How to hire a senior receptionist

How to hire a senior receptionist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior receptionist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior receptionist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior receptionist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior receptionist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a senior receptionist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect senior receptionist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of senior receptionists.

   Type of Senior Receptionist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Receptionist	Receptionists perform administrative tasks, such as answering phones, receiving visitors, and providing general information about their organization to the public and customers.	$12-19
   Greeter	A greeter is a person who greets and welcomes customers and clients into an establishment. Since their job mostly is to greet customers, greeters must possess a friendly and positive attitude... Show more	$9-15
   Front Desk Coordinator	A Front-Desk Coordinator is the point of contact in a commercial establishment or building such as offices, clinics, salons, and even government agencies. The primary responsibility of a Front-Desk Coordinator is to greet and assist clients of their needs, such as filling-up registrations, appointing schedules, directing clients, and bridging information in a building... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Front Desk
   • Telephone Calls
   • Reservations
   • Meeting Rooms
   • Patients
   • Phone Calls
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Office Equipment
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • Greeting Visitors
   • Patient Charts
   • Direct Calls
   • Administrative Tasks

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
   • Process daily schedule and emergency patients for admission, assist clients in the completion of require admission forms.
   • Handle busy patient flow including registering incoming patients and preparing their medical files.
   • Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
   • Ship packages domestically and internationally via FedEx.com.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior receptionist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior receptionist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior receptionists' average salary in louisiana is 42% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior receptionists earn 38% less than senior-level senior receptionists.
   • Certifications. A senior receptionist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior receptionist's salary.

   Average senior receptionist salary

   $15.47hourly

   $32,182 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level senior receptionist salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

4. Writing a senior receptionist job description

   A good senior receptionist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior receptionist job description:

   Senior receptionist job description example

   Come Create at Ricoh
   
   If you are seeking a team driven by passion and purpose, come create with us at Ricoh. We are a team of information seekers and customer-obsessed collaborators who aspire to deliver the services, solutions, and technologies that empower business success. We are looking for talented, inspired individuals to join us to help drive high-performance team and our commitment to excellence.
   
   Ricoh is an integrated solutions provider and partner that connects people and technology, creates outstanding customer experiences, and delivers innovation for businesses worldwide. We empower digital workplaces by enabling individuals to work smarter from any location and harness the power of information-how it is collected, stored, managed, and shared-to unlock the potential in every organization. We deliver services and technologies that inspire our customers' success and guide them toward a better and more sustainable future. If you are seeking a purpose-driven and passionate team, come create with us, and help drive our high-performance culture of excellence into tomorrow.
   
   Invest in yourself
   
   At Ricoh, you can:
   
   * Choose from a broad selection of medical, dental, life, and disability insurance options.
   * Contribute to your financial security with Retirement Savings Plan (401K), Health Savings Account (HSA), and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) investments.
   * Augment your education with team member tuition assistance programs.
   * Enjoy paid vacation time and paid holidays annually.
   * Tap into many other benefits to enhance your health, wellness, and ongoing personal and professional development.
   
   POSITION PROFILE
   
   Provides exceptional service to the business by greeting/assisting all visitors and answering and transferring incoming calls from all over the United States.
   
   JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
   
   * Greets the public.
   * Distributes name badges to visitors, temporary employees, etc.
   * Issues facility access cards to employees.
   * Schedules meeting rooms for all.
   * Answers and transfers calls from all over the United States.
   * Participates enthusiastically in company and community service events.
   * Performs light Administrative duties.
   * Performs PC Support and Administrative duties as needed.
   * Acts as a model for Vision, Values, and Mission.
   * Builds professional relationships with customers and other teams.
   * Responsible for the timely updates of company phone and speed dial lists.
   * Responsible for issuing of the Company Loaner Cell Phones.
   * Assists Administration or any other team when needed for various tasks (envelope labels, compiling manuals, etc.).
   * Understands other work areas.
   * Performs other duties as assigned.
   
   QUALIFICATIONS (Education, Experience, and Certifications)
   
   Typically Required:
   
   * Requires high school diploma or equivalent and 2+ years of prior switchboard experience.
   
   Ricoh is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer -- Minorities/Women/Protected Veterans/Disabled.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior receptionists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior receptionist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior receptionist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior receptionists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior receptionist

   Once you've decided on a perfect senior receptionist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior receptionist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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