How to Hire a Receptionist

Why hire a receptionist?

A great receptionist hire can help your business by answering the phone in a friendly manner and directing the caller to the right employee. A friendly receptionist can make sure your customers and suppliers feel comfortable with everything.

• Increase the number of appointments for your business
• Provide excellent customer service to callers
• Increase the overall functionality of your business

Deciding between a full-time vs. freelance receptionist

Companies can hire freelance receptionists in both online and in-person capacities. Businesses that require receptionist services for a limited number of hours may be interested in hiring freelance receptionists due to lower wages. Freelance employees also may have their own benefits, such as health insurance and vacation time, so their temporary employers don’t have to pay. 

Businesses that need constant receptionist services, including doctors’ offices and hotels, would save money hiring a full-time receptionist due to the lower hourly cost of full-time employees. This also gives the employer more direct control over the employee’s responsibilities and holds the employee more accountable for their performance. 

What are the types of receptionists?

While there isn’t much of a hierarchy related to the receptionist job, a variety of front desk professions play a similar role. These positions include:

• Receptionist: Receptionists work in many locations, such as health care facilities, law firms, schools and corporations. They typically answer phone calls, arrange meetings with visitors and handle paperwork.
• Office coordinator: Office coordinators take care of tasks that are similar to those receptionists handle. They answer phone calls, prepare payroll information, perform bookkeeping duties and order office supplies. 
• Hotel front desk associate: Hotel desk associates take care of many of the same duties as receptionists, but they have a number of specialized tasks to do, including assigning rooms, responding to guest complaints and checking guests out. 
• Administrative assistant: This type of assistant has more complicated responsibilities, such as scheduling appointments for their employer, making travel arrangements and supporting the other staff members. 

Where to find receptionists

To find the right receptionist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Post flyers and help wanted signs: Hanging up signs in your window that tell the community there’s an open position may attract attention and speed up the hiring process. 
• Promote or hire from within: Promoting an existing employee to the receptionist job or having an employee make a lateral move to the position can be cheaper and faster than hiring from the outside.
• Communicate with your staff about the position: Tell your team about the open position to see if they know someone who’d be a great fit for the job.
• Post your job online: Try posting your receptionist job on Indeed to find and attract quality receptionist candidates.

What are the types of receptionists?

While there isn’t much of a hierarchy related to the receptionist job, a variety of front desk professions play a similar role. These positions include:

• Receptionist: Receptionists work in many locations, such as health care facilities, law firms, schools and corporations. They typically answer phone calls, arrange meetings with visitors and handle paperwork.
• Office coordinator: Office coordinators take care of tasks that are similar to those receptionists handle. They answer phone calls, prepare payroll information, perform bookkeeping duties and order office supplies. 
• Hotel front desk associate: Hotel desk associates take care of many of the same duties as receptionists, but they have a number of specialized tasks to do, including assigning rooms, responding to guest complaints and checking guests out. 
• Administrative assistant: This type of assistant has more complicated responsibilities, such as scheduling appointments for their employer, making travel arrangements and supporting the other staff members. 

Writing a receptionist job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified receptionist candidates. A receptionist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your receptionist job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on receptionist jobs, according to Indeed data. 

• Receptionist
• Administrative assistant
• Office assistant
• Front desk receptionist
• Front desk
• Clerical
• Customer service
• Medical receptionist
• Front desk agent
• Assistant

Interviewing receptionist candidates

Strong candidates for receptionist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Receptionist software to schedule and keep track
• Customer service
• Creating relationships with everyone at the business

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of receptionist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).