles, focus on your achievements rather than simply listing your past duties. Your resume should show how you have made a positive impact, not just the tasks you were responsible for.

Think about how you improved processes, enhanced customer satisfaction, or saved time through your actions. Here are some examples to guide you:

  • Instead of writing 'Handled incoming calls', you could say 'Managed over 50+ daily calls, ensuring quick response time and high caller satisfaction'
  • Instead of 'Scheduled appointments for clients', showcase an impact with 'Streamlined appointment scheduling, resulting in a 20% increase in office efficiency'

Show your front desk skills

When you apply for a job as a receptionist, show that you know the work well. You have to let the hiring manager see your skills in greeting visitors, managing phones, and keeping things organized. Make your resume fit the job by listing your exact skills and experiences that match what the job needs.

  • Include words like multi-line phone systems, appointment scheduling, and customer service to show your skills.
  • If you have kept a lobby area tidy and welcoming, say you have managed reception area appearance.
  • List any software you use like Microsoft Office or booking systems to show you can handle tasks fast and without mistakes.

Highlighting leadership growth

If you have moved up or taken on more responsibilities in your roles, it's key to show this on your resume. As a receptionist, you might not have had a formal title change, but you can still highlight leadership experience. Think about times you've trained new staff or managed a project.

  • Managed appointment scheduling for a team of 10, improving efficiency by 20%
  • Led a shift to a new digital filing system, training 15 colleagues in its use

You may also have been recognized for your work ethic or customer service with a promotion. These moments can show your ability to lead and take charge. Mention any awards or recognition you received for your work. For example:

  • Awarded 'Employee of the Month' for outstanding client service and team support
  • Promoted to lead receptionist after consistently performing at a high level

Use strong action verbs

When you apply for a job as a receptionist, you should start your resume statements with good action verbs. These words help you show your skills and work experience in a clear way. You want to make sure the verbs tell about your ability to welcome guests, handle tasks, and support your team.

Choose verbs that fit the work you did and that show you are good at your job. For example, if you helped make a place friendly for visitors, you could use a verb like greeted instead of a simple word like met. This gives a better picture of your job as a receptionist.

  • To show you can manage tasks and info, use organized, maintained, coordinated, documented, updated.
  • For helping people and giving good service, use assisted, guided, resolved, informed, supported.
  • To show you can work with computers and office tools, use entered, processed, navigated, compiled, generated.
  • If you answered calls and talked a lot with people, use answered, directed, communicated, liaised, engaged.
  • To show you can handle money or fees, use collected, recorded, reconciled, deposited, managed.

Want inspiration for other action verbs you can use? Check out synonyms to commonly used action verbs like Achieved, Plan, Analyzed, Hosted, Perform.

Essential skills for receptionists

When crafting your resume as a receptionist, focus on including relevant hard skills that show you can perform the job well. You want to make sure these skills are easy to find for hiring managers and applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan for keywords.

Here are some key skills you should consider:

  • Customer service
  • Multi-line phone systems
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Data entry
  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Basic accounting software
  • Email management
  • Document filing
  • Office equipment operation
  • Language skills

Include these skills in a dedicated section on your resume. If you have experience with specific tools or software, like QuickBooks for accounting tasks or Google Workspace for managing digital documents, highlight these as well. Remember, you don't need to list every skill you have, just those that are most relevant to the receptionist role you want. If you are skilled in a particular area, like managing legal documents or medical coding, include those if they apply to the job you're applying for.

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