How to Hire a Receptionist Who Represents Your Brand Well

"Receptionist" means different things in different workplaces. In a small office, the receptionist may also manage courier entries, stationery, petty cash and meeting-room bookings. In a hospital or diagnostic centre, the role leans towards patient registration, billing and appointment management. In a hotel, it may involve guest check-in software and night shifts.

List the tasks honestly. If the role is half admin, say so; candidates who expected only a front desk may otherwise leave in a few weeks. If it involves software such as a clinic management system, a visitor app or Tally entries, mention that too.

• Greeting visitors, managing visitor registers and passes
• Answering and transferring calls, taking accurate messages
• Managing appointments, meeting rooms and calendars
• Handling couriers, deliveries and basic office supplies
• Coordinating with housekeeping, security and admin teams

Mention the type of workplace, timing, language needs and dress expectations clearly. Front-desk candidates often weigh commute and timing heavily, especially for early-morning or late-evening desks.

On BetterJobs you can post in about five minutes; type a single line and the AI produces a full description you can adjust. The job also appears on Google Jobs. A strong post includes lines like these.

• Sample line: "Receptionist for a corporate office in Hitech City, Hyderabad; 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday, alternate Saturdays."
• Sample line: "Good spoken English and Telugu or Hindi; comfortable with email, Excel and a phone system."
• Sample line: "Graduates preferred; freshers with a pleasant personality are welcome."
• State salary range, PF/ESI applicability and whether formal uniform or dress code applies

Resumes for receptionist roles often look similar, so use them mainly to check basics: location, education, past front-desk or customer-facing roles, and language skills. A short, tidy resume without spelling mistakes is a small but useful signal of care.

Do not reject freshers too quickly. Many good receptionists start with only college experience, a hospitality course or a part-time job at an event or store. What matters is whether they can learn your systems and stay courteous on a busy morning. Then call each shortlisted candidate. How they answer an unknown number, how they introduce themselves and whether they confirm details back to you is a preview of how they will treat your callers.

Invite shortlisted candidates to your office and observe them from the moment they arrive. Do they greet the security guard? Are they on time? Do they wait patiently if you are delayed by ten minutes?

Then run two short exercises. They take fifteen minutes in total and tell you much more than standard interview questions.

1. 1Phone test: call the candidate from another room as a client asking for a manager who is busy. See if they take a complete message: name, company, number, reason and best time to call back.
2. 2Multitasking test: while they are checking in a mock visitor, have someone ring the desk phone and another person ask for a courier signature. Watch how they prioritise and apologise.
3. 3Writing test: ask for a short email informing staff that the meeting room is under maintenance tomorrow.
4. 4Software check: ask them to make a simple entry in Excel or your visitor register system.

Use questions that reveal judgement and composure. Receptionists often face awkward situations, from angry visitors to unannounced salespeople, and need to stay polite while protecting colleagues' time.

Listen for answers that combine courtesy with firmness. Saying yes to everyone is as much a problem as being rude.

• "A visitor without an appointment insists on meeting the director. What do you do?"
• "How would you handle a caller who is angry about an unpaid invoice?"
• "The phone is ringing, a visitor is waiting and a courier needs a signature. In what order do you handle them?"
• "What do you do if you don't know where a colleague is when someone asks for them?"
• "How do you keep track of many small tasks during the day?"

For clinics and hospitals, look for empathy, accuracy with patient details and confidentiality. A receptionist who chats about patients in the waiting area is a serious risk. For hotels and serviced apartments, ask about comfort with night shifts and check-in software.

For corporate offices, polished English and email skills may matter more. For showrooms and real estate sales offices, the receptionist often captures enquiry details, so neat and complete lead entry is a must. If your hiring is for women's front-desk roles specifically, our page to hire women employees can help, and remember to provide safe transport arrangements for late shifts.

The most common mistake is hiring on appearance alone. A candidate who looks polished in the interview but takes incomplete messages, forgets visitor entries or loses track of couriers will cause daily friction. Always run the practical tests, even when someone makes a great first impression.

Another mistake is underestimating the workload. If the receptionist is also expected to handle petty cash, attendance registers and vendor follow-ups, the front desk will be empty for long stretches. Either split the duties or hire someone with admin experience and set clear priorities.

Finally, do not skip reference checks. A two-minute call to a previous employer asking about punctuality, honesty with cash and how they handled difficult visitors often confirms or corrects your impression. Ask permission from the candidate first and keep the questions factual.

• Hiring on looks or accent instead of tested skills
• Hiding admin duties that will take the person away from the desk
• No backup for lunch breaks and leave days
• Skipping a reference call for a role that handles visitors, cash and confidential information

Receptionist pay depends on city, workplace type and language skills. As a rough guide, many entry-level front-desk roles in metros are offered around ₹13,000–₹22,000 a month, with corporate and premium hospitality roles often higher. Check current listings in your city before fixing a figure.

Consider practical comforts that make the role sustainable: a proper chair, a working headset or phone, a clear list of who to call for what, and a backup person for lunch breaks. Front-desk staff who are left alone without support for nine hours tire quickly.

Prepare a one-page front-desk guide before the first day. It should list key people and extensions, visitor rules, courier process, emergency numbers, meeting-room booking steps and approved responses for common questions.

Spend the first two days introducing them to each team and walking through common situations. Check in at the end of week one and week four. With BetterJobs, you can track candidates through the applied, shortlisted, interview, offer and hired stages, and applicants have verified mobile numbers. For nearby roles, see hire admin executives or our guide to hiring admin executives.