Check your receptionist CV against the job advert
Receptionists are the first person visitors meet and callers hear. Adverts want calm, friendly and organised. Here's how to show it, not just say it.
Start with your advert
Every receptionist advert is different. The list below is what adverts for this job usually ask for, not what yours does. So start with your advert:
- Read the advert and copy out every "must have" or "essential" line, then the "desirable" ones.
- For each one, find the line in your CV that proves it. If you can't point to a line, that's a gap.
- Fill the gap with something true: a duty, a setting, a qualification or a result you really have. If you don't have it, say what you have that's closest, or leave it out.
Our guide to matching your CV to a job description goes through this in more detail.
What receptionist adverts usually ask for
Front desk and customer service
Why they askThe main job is welcoming people and helping them quickly.
How to show itSay what kind of reception (office, surgery, hotel, gym, salon) and who you dealt with.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Welcomed [visitors / patients / guests] at a busy [type of] reception, about [number] a day.
Phones and switchboard
Why they askMany roles include a switchboard or high call volumes.
How to show itDescribe the calls and how you handled them.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Answered the main line and transferred calls to [number] teams; took messages and dealt with general enquiries.
Booking systems
Why they askSurgeries, clinics, gyms and hotels use booking software, and adverts often name it.
How to show itName the systems you've used.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Booked and changed appointments on [booking system].
Handling difficult situations
Why they askReception staff deal with complaints and upset people.
How to show itOne honest example of a calm resolution.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Handled complaints at the desk, [what you did], and passed on what I couldn't resolve to [manager or team].
Admin and security
Why they askMost roles include post, visitor passes, and general admin.
How to show itList the regular tasks.
Example lines: fill the gaps with your own facts- Issued visitor passes, managed post and deliveries, and kept the [signing-in / fire] register.
Only use a line if it's true for you. Swap each [gap] for your own detail: the setting, the number, the tool or the result. If you can't fill a gap honestly, cut that part of the line.
Mistakes that cost receptionist applications
- Only listing "friendly and professional".
- Not naming the type of reception or the systems.
- For medical receptionist roles, not mentioning patient confidentiality.
Questions
What should a medical receptionist CV include?
Your experience with patients, the clinical system you've used if any, appointment booking, prescriptions admin if you've done it, and confidentiality.