Professional Profile: Your career overview
Creating a compelling professional profile is absolutely essential when it comes to grabbing the attention of potential employers. This section serves as a professional introduction, and in just a few sentences, it gives employers a brief overview of your skills, accomplishments, your professional personality, key skills, and any key highlights from your past professional experiences. When writing your professional profile for a receptionist position, it's important to showcase your expertise and years of experience in a captivating manner. Begin by highlighting the number of years you've worked as a receptionist or in a related field, demonstrating your dedication and commitment to the role. If you don't have much experience yet, you can focus on highlighting standout accomplishments, such as efficiently managing incoming calls, scheduling appointments, or coordinating administrative duties.
Remember, your professional profile should give employers a brief but compelling overview of your receptionist expertise, showcasing your skills, achievements, and personal attributes. By combining relevant experience and desired qualities, you can create a captivating introduction that will pique the interest of potential employers.
When you’re done, your professional profile should look a little like this:
Hardworking and experienced Receptionist with several years of experience serving as an innovative, dedicated professional in high-volume client settings. Experienced in creating schedules, making appointments, selling products, and providing clients with optimal customer service. Eager to join a new team of people, and assist them as a dedicated and passionate Receptionist.
Employment History: Detail your career trajectory
When it comes to creating an employment history section as a receptionist, there are a key tips to keep in mind. First and foremost, focus on highlighting the key responsibilities and achievements in each of your previous roles. Begin by mentioning the company name, your job title, and the duration of your employment.
Additionally, you can outline the key tasks and responsibilities you undertook in each position. Try to use numbers, facts and figures where possible, and don't forget to tailor your employment history to the specific receptionist job you are applying for. Look at the job description and identify the key skills and qualifications they are seeking. Then, align your previous experiences and accomplishments with those requirements, outlining how your skills and expertise make you an ideal fit for the receptionist role you’re applying for.
Here’s a customisable example of an employment history section:
Receptionist at Aoibh Kelly Studios, Dublin
June 2019 — October 2023
- Greeted customers in a professional and friendly manner, resulting in increased customer satisfaction
- Assisted in the onboarding of new employees, ensuring all necessary paperwork was completed
- Organised and coordinated meetings and events, including preparing agendas and taking minutes
- Developed and maintained strong relationships with vendors and suppliers
Receptionist at Serene Shamrock Day Spa, Dublin
January 2016 — May 2019
- Organised and maintained an efficient filing system, resulting in improved document retrieval time
- Filed and maintained records and documents, ensuring their accuracy and confidentiality
- Managed multiple phone lines and answered incoming calls in a timely and efficient manner
- Managed a multi-line phone system, answering calls in a professional and courteous manner
Education: Highlight your educational expertise
While including formal education on your CV can certainly make you stand out to employers, it's not always necessary to include it. It depends on the specific job you're applying for and the relevance of your education to that position. As a receptionist, if you do have formal educational qualifications, such as a Bachelor's degree or higher, do include the details of these academic achievements in your education section. However, if you don't have formal educational qualifications, don't stress! Your skills, experience, and other relevant qualifications can still make you a strong candidate for the position, and you can focus on highlighting those aspects in your CV to showcase your suitability for the receptionist role.
When listing your educational qualifications, be sure to include the name of the institution you attended, the qualification earned, the location and the duration of time you spent at each institution. Here’s a great example of an effective education section:
Bachelor of Business at National College of Ireland, Dublin
September 2013 — June 2017
Skills: Impress and engage employers with your professional strengths
In your CV, the skills section gives you the opportunity to elaborate on your skills and abilities that make you an excellent receptionist. From greeting and assisting visitors to efficiently managing phone calls and emails, receptionists wear many hats! In this section, you’ll want to list any skills and professional strengths that may stand out to potential employers. It’s a good idea to include a range of hard and soft skills to help convey you as a well-rounded candidate. Hard skills are examples of more technical or ‘physical’ abilities, e.g., proficiency in administrative software or bookkeeping skills. Soft skills are more interpersonal abilities that allow you to establish rapport with clients, customers or staff, including excellent communication or time management skills.
Here’s our example of a great skills section:
- Bookkeeping Skills
- Customer Service Skills
- Effective Time Management
- Knowledge of Office Systems
- Office Technology Skills
- Scheduling Skills
