What does a desk assistant do?
A desk assistant is primarily responsible for providing customer service support through calls or desk appointments, ensuring client satisfaction. Typically, they are responsible for answering inquiries and correspondence, addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, and providing corrective measures or advice when necessary. Should the problems be challenging to handle, one can elevate the matter to a supervising manager. Moreover, a desk assistant may have clerical duties such as processing paperwork, maintaining documentation and a database, managing schedules, and updating systems.
Desk assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real desk assistant resumes:
- Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
- Fulfill front desk duties such as: customer service, operating cash register, scheduling reservations, answering phone calls and housekeeping
- Check ids, close the weight room, put weights away, answer phones
- Check in/out guests and operate hotel booking software.
- Answer calls, complete paperwork, and ensure the hall run smoothly
- Check in residents after midnight, and run check out of dorm equipment.
- Handle guest check-in, data entry, equipment log, resident services and answer building phone.
- Maintain the condition of the books, shelving units, coffee shop, DVDs, and furniture.
- Make reservations answer questions and help costumers
- Greet and addressed patients upon entry of medical facility.
- Answer phonesTake messagesGreeting and directing student and parent visitorAudit packageChecking ids
- Schedule appointments, register patients by following the protocols of the organization and collect all documentation.
- Authorize check-in/check-out of visitors in dormitories
- Help to maintain office organization and functionality
Desk assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Desk Assistants are proficient in Customer Service, Residential Life, and Phone Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Customer-service skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Desk Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 22%
Demonstrate expertise in providing high-quality customer service to residents and parents - Dedicate a high-level of accuracy and attention to detail
- Residential Life, 18%
Communicate with residential assistants, residential life coordinator, and graduate residential director to ensure security of residents.
- Phone Calls, 16%
Managed reception desk operations by performing clerical work including filing and answering phone calls.
- Front Desk Coverage, 8%
Provide front desk coverage between the hours of 8am to 2am daily in one or more residence hall.
- Administrative Tasks, 7%
Performed secretarial and administrative tasks including scanning documents, sorting and distributing mail, verifying insurance, and scheduling appointments
- Emergency Situations, 4%
Provided customer service for 935 residents, monitored doors for security purposes, and worked with emergency personnel during emergency situations.
"customer service," "residential life," and "phone calls" are among the most common skills that desk assistants use at work. You can find even more desk assistant responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. desk assistants are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to desk assistant responsibilities, because "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." A desk assistant resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "created fliers for upcoming events countered and transferred phone calls initiated communication flow through different faculty on campus"
Integrity. desk assistant responsibilities often require "integrity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." This resume example shows what desk assistants do with integrity on a typical day: "entrusted to handle complex customer service issues as well as supervised the establishment. "
Interpersonal skills. Another common skill required for desk assistant responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." This skill comes up in the duties of desk assistants all the time, as "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." An excerpt from a real desk assistant resume shows how this skill is central to what a desk assistant does: "gained interpersonal and communication skills while enforcing university rules and overseeing the residential life of students. "
Organizational skills. Another skill commonly found on desk assistant job descriptions is "organizational skills." It can come up quite often in desk assistant duties, since "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day desk assistant responsibilities: "provide customer service to residents gained experience with telephone communication, organizational and administrative skills"
The three companies that hire the most desk assistants are:
- American Campus Communities15 desk assistants jobs
- Nicolet National Bank5 desk assistants jobs
- StoneX Group4 desk assistants jobs
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Compare different desk assistants
Desk assistant vs. Night auditor/front desk
A night auditor, who may work as a front desk agent, is an individual responsible for evaluating the financial activities of a hotel by the end of the day. Night auditors are tasked to assess reports from the day shifts such as the accommodation report and the revenue report. As part of the front desk, night auditors must assist in checking-in guests and respond to complaints as needed. They can also act as a concierge by booking reservations for guests at local restaurants or entertainment venues.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a desk assistant are more likely to require skills like "residential life," "phone calls," "front desk coverage," and "administrative tasks." On the other hand, a job as a night auditor/front desk requires skills like "reservations," "front desk operations," "room charges," and "guest service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, night auditors/front desk reach similar levels of education than desk assistants. Night auditors/front desk are 1.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Desk assistant vs. Housekeeper/front desk
A Guest Lecturer performs teaching, researching, and administrative duties for a university. Their primary duties include assessing students work, writing research proposals, and managing research budgets.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, desk assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "residential life," "phone calls," "front desk coverage," and "administrative tasks." Meanwhile, a housekeeper/front desk has duties that require skills in areas such as "front desk," "reservations," "fold laundry," and "clean bathrooms." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Housekeeper/front desks earn similar levels of education than desk assistants in general. They're 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Desk assistant vs. Guest lecturer
A Night Auditor is responsible for handling late-night front-desk operations, mostly at hotels or other lodging establishments. Among the primary duties involve greeting guests and handling check-in and check-outs, responding to reservations, process and collect payments, preparing reports and necessary documentation, and attending to the guests' inquiries, requests, and concerns. Furthermore, Night Auditors must also coordinate with day-shift workers to be aware of the daily reports, and as well as oversee the entire establishment's operation to ensure the guest's welfare.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from desk assistant resumes include skills like "customer service," "residential life," "phone calls," and "front desk coverage," whereas a guest lecturer is more likely to list skills in "undergraduate courses," "class discussions," "occupational therapy," and "seminar. "
When it comes to education, guest lecturers tend to earn higher degree levels compared to desk assistants. In fact, they're 25.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 11.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Desk assistant vs. Night auditor
Even though a few skill sets overlap between desk assistants and night auditors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a desk assistant might have more use for skills like "residential life," "front desk coverage," "administrative tasks," and "emergency situations." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of night auditors require skills like "reservations," "check-in," "guest service," and "guest satisfaction. "
Night auditors reach similar levels of education compared to desk assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of desk assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
