Top 12 Receptionist Skills to be good on the Job

Top 12 Receptionist Skills to be good on the Job

To be good at performing the duties of a receptionist, certain skills and qualities are needed.

A receptionist is a front desk officer in charge of receiving visitors and customers entering the organization.

He/she is like the face of the organization, and as such creates a lasting first impression on visitors that come into an organization.

Here are top twelve skills and qualities you will need to build to give the best performance possible to your employers:

1. Communication Skills

Most good receptionists in town are exceptional communicators. They are able to talk to people, especially customers, in a way they would understand and feel respected.

Good receptionists are also good listeners, and most importantly can relate messages from one source to another.

Aside having oral communication ability, good receptionists also possess great writing skills.

2. Multitasking Skills

The job of a receptionist can be very demanding. It sometimes goes beyond sitting down to welcome visitors.

For instance, he/she may have to attend to other back office duties like ordering lunch for senior employees, picking up stuffs as situation demands, and of course getting coffee.

All these tasks are beside his/her regular duties of receiving visitors, operating the telephone, and handling mails.

3. Trustworthy/Confidential

To be the best as a receptionist, you must be mature and discrete. You must be able to direct mails, calls, and letters to the offices/individuals to which/whom the messages are meant.

The receptionist can be an out-going individual, but must be frugal with words.

4. Computer Literacy

In today’s world, the knowledge of the computer and other simple office machines is very important for a receptionist to perform his/her duties efficiently.

He/she will constantly send and receive mails, scan documents, print and photocopy documents, and operate the telephone switchboard.

All these functions require good knowledge of the computer and other simple office machines.

5. Friendly

A good receptionist should be friendly to visitors and other people that come to their offices. He/she must be able to relate very well with his colleagues and visitors.

This does not mean that he/she should play around during office hours; however, having a good sense of humor and ability to make people smile is a quality that makes a receptionist outstanding.

6. Intelligence

This is another important quality of a good receptionist. He/she must have a good knowledge of the company’s products, services, and core values.

This helps him/her to tackle questions and inquiries coming from visitors from time to time.

An intelligent receptionist can easily remember verbally delivered messages even when he/she failed to write them down.

7. Tolerance and Patience

These qualities are common with most good receptionists. In fact, they are must have qualities for all front office employees.

Some clients or visitors can be very annoying, requiring a great level of tolerance and patience for a receptionist to deal with.

No matter how irate a visitor may be, the receptionist is expected to maintain his/her cool and seek for a way to calm the situation.

8. Professionalism

Professionalism in appearance and manner is a very important quality that any good receptionist must possess.

He/she must always dress modestly and neatly too. In addition, he/she must always maintain a positive attitude.

9. Teachable and Innovative

A good receptionist should be able to learn quickly.

Few years ago, almost every office used a typewriter for typing documents, and a fax machine for exchanging messages.

Today, things have changed. Computers are used for performing all these functions and even faster.

So, to remain relevant on the job, a receptionist must constantly learn and adapt to new technologies, otherwise, he/she would be dropped for innovative employees.

10. Likable and Approachable

Theses qualities are very important for all front office employees. Aside from being friendly, a receptionist must exude a likable aura.

He/she must be a person that visitors feel at ease to approach for inquiries.

He/she should not have an intimidating appearance. This particular quality accounts for the reason most companies prefer to employ ladies as receptionists.

11. Organization

As was said earlier, the job of a receptionist can be very demanding. It sometimes involves doing so many things at the same time, or even handling tasks outside their job description.

Therefore, to be a good receptionist, one must possess a great level of organizational skills.

12. Self-confidence

A good receptionist must have confidence in his/her abilities. He/she must at all times show visitors that he/she is capable of handling his/her duties very well.

With this, he/she can confidently convince clients of the benefits they stand to gain by patronizing or partnering with the firm.

Receptionist Skills for Resume

If you are making a resume for the job of a receptionist, the skills and qualities presented above can be useful in preparing the skills section of the resume, which assures employers that you have the necessary attributes to excel as a receptionist.

Conclusion:

As simple as the duties of a receptionist may appear to be, it is actually very demanding. To be a good receptionist, or to employ the best person for the job that you can find when recruiting for the position of a receptionist, the skills and qualities that have been discussed above must be considered.

Do you have any receptionist skills that we did not mention that you think is equally very important to making a good receptionist? Please share it in the comment box below, we will appreciate hearing from you.