Corporate receptionist vs office specialist

The differences between corporate receptionists and office specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a corporate receptionist and an office specialist. Additionally, a corporate receptionist has an average salary of $37,389, which is higher than the $33,477 average annual salary of an office specialist.

The top three skills for a corporate receptionist include visitor badges, phone calls and front desk. The most important skills for an office specialist are customer service, data entry, and patients.

Corporate receptionist vs office specialist overview

	Corporate Receptionist	Office Specialist
Yearly salary	$37,389	$33,477
Hourly rate	$17.98	$16.09
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	60,050	98,760
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a corporate receptionist do?

Most of the corporate receptionists are the ones who sit behind the front desk. They direct guests to the proper location, answer basic questions, and issue security badges. Corporate receptionists serve as message takers for incoming calls, information providers, and the greeters. They may also manage signing for packages, stuffing employees, and scheduling pick-ups. They must also have the ability to multitask, follow instructions, and maintain a positive attitude in responding to the requests and complaints of their customers.

What does an office specialist do?

An office specialist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the organization's daily operations. Office specialists must be highly organizational, as well as having excellent time-management skills to handle work units. They have duties including data entry procedures, greeting visitors, responding to customers' inquiries through phone calls and e-mails, and filing and sorting documents. Office specialists are responsible for creating meeting reports, scheduling appointments, evaluating financial statements, coordinating with other staff for event planning, and assisting the senior management with complex functions.

Corporate receptionist vs office specialist salary

Corporate receptionists and office specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Corporate Receptionist	Office Specialist
Average salary	$37,389	$33,477
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $47,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Entravision Communications	Brookhaven National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Finance

Differences between corporate receptionist and office specialist education

There are a few differences between a corporate receptionist and an office specialist in terms of educational background:

	Corporate Receptionist	Office Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Corporate receptionist vs office specialist demographics

Here are the differences between corporate receptionists' and office specialists' demographics:

	Corporate Receptionist	Office Specialist
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 6.5% Female, 93.5%	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 8.4% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between corporate receptionist and office specialist duties and responsibilities

Corporate receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage SharePoint documentation for customers and vendor information.
Coordinate travel arrangements and hotel reservations for department executives and corporate clients.
Create FedEx labels, posting USPS mail and creating certify mailing slips.
Put patients on computer, greet and walk in patients to room, claim status, and payroll.
Reserve conference rooms, setup multimedia (video conferencing, projector setup, slideshow presentations- PowerPoint, etc . )
Prepare daily reports, enter data, accept payments, schedule appointments, meetings and lunches, and process payroll.

Office specialist example responsibilities.

Provide support for enrolling patients into health coverage programs and manage sensitive patient information to ensure accuracy and confidentiality.
Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Provide assistance to office staff including preparing and proofreading memos and grants, transcribing meeting minutes for staff and answering phones.
Perform multiple bookkeeping duties including departmental payroll, print financial reports and other financial material as needed.
Communicate HIPAA compliance to staff, field and outside agencies.

Corporate receptionist vs office specialist skills

Common corporate receptionist skills

Visitor Badges, 19%
Phone Calls, 9%
Front Desk, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Multi-Line Phone System, 4%

Common office specialist skills

Customer Service, 18%
Data Entry, 10%
Patients, 9%
Office Equipment, 6%
Phone Calls, 6%
Word Processing, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Corporate Receptionist
Corporate Receptionist vs Office Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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