Professional receptionist training to boost your career prospects – The pathway leading to multiple opportunities

One simple question before discussing anything… Be it a hotel, an SME, or even a charity organisation; who represents the particular unit at the very first point of contact? Is it the CEO? The GM? Or any other employee representing the top management? If you give it a thought, you will quickly realise that it’s none of the above, but the receptionist who is at the front desk! 

Yes, a receptionist simply is the face of any company. That’s the very first person a customer gets to greet and talk to when he/she walks into any organisation and that means, the receptionist is the one who offers the first impression of an organisation – for better or worse.

In any organisation, it’s the receptionist who provides information if a customer or a client needs any clarification. It’s also the receptionist who will be dealing with any party that’s waiting for an appointment or a job interview at any organisation. So, you see… receptionists perform a considerably significant job role, and if you are ‘professionally qualified’ as a receptionist, you surely have a long career path paved for you.

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The primary job scope of a receptionist

A receptionist generally welcomes guests, assists them to get their questions answered, and deals with front-office issues regularly. But, is that all? In the real corporate world, a receptionist does more, and he/she is expected to do so much more!

The receptionist, since he/she is the public image of the company that deals mainly with customer and client satisfaction, should be 100 per cent aware of the company and industry background. If a guest has a query, the receptionist should be competent enough to answer it appropriately. Thus, he/she should possess the relevant knowledge. And secondly, every receptionist should have the best interpersonal skills to communicate with the stakeholders on behalf of the organisation. In addition to being patient, polite, and kind, receptionists should also be smart with numbers and facts.

Personal attributes a receptionist is generally expected to possess 

Society may tell that it’s just the communication abilities that a good receptionist needs. No – this is not the real case. A receptionist should have the ability to collaborate easily with anyone that comes to him/her asking for some information about the organisation. Also in the face of criticism, the receptionist should be able to receive them gracefully and manage the situation.

Being understanding (what is generally referred to as being empathetic) is also another human attribute that’s expected of a receptionist. If a person is angry all the time, that would easily be reflected on the face and the voice tone, and this is a totally negative point for a receptionist.

Also, if a receptionist has the ability to work under pressure, it will be an added advantage in the corporate sector. For this purpose, he/she should possess great time management skills, and this is why companies often ask for ‘organising skills’ when they advertise for receptionists. So, yes… that means you will have to get rid of your procrastination tendencies if you are to become a successful receptionist.

Adaptability is another important attribute the corporate sector expects to see in a receptionist when hiring. This is mainly because, the role of a receptionist is never the same in two different companies, and different tasks may be assigned to the receptionist as per the necessity. There are instances where the receptionist assists marketing and HR-related functions in companies, and for this purpose, adaptability is of utmost importance.

Why do receptionists need to be professionally qualified?

Have you noticed that there are several institutes out there that offer receptionist courses and training both online and offline? Although the general perception of yesteryears was that a receptionist needed no qualifications, but the outer appearance, – this has now changed where the society believes that receptionists need to fulfil qualifications that boost their skills and knowledge to perform effectively in their role.

If you enrol in a reputed receptionist training course diploma, there are many things you will learn in addition to just telephone answering tips. You get to learn the tips to create a good first impression, ways of dealing with problematic customers, and also improve your listening skills. Isn’t that what you mean by being professionally qualified?

Choosing the right course for you

The professional receptionist training course you choose should not just be helping you to improve your interpersonal skills. To become a good and smart receptionist, computer skills are also vital and this way, receptionists can multi-task in any competitive working environment. Hotel receptionists, medical receptionists, front desk receptionists, and event administrative assistants now take these courses to polish their skills, and after being qualified, they also open their pathways to multiple other great job opportunities with even higher pay.

If you are someone who can not fully commit to this learning, there are also great online learning opportunities for you. Before making a decision on your receptionist skills course, make sure you go through the recommendations of past students, and the course content as well. Even though these are distant learning courses, they offer personalised learning experiences and you can expect 24*7 support services via phone, live chat, or email.

What’s next?

Once you have reputed professional qualifications, together with years of experience as a receptionist, a lot of other opportunities open up for you in terms of career progression. Since a receptionist does a lot of interacting and networking, it opens the door for a lot of great contacts which may help in the future for career upliftment.

All you’ve got to do is to show how smart you are handling multiple tasks at the same time. Make yourself blessed with knowledge, great communication skills, and attributes such as friendliness to go a long way in your professional life. If you give it a try, better job roles such as office assistant, personal assistant, and even administrative manager are for you along with greater salary levels.