STEP 1
Build the Ideal Candidate Profile
To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.
How To Hire A Receptionist
Admin & OfficeComplete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Receptionist hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
RECEPTIONIST RECRUITMENT GUIDE
What does a Receptionist do?
A Receptionist is the first point of contact of visitors and guests in an office or any premise. They greet and welcome visitors, assist them if they have concerns or questions, and provide drinks or food to them while they wait. They also provide administrative support including sorting mail and other correspondences, monitoring calendar of activities, and answering phone calls.
Day to day tasks of a Receptionist
- Other ad hoc administrative tasks.
- Greet and welcome visitors and clients.
- Assist visitors in navigating the place.
- Help maintain security in the premise by checking baggage, issuing badges, collecting necessary ID, and keeping a visitors’ log record.
- Assist in some administrative tasks including photocopying, taking notes, printing, and answering phone calls.
- Prepare rooms for meetings.
- Sort and distribute mail and other correspondence.
RECEPTIONIST DEFINITION
A Receptionist’s primary responsibility is to welcome and greet visitors or clients upon coming into the office or premise. Because of this, they require skills that will enable them to assist and attend to visitors in different situations.
HIRING PROCESS
Receptionist Hiring Process
STEP 2
Write A Job Description Based On Skills
Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.
STEP 3
Selecting The Ideal Candidate
See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.
STEP 4
Interview Top Performers
Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.
STEP 5
Making An Offer
Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Skills needed for a Receptionist
A Receptionist must have good communication and interpersonal skills. Because a receptionist will be facing clients and visitors, they must have good customer service orientation to ensure a pleasant experience.
- Initiative
- Communication
- Multitasking
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Receptionist job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Receptionist job description:
- Job Title
- What position are you hiring for?
- Summary
- What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
- Responsibilities
- An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
- Requirements
- Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
- Benefits
- Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Receptionist
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Question 1
MultitaskingQuestion Type: Text
You just came back from holiday and had 3,000 unread emails and you could only answer 50 of them. How do you choose which ones to answer?
Question 2
CommunicationQuestion Type: Audio
You are working as the Receptionist of a central city business tower, a group of associates has arrived for a meeting at one of the many companies within the tower.Please record how you would greet them.
Question 3
InitiativeQuestion Type: Text
If you are assigned a task which you are not familiar with, what will be your process of completing it?
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Receptionist
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
MAKING AN OFFER
How much does it cost to hire a Receptionist?
The US average for a Receptionist is $31,530 according to Glassdoor.com. Salary.com meanwhile, reports it at $36,329. The lowest reported salary is at $26,000, while the highest is at $119,000. Some employers offer additional pay including cash bonus, incentives, commissions, and sharing. The salaries being offered vary depending on the education, years of experience, and the location.
United States
Receptionists’ salaries in the United States range from $26,000 - $119,000 (USD), but the average falls between $31,000 - $36,000. Receptionists’ salaries vary depending on their years of experience, additional skills or niches they may have, industry of the company, and their location.
Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Salary.com
United Kingdom
Receptionists’ salaries in the United Kingdom range from £14,000 - £95,000 (GBP), but the average falls between £18,000 - £20,000 (GBP). Receptionists’ salaries vary depending on their years of experience, additional skills or niches they may have, industry of the company, and their location.
Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Payscale.com
Australia
Receptionists’ salaries in Australia range from $36,000 - $65,000 (AUD) , but the average falls between $46,000 - $57,000 (AUD). Receptionists’ salaries vary depending on their years of experience, additional skills or niches they may have, industry of the company, and their location.
Source: Source: Talent.com; Payscale.com