A front desk receptionist has to be very knowledgable about the company they work for so, if a visitor has a question, the receptionist will be able to answer. They also spend a lot of their day answering phones.
Since a lot of different industries require a front-desk receptionist, you can assume that there will never be a shortage of opportunity just waiting for you. It'll take you no time to find a job that you enjoy.
Typically, front desk receptionists are required to earn a high school diploma. Which means you won't have to spend a lot of your hard-earned cash on an education. As a bonus, no student loans so you can start saving for retirement early in the game.
What is a Front Desk Receptionist?
What Does a Front Desk Receptionist Do
There are certain skills that many front desk receptionists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed computer skills, customer-service skills and communication skills.
How To Become a Front Desk Receptionist
If you're interested in becoming a front desk receptionist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 27.7% of front desk receptionists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.8% of front desk receptionists have master's degrees. Even though some front desk receptionists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Front Desk Receptionist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a front desk receptionist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as office assistant, progress to a title such as executive assistant and then eventually end up with the title office manager.
Front Desk Receptionist
Office Manager
5 Years
Operations Manager
7 Years
Senior Administrative Assistant
7 Years
General Manager
6 Years
Account Manager
5 Years
Branch Manager
6 Years
Show More
Average Salary for a Front Desk Receptionist
Front Desk Receptionists in America make an average salary of $31,050 per year or $15 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $39,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $24,000 per year.
Average Front Desk Receptionist Salary
$31,050Â Yearly$14.93 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Front Desk Receptionist
The role of a front desk receptionist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general front desk receptionist responsibilities:
- Looking for a person who can present a professional appearance, a calm
- Handles matters of a routine nature to conserve supervisor s time responsible for completing projects in a timely
- Answer multi-line telephone system, take accurate messages
There are several types of front desk receptionist, including:
Receptionist
Role:
Can you hear me now? That's because a receptionist spends quite a bit of time on the phone, but that's not all their responsible for. Receptionists also spend time helping visitors and educating the public about the organization they work for.
This is one of those jobs that comes with a lot of opportunities. In fact, there are receptionist positions across almost every industry so you definitely won't have a hard time finding a job in this field.
Typically, a receptionist needs a high school diploma. More specific training will be given once you have the job. Then, when you've got the swing of things, you'll be answering phones and helping guests like a pro.
This is one of those jobs that comes with a lot of opportunities. In fact, there are receptionist positions across almost every industry so you definitely won't have a hard time finding a job in this field.
Typically, a receptionist needs a high school diploma. More specific training will be given once you have the job. Then, when you've got the swing of things, you'll be answering phones and helping guests like a pro.
- Average Salary: $30,571
- Degree: High School Diploma
Front Desk Clerk
Role:
Your happy, smiling face is the first thing visitors will see when they walk through the door. Being at the front desk, you're usually the first one they'll approach.
Front desk clerks have to be knowledgable about the company they work for, as well as the products or service they provide. Many times, you'll be hit with lots of questions that you'll have to answer. But it's also your job to help visitors get where they need to be, whether that's a meeting in conference room #5, or they're checking into their hotel room.
Most front desk clerks work a full-time schedule. But, depending on what industry you're working in, that schedule may be all over the map. From traveling to working late evenings and weekends, front desk clerks need to be flexible. You never know what the next day will bring.
Front desk clerks have to be knowledgable about the company they work for, as well as the products or service they provide. Many times, you'll be hit with lots of questions that you'll have to answer. But it's also your job to help visitors get where they need to be, whether that's a meeting in conference room #5, or they're checking into their hotel room.
Most front desk clerks work a full-time schedule. But, depending on what industry you're working in, that schedule may be all over the map. From traveling to working late evenings and weekends, front desk clerks need to be flexible. You never know what the next day will bring.
- Average Salary: $26,669
- Degree: High School Diploma
Medical Receptionist
Role:
Paging Dr. Fauci. As a medical receptionist, it's your job to make sure patients and visitors get to where they need to be. You also need to be able to provide information to people who call or walk in with questions.
While being knowledgeable is important in this position, memorizing might be even more important. If a patient comes in with an emergency, you need to be able to stay calm while figuring out exactly where they need to go. And some hospitals are pretty big, so that can be a difficult task.
The job requires you to have a high school diploma before you can get started. And it's useful to be a good communicator as well. You wouldn't want to accidentally send a patient with a broken arm to the pregnancy center. Unless, of course, that patient was also pregnant - but that's another story.
While being knowledgeable is important in this position, memorizing might be even more important. If a patient comes in with an emergency, you need to be able to stay calm while figuring out exactly where they need to go. And some hospitals are pretty big, so that can be a difficult task.
The job requires you to have a high school diploma before you can get started. And it's useful to be a good communicator as well. You wouldn't want to accidentally send a patient with a broken arm to the pregnancy center. Unless, of course, that patient was also pregnant - but that's another story.
- Average Salary: $31,960
- Degree: Associate Degree
States With The Most Front Desk Receptionist Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active front desk receptionist jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where front desk receptionists earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average Salary: Job Openings:
Number Of Front Desk Receptionist Jobs By State
Top Skills For a Front Desk Receptionist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 23.0% of front desk receptionists listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as computer skills and customer-service skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Front Desk Receptionist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Front Desk Receptionist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Front Desk Receptionist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Front Desk Receptionist Demographics
Front Desk Receptionist Gender Distribution
Female
85%
Male
15%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among front desk receptionists, 84.6% of them are women, while 15.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among front desk receptionists is White, which makes up 53.6% of all front desk receptionists.
- The most common foreign language among front desk receptionists is Spanish at 72.1%.
Online Courses For Front Desk Receptionist That You May Like
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Part Time
Internship
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Best States For a Front Desk Receptionist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a front desk receptionist. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Front desk receptionists make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $41,750. Whereas in Washington and Oregon, they would average $41,591 and $39,016, respectively. While front desk receptionists would only make an average of $36,996 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
Total Front Desk Receptionist Jobs: 1,226
Highest 10% Earn:
$52,000
Location Quotient:
1.06
$41,591
Avg. Salary
2. Maine
Total Front Desk Receptionist Jobs: 350
Highest 10% Earn:
$42,000
Location Quotient:
1.67
$34,369
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
Total Front Desk Receptionist Jobs: 125
Highest 10% Earn:
$49,000
Location Quotient:
0.95
$41,750
Avg. Salary
How Do Front Desk Receptionist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Front Desk Receptionist Employers
Most Common Employers For Front Desk Receptionist
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cheesecake Factory | $32,924 | $15.83 | 124 |
| 2 | AEA Investors | $32,221 | $15.49 | 335 |
| 3 | Marriott International | $31,813 | $15.29 | 394 |
| 4 | American Red Cross | $31,796 | $15.29 | 104 |
| 5 | Boys & Girls Clubs of America | $31,082 | $14.94 | 133 |
| 6 | Extended Stay America | $30,061 | $14.45 | 414 |
| 7 | Best Western | $30,002 | $14.42 | 1,026 |
| 8 | Quality Inn Gettysburg Battlefield | $29,718 | $14.29 | 388 |
| 9 | H&R Block | $29,705 | $14.28 | 452 |
| 10 | G6 Hospitality | $29,653 | $14.26 | 676 |
Front Desk Receptionist Videos
Career Advice on becoming a Front Office Manager by Daniella W (Full Version)
The Hotel - A Day in the Life at the Front Desk
Becoming a Front Desk Receptionist FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Become A Front Desk Receptionist?
It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a front desk receptionist. That is the time it takes to learn specific front desk receptionist skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.
How Do I Become A Receptionist With No Experience?
To become a receptionist with no experience involves having a good resume and cover letter, some prior work or volunteer experience, and meeting the right people. When creating a resume for a receptionist position, be sure to illustrate similar skills in past volunteer, extracurricular, or work experience.
What Are The Duties Of A Receptionist?
The main duties of a receptionist are to receive visitors, answer phone calls, manage mail, do clerical work, organize meetings, and provide secretarial support.
Receive Visitors
greet visitors appropriately
determine visitor needs in a professional manner
maintain visitor register
offer refreshments to visitors where appropriate
direct visitors to the correct person
ensure back up when absent from reception desk
What Is The Difference Between The Front Desk And The Receptionist?
The difference between the front desk and the receptionist has to do with the scope of responsibility. A receptionist is more focused on just answering calls and dealing with customer questions, while a front desk professional focuses on check-ins, check-outs, and reservations.
What Qualifications Do I Need To Work As A Receptionist?
The qualifications you need to work as a receptionist include a high school diploma, professionalism, soft skills such as communication, and hard skills such as a basic understanding of computers, including Microsoft and scheduling programs (e.g., Google calendar).
What Skills Do You Need To Be A Front Desk Receptionist?
The skills you need to be a front desk receptionist encompass a wide variety of technical and interpersonal skills. To help break it down, we have compiled a list of the top nine skills needed to be a successful front desk receptionist.
Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.