Receptionist Resume

About This Resume

Almost every clinic, law office and car dealership has a front desk that is staffed before the doors open and covered until the last visitor leaves. These desks handle the calls, the check-ins, and the small crises that make everyone else's mornings and afternoons quieter and more predictable. The job is open to people from all kinds of work, as offices often hire from retail counters, hotel lobbies and call centers. So each opening draws a crowd.

A receptionist's day includes juggling phone lines, booking appointments and taking payments that have to balance at close. To get hired for the desk, you should show hands-on experience with scheduling software and a flair for calming down an upset caller without keeping the next one waiting. That is what an office manager looks for first, usually in the summary and the first job listed.

What to Include

• A headline that names the job you want, such as Front Desk Receptionist or Medical Receptionist
• A two-line summary with your years at a desk and the kinds of offices you've worked in
• Phone and booking systems you've used, named the way the job posting names them
• Daily volume in rough numbers: calls, check-ins or appointments on a normal day
• Payments, insurance cards and records requests you've handled, since money and paperwork are part of the job
• Retail, restaurant or hotel jobs where you dealt with the public face to face
• CPR or First Aid certification if you're applying to medical or dental offices

Receptionist Resume Sample

Tips for Your Receptionist Resume

• Write "Answered a six-line phone and booked about 60 appointments a day" instead of "Answered phones." The number shows your pace.
• If the job is at a clinic or dental office, borrow the posting's own words, such as patient check-in and insurance verification, so the software many employers use to sort applications can match them.
• Whenever possible, add a line that ties your manner to something that happened at a desk. Any applicant can say they're good with people. To stand out, you need to show an office manager one real example, such as keeping a full lobby informed while the booking system was down.
• Counter jobs count too. If you have not worked in an office yet, you should include the phones, the cash drawer and the complaints you handled in retail or food service, written the same way as desk duties.
• A second language could lead to a better offer. A tested typing speed may also help, so put both where a manager can find them at a glance.
• When you write dates, format them consistently. That is, if one job reads "2021 to present," make sure every other job uses the same style.
• Front desk work is so full of names, numbers and messages that an office manager will read your resume as a sample of how accurate you'll be at the desk. Read it aloud once, slowly. Then have someone you trust look over it before you apply.
• Always try to get your resume directly to the office manager who will be training the new hire. Bear in mind that you are more likely to get a call from a small office if you drop off a printed copy at a quiet hour and ask for that person by name.