Receptionist Job Description Template
A receptionist is the first voice a caller hears and the first face a visitor sees, which makes the role a disproportionate share of a company's first impression. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at $18.27 an hour ($38,010 a year) and projects the occupation to decline 2% through 2035 as software absorbs more scheduling and call-routing work — yet BLS still expects about 105,100 openings a year, almost entirely from replacing workers who leave. Like most front-desk and administrative roles, it's a high-turnover seat that needs refilling on a predictable cycle even as the occupation itself shrinks slightly.
What a receptionist does
A receptionist answers and routes phone calls, greets and directs visitors, manages the front desk and lobby area, and handles the administrative overflow that lands on whoever sits closest to the door — scheduling, mail, badges, supply orders, and light data entry. BLS lists the typical entry requirement as a high school diploma or equivalent, with short-term on-the-job training covering the phone system, scheduling software, and office-specific procedures.
The occupation held 947,500 jobs in 2025 and is projected to decline 2% through 2035, a loss of roughly 16,000 positions, as organizations automate scheduling, call routing, and visitor check-in with software. Despite the decline, BLS still projects about 105,100 openings every year, driven almost entirely by replacement — workers transferring to other occupations or leaving the labor force, not by growth. The hiring need is steady even where the occupation itself is shrinking.
What automation has changed is what's left for the human in the seat: less rote call-routing, more judgment calls — handling an upset visitor, triaging an ambiguous request, keeping a lobby calm during a busy stretch. A posting written for a pure phone-answering job undersells what most receptionist roles have actually become.
Receptionist job description template
Copy this, replace everything in brackets, and delete any line that doesn't describe the actual role.
Job title
Receptionist
Summary
[Company] is hiring a receptionist for our [location] office. You'll be the first point of contact for visitors and callers, manage the front desk, and support the team with [scheduling / mail / data entry] — on [full-time / part-time] shifts starting at [$XX.XX an hour]. [Weekday / evening / weekend] availability is [required / preferred].
Responsibilities
- Greet and check in visitors, and notify staff of their arrival
- Answer, screen and route incoming calls on a multi-line phone system
- Manage the front desk and keep the lobby area tidy and presentable
- Schedule and confirm appointments or meeting-room bookings
- Sort and distribute incoming mail and packages
- [Issue visitor badges and enforce building security procedures]
- Order and maintain front-office supplies
- Support the team with data entry, filing or other administrative tasks
Requirements
- Clear, professional phone and in-person communication
- Comfortable multitasking and handling interruptions calmly
- Basic computer proficiency [Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace / specific software]
- Available [days/hours needed]
- [High school diploma or equivalent]
Preferred
- Prior receptionist, front-desk or customer service experience
- Experience with [phone system / scheduling software / specific tool]
- [Bilingual in Spanish/other language] a plus in this location
Schedule and pay
- [Full-time / part-time]; [X] hours a week typical
- Starting pay [$XX.XX/hr], reviewed at [90 days / 6 months]
- [Weekday business hours / rotating shifts, if applicable]
- [Weekly / biweekly] pay
Benefits
- [Health, dental, vision for employees averaging X+ hours/week]
- Paid time off [after X days/months]
- [401(k) or retirement plan, if offered]
- [Parking or transit benefit, if offered]
What the role actually requires
Four things decide whether the right applicants apply, and most postings still skip at least one of them.
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Multi-line phone systems | Most receptionist candidates have used some phone system, but not necessarily yours. Naming the system (or just "multi-line phone system") sets an honest expectation without requiring specific prior software experience. |
| Composure under interruption | The job is built on interruptions — a call mid-task, a visitor mid-call. Say plainly that the role juggles multiple things at once, since that's the actual skill test, not typing speed. |
| Front-desk visibility and security | If the role includes visitor badges, sign-in logs or building security procedures, say so — some candidates specifically look for (or avoid) that responsibility. |
| Availability | Most receptionist roles run standard business hours, but some cover evenings or a rotating front-desk schedule. Naming the actual hours beats "standard office hours" for setting real expectations. |
How to customize it for your setting
Medical and dental offices
Scheduling and insurance verification are core to the job, not administrative overflow. If the role touches patient records, note any HIPAA-related training or confidentiality requirements up front.
Corporate and professional offices
Visitor management, conference room booking, and executive-facing polish matter more here than in other settings. Note if the role supports a specific floor, department or set of executives.
Hotel and hospitality front desk
This is a distinct role from a standard office receptionist — check-in/check-out, reservations systems, and guest service recovery are the actual job. Name the property management system used, since experienced candidates search for it directly.
Salon, spa and wellness front desk
Booking software, retail sales, and client rebooking are frequently part of the role and sometimes carry a commission or incentive structure. Say so plainly rather than leaving it as a surprise after hire.
What it costs to reach receptionists on social
Our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark tracks Customer service / admin as its own role family: across 24 campaigns, these roles had a $2.71 median cost per applicant (blended $2.98), the middle 50% landing between $2.14 and $7.47, and a 25% apply rate. Customer service and admin roles post some of the lowest cost-per-applicant figures we track, consistent with how broad the candidate pool is for front-desk and general administrative work.
Cost per applicant is not cost per hire; turning that into a hiring cost needs your own screening and show-up rate, which only your systems hold.
For the fuller picture on filling front-desk, phone and customer-facing roles — volume, seasonality, and what predictability is actually worth — see our call center and customer service recruiting page.
Writing the ad version
The description above is the document that governs the job. The ad is what gets read in six seconds, and for a receptionist role that means pay and the actual work hours in the first line — candidates comparing front-desk openings sort on both before anything else.
Name the actual office or location, not just the company, since receptionist roles are almost always a commute-distance search. Fifteen worked examples of ads that lead with the right details are in our help wanted ad examples library.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 10 duties of a receptionist?
Common receptionist duties include: greeting and checking in visitors; answering, screening and routing phone calls; managing the front desk and lobby area; scheduling and confirming appointments; sorting and distributing mail; issuing visitor badges and enforcing sign-in procedures; ordering office supplies; supporting staff with data entry or filing; maintaining a clean and organized reception area; and handling general inquiries about the organization. The exact mix varies by setting — a medical office and a corporate lobby overlap on most of these but not all.
What are the 5 skills of a receptionist?
Clear verbal and written communication; the ability to multitask and stay composed under interruption; basic computer and office-software proficiency; organization and time management; and a professional, welcoming manner with visitors and callers. BLS notes the role typically requires a high school diploma or equivalent, with the rest built through short, on-the-job training.
How do you describe a receptionist on a resume?
Strong resumes lead with scope and results, not just duties: call volume handled, number of staff or departments supported, scheduling systems used, and any measurable improvement (reduced wait times, visitor satisfaction). For the job posting side of that same instinct, naming the actual call volume, visitor traffic or systems used helps candidates self-assess fit before they apply.
Other job description templates
See all job description templates — free, editable templates for frontline, trades, healthcare and warehouse roles.
Filling the front desk?
The job description is the document; the ad is the thing that gets read. We write it, run it where local candidates are actually scrolling, and report what each applicant cost — cost per applicant, not cost per hire.
Pay, employment, outlook, education and training requirements: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Receptionists (last modified August 27, 2026; 2025 employment and May 2025 wage data), read September 1, 2026. Cost-per-applicant figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark — Customer service / admin role family, 24 campaigns, advertising costs only. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire. Last updated September 2026.