Posted by CV Nation on
When interviewing for jobs as a receptionist, you will be asked numerous tricky questions. With strong competition for receptionist jobs, you’ll need to make sure you’ve prepared your answers in advance to give you a stronger chance of acing your job interview.
In this guide, we have listed 20 of the most common interview questions for receptionists, as well as example answers and everything you need to know to answer them in the best way.
Many job interviews start with this question. It’s designed to break the ice and enable the interviewer to learn about your background.
Try to use your answer to convey why you’re a perfect candidate for the job. You could do this by touching on your experiences, achievements and your passion for customer service.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘I have been employed in customer-facing roles for over nine years. I started my career as a customer service advisor in 2012. In 2014, I landed a role as a receptionist, and since then I have been employed in challenging receptionist roles.
I am passionate about customer service. I take pride in being able to solve problems for customers and achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. Following a survey in early 2021, over 98 percent of customers who engaged with me said they were very happy with the customer service they received.’
Interviewers ask this question to see if you are aligned with their culture and values. This question also lets interviewers know if you have done your research and specifically targeted their company.
Conduct some research prior to your job interview to gain insight into the company’s values and how you’re aligned with them.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘I am eager to join your company because of the opportunities for promotion and professional development. I am passionate about professional growth, and I would be delighted to work for a company that rewards it with internal promotions.’
As receptionists are the face of companies, it’s important that they can provide customers and visitors with a pleasant experience. Interviewers ask this question because they want to know if you understand what good customer service is and if you’re capable of delivering it.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘To me, good customer service is going the extra mile to ensure customers are satisfied and making sure they know that they are valued. While employed in my previous job as a receptionist at a the headquarters of a small clothing company, I aimed to do this every day.
An example is a time I encountered a customer whose order had been lost in the post. Under normal circumstances, we would have simply sent her another item, but by the time she had got in touch with us the item was out of stock.
I contacted the courier service and managed to track down the missing order. This was then delivered to the customer, who contacted me to thank me for my efforts.'
As a receptionist, you are the face of companies. On many occasions, receptionists are the only employees that customers engage with. For this reason, it’s important that receptionists are able to maintain a professional demeanour.
Interviewers ask this question because they want to know if you are a professional receptionist who can represent their company in the appropriate manner.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘I ensure I am acting in a professional manner when employed as a receptionist by adhering to company policies and standards. My current employer has a set of standards relating to how customer-facing employees should act, and I always follow these standards to ensure I am conducting my work in a professional way. I also ensure my appearance and communication is highly professional at all times.’
Interviewers ask this question to learn how you react in situations involving conflict and challenging customers. They are looking for evidence that you can demonstrate conflict resolution and problem-solving skills under pressure while maintaining a professional attitude.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘While employed as a receptionist at Example Company, I encountered a visitor who became very irate after I informed him that the member of staff that he had come to visit was now unavailable. Ensuring I followed the store’s policies, I politely apologised to the visitor and explained that he would have to reschedule for the next day. After finding a time slot that was convenient for the visitor, he calmed down and thanked me for providing him with an alternative. Throughout this experience, I maintained high levels of professionalism and politeness.’
Interviewers may ask you to explain how much you know about the company’s products or services.
Why is it important that you’re familiar with their products or services?
Because, as a receptionist, you can’t assist customers or visitors with products or services if you don’t have a good knowledge about them. If you can demonstrate an extensive knowledge of the company’s products or services in your job interview, you’ll make a positive impression on interviewers.
If you are not aware of the company’s products or services, do some research prior to your job interview so that you’re ready for the question.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘Example Company provide construction services across London and the South-East. Groundworks, haulage and heavy plant hire are among Example Company’s key offerings. The company has worked on many major projects in recent years, such as the project to build new office buildings in London City.’
The role of receptionist involves a lot of multi-tasking. Receptionists have to juggle multiple tasks while maintaining quality standards.
Interviewers ask this question to find out if you’re capable of operating in a fast-paced environment and managing multiple tasks simultaneously.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘When I was employed as a receptionist at Example Company, I was once required to perform the work of two people. The second receptionist was off work and my manager was unable to find a replacement. During the course of the day, I managed twice as many phone calls, emails and in-person enquiries as I normally would have done. Despite this heavy workload, I didn’t let me quality levels drop and I maintained a highly professional demeanour when communicating with guests.’
As a receptionist, you will be required to use a number of software applications and technologies. These may include data entry systems and scheduling programmes.
Interviewers want to know if you are familiar with the applications that they use, or at least that you will be able to learn to use them.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘I am proficient with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, as well as QuickBooks and Asana. I am also adept with many data entry and scheduling applications, such as Zoho Forms, Jotform, Setmore and Calendly. I am a very quick learner with good technical knowledge, so I am confident I can easily get to grips with any systems and applications that your company uses.’
Interviewers ask this question to see if you understand what it takes to perform to high standards as a receptionist.
Use your answer to show how you possess the traits of a good receptionist and provide an example of a time you have used them to perform your tasks to high standards.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘Receptionists should be highly organised, with a high degree of professionalism and excellent communication skills. As they are the face of companies, they should also have great customer service skills.
When I was employed as a receptionist at Example Company, I maintained my professionalism on a daily basis by following company policy and ensuring to communicate with visitors in an engaging manner.’
Many people find interview questions about weaknesses daunting. But they really don’t need to be. When asking this question, interviewers are simply trying to determine if you have the self-awareness to identify your flaws and if you’re capable of improving on them.
Avoid discussing weaknesses that would prevent you from performing your job as a receptionist. For example, you wouldn’t want to highlight communication as a weakness.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘One of my biggest weaknesses is taking on too much work. Many people come to me and ask me to perform tasks alongside my work as a reception, which are not actually my responsibility. I say yes to them too often and sometimes end up getting bogged down in work. To combat this weakness, I have started using a scheduling app, which enables me to accurately determine if I have time to take on new tasks.’
View our guide to answering job interview questions about weaknesses, which includes 12 example weaknesses.
Interviewers may ask about your salary expectations. They ask this question to see if your salary expectations match their own.
Rather than giving a specific number, consider giving a range. For example, you could give a salary range of between twenty-thousand pounds and thirty-thousand pounds. This will give you room for negotiation later if you feel you need it.
Interviewers usually ask if you have any questions for them at the end of job interviews. This is a chance for you to gain insight into the job.
Always ask at least one question to show you are enthusiastic and actually care about the position.
Questions that you could ask the interviewer include:
- What do people enjoy most about working at your company?
- Could you tell me about the opportunities for professional growth at your company?
- What career paths do you see for people who are employed in this role?
Hopefully you have found this guide to receptionist interview questions helpful. If you’re pursuing receptionist jobs, you’ll need a powerful CV. View our in-depth guide to writing a receptionist CV, which includes 3 receptionist CV templates.
