receptionist.

As a receptionist, your primary duty is to support your co-workers. This assistance can take many forms, including:

• receiving guests: as a receptionist, you meet and greet visitors when they enter the business premises. You determine their needs and help them complete the signing-in book. You direct the visitors to the correct person or offer them refreshments as they wait for their appointment.
• answering phone calls: a receptionist answers incoming calls and deals with queries on the office line. You need to answer calls politely and speak to callers professionally. You can forward the calls to the appropriate employee or take a message and deliver it to the correct department.
• managing mail: your job involves preparing outgoing mail and notifying the courier to pick up deliveries. You also receive incoming mail and distribute it to recipients.
• supporting managers and office workers: as a receptionist, you support your colleagues and managers in various tasks. For instance, you may manage meeting schedules and prepare conference rooms for meetings.
• performing clerical and financial duties: as a receptionist, you assist other employees with photocopying, filing documents or ordering office supplies. You also maintain office equipment and report malfunctions. Sometimes, you manage petty cash payments and perform basic bookkeeping duties.

As a receptionist, you can work for public, private and charitable organisations in informal, creative or casual workplaces. Receptionists usually work indoors at a desk. Most work in a lobby or reception area or at a desk within an open-plan office. Depending on the environment, receptionists may need to wear a uniform or dress in casual or formal business wear. Most receptionists work alongside a team of administrative assistants, but others work alone. Some receptionists work remotely and use voice calls, live chat or video calls to assist customers.

Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include reception managers, office managers and caretakers. You might also be working in close proximity to couriers and security guards, as well as other specialists that could include, but not be limited to, personal assistants, customer care representatives and hotel managers.

Since a receptionist's main duty is interacting with customers, their schedule usually follows the same hours as the business. Most receptionists work weekdays from around 8 am to 5 pm. However, some work a little earlier or later and at weekends or nights. Most receptionist shifts last around eight hours. Depending on local employment laws, a receptionist shift includes a 30- to 60-minute lunch break. There are also part-time receptionist jobs available that offer around 15 to 30 hours a week. Some part-time receptionists work a couple of days a week while others work four to six hours multiple times a week.

As a receptionist, you'll have the opportunity to advance to other positions within your company. Your career progression depends on the industry you work for and your skills. In large offices, you can seek promotion to head receptionist. When you work in hospitality, you can progress to becoming a hotel manager, while in corporate sectors, you could be an office manager or administrator. However, typical job growth opportunities come from lateral movement. As a receptionist, you'll learn how the company runs, its customers and how various employees interact. You will gain promotions between departments if you are hard working, motivated and fit well into the company culture. Receptionists go on to be administration assistants, office managers, HR employees and more. A receptionist job is, therefore, a good entry into your desired field. If you do not have the education or experience to get your dream job, a reception is a great place to start.

Finding your receptionist job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:

• a wide variety of training and development opportunities
• an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
• a range of opportunities in your area
• get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
• temporary and permanent contracts

Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a receptionist is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.

As a receptionist, your primary duty is to welcome guests and help them navigate the office to find their appointments. If they have to wait for their meeting at the reception, you may provide refreshments to make them feel welcome. Another important duty as a reception is answering phone calls and maintaining appointment calendars for managers.

A receptionist is paid an average salary of $50,000 annually, depending on experience and skill level. The salary increases to over $55,000 annually as you gain experience and take up complex roles in the organisation. Skilled receptionists have increased salaries based on the work they complete for the company.

To become a successful receptionist, you need exceptional communication and customer service skills. You need to communicate well with various professionals, assist customers and build good relationships with clients.

While you don't need educational qualifications to become a receptionist, you can complete a sales or business administration course. The coursework will impart the business knowledge you need to handle complex roles in the company, like bookkeeping or using customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Being a receptionist can be stressful, depending on the company you work for and the complexity of your role. A typical receptionist spends most of the day multi-tasking. That means you must think on your feet and be organised to complete all the tasks on time.

Applying for a receptionist job is straightforward: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area.Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.