CV Example Receptionist

Key Sections to Include in a Receptionist CV

When you’re writing a CV for receptionist jobs, there are several sections and details you might want to include. It’s important to make your CV concise, professional and clearly formatted, so make sure you include the following sections:

Header

Your CV header includes your contact information. Start by writing your full name in bold or a larger font than the rest of the document. Underneath your name, add your phone number and a suitable email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you could add a link to this section. You may also want to add your address, or simply your town, city or county. 

CV objective or summary

The CV objective includes a brief summary of your skills and experience. You could also mention your career ambitions, to indicate why you’re applying for the role. The summary is important as it allows you to succinctly explain to employers what makes you a strong candidate for the role, and any unique qualities you could offer the organisation.

Here’s an example of a CV summary:

CV summary

A dedicated and flexible administrative professional with five years’ experience in customer service and administration. Seeking to combine my administrative and organisational skills with customer-facing duties, and gain experience working for a large, reputable organisation.

Work experience

Traditionally, the first main section of your CV is the work experience section. Include your job title, the name of your employer, the location of your workplace and the dates you worked there. Add a few bullet points explaining your duties and achievements in the role. Try to use language and phrases that mirror the job description, to indicate how you’re suited to the role.

Take a look at an example work experience CV section below:

Work experience

February 2022 - Present, Administrative Assistant, McAllister Office Equipment Ltd, Stamford

• Provided administrative support to 12 colleagues, including the CEO, with duties including note-taking, office management, correspondence and diary management
• Managed office supplies ordering and invoicing, with an annual budget of £5,000
• Improved client feedback process, resulting in increased customer satisfaction scores

June 2018 - December 2021, Sales Assistant, Blake’s Apparel, Peterborough

• Carried out sales and customer service duties with visitors to a medium-sized clothing store
• Managed inventory and carried out stock-taking duties
• Exceeded monthly sales targets by an average of 15%

Education

In a traditional, chronological CV, the education section comes next. Start with your most recent, or most relevant qualifications. These tend to be your highest-level qualification, unless you have a different qualification specific to a receptionist’s professional skills, such as a diploma in customer service or business administration.

For each entry in the education section, list the name of the qualification, the institution you attended and your date of graduation or study. If you have a degree-level qualification, it’s not usually necessary to mention A-levels or GCSEs. If you don’t have a degree, mention your highest qualification, including any other qualifications relevant to a receptionist role.

The education section of a CV might look like this:

Education

Level 1 Certificate in Customer Service, Peterborough College, 2022 
A-levels: Business Studies, English Literature, History, Werrington Academy, 2020 

Hard skills

When writing a desk receptionist CV, your skills are likely to be just as important as your employment history. Start by listing any hard professional skills relevant to a receptionist role. Hard skills are specific, practical abilities you can use in the role. Employers tend to outline the hard skills they’re looking for in the job description.

Here’s an example of a hard skills CV section:

Hard skills

• Touch typing
• MS Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint
• Multi-line telephone skills
• Bookkeeping skills
• Diary management

Soft skills

Soft skills are often as important as hard skills, and may feature prominently in job descriptions for receptionist roles. Soft skills can include personal qualities and traits that make you suited to being a receptionist.

A soft skills CV section might look like this:

Soft skills

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Interpersonal skills
• Time-management
• Customer service
• Multi-tasking

Optional CV sections

You might choose to add some optional information at the end of your CV, depending on its relevance to the role and the length and detail of the other sections of the document. These could include certifications or training courses, hobbies and interests or volunteer work. You could also include any foreign languages you speak, particularly if these are a requirement of the role.

Tips for Writing a Receptionist CV

Here are five key tips for writing an entry-level receptionist CV:

• Use a reverse chronological format: The reverse chronological CV format places your most recent achievements and experience first in each section, and works back in time from there. This means listing your current or most recent employment first, followed by each preceding role. You can adopt the same format for the education section.

• Be concise: Make your CV as brief as possible, while still mentioning all the relevant details. Aim to keep your CV under two pages long. If you want to provide further detail about your key skills and achievements, you can do so in your cover letter. For help writing your cover letter, see our cover letter templates.

• Tailor your CV to the job description: It might be tempting to develop a well-written general CV that you can use to apply for any job. However, while this may save time, it’s unlikely to help your CV make an impact with hiring managers. Adapt your CV for each application, to include references to the hiring company and make sure the content and language reflect the job description.

• Quantify your achievements: When listing your duties and achievements, try to quantify them wherever possible. If you increased sales for an organisation, mention how much you increased them by. If you supervised a team, list how many people were in that team. If you managed a budget, include reference to the size of the budget. Quantifying the details on your CV gives employers a tangible sense of your achievements.
• Use a clear, professional CV design: Adopting a clear, well-structured, consistent design for your CV can help it to look as professional as possible. Jobseeker offers a wealth of CV templates to choose from.

Key Takeaways for a Perfect Receptionist CV

When writing a CV for a receptionist role, make sure the document reflects the key skills and experience listed in the job description. Keep your CV concise and use a clear, professional layout. You can use Jobseeker’s receptionist CV example as inspiration for your own document. Jobseeker also offers a wide range of other CV examples and resume templates for you to pick from when writing your CV. Sign up today to access our CV resources and make your CV stand out with employers.