How To Become An Office Manager/Receptionist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an office manager/receptionist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

An office manager oversees the administrative duties and keeps the office functioning effectively. Your responsibilities include greeting visitors and answering phone calls, organizing meetings, supervising, coaching, mentoring, training, and monitoring the work of administrative staff. You will also manage office inventory supplies and place orders as necessary, receive and sort incoming mails and deliveries, and manage outgoing mail. The office manager is responsible for purchasing office supplies and equipment and maintaining proper stock levels. He/She also manages the office budget and liaisons with staff, clients, and suppliers. You will prepare letters, reports, and presentations, and provide other administrative support like scheduling group meetings, maintaining calendars, doing research, and creating reports.

A bachelor's degree and about 2-5 years of experience in office administration are required for this job position. You must be reliable, have excellent leadership, communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills. You must also have strong problem-solving, organization, and analytical skills. As an office manager, you will earn an average annual salary of $42,603.

ScoreOffice Manager/ReceptionistUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,696

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 5.24%

Black or African American 10.00%

Hispanic or Latino 18.79%

Unknown 4.72%

White 60.61%

Gender

female 92.95%

male 7.05%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an office manager/receptionist

Explore office manager/receptionist education requirements

Most common office manager/receptionist degrees

Bachelor's

33.5 %

High School Diploma

26.8 %

Associate

24.7 %

Start to develop specific office manager/receptionist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	20.69%
Customer Service	15.48%
Payroll	9.69%
Appointment Scheduling	8.15%
Front Desk	5.66%

Complete relevant office manager/receptionist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New office managers/receptionist learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an office manager/receptionist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real office manager/receptionist resumes.

Research office manager/receptionist duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate self-motivation through QuickBooks training.
Establish and maintain QuickBooks accounting systems.
Greet patients; handle overall daily business operations of a busy chiropractic office.
Engage in active communication with patients by developing and maintaining a professional and friendly relationship.

Apply for office manager/receptionist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an office manager/receptionist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do office managers/receptionist rate their job?

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Office manager/receptionist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

Being able to motivate administrative personnel to do their jobs well and meet deadlines.

Cons

Having to reprimand personnel when duties are neglected.

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019