Receptionist Interview Questions

Questions to probe skills and experience

To begin with, evaluate the candidate’s experience and competence in this sphere. Explore their self-criticism and predict development prospects.

• List your primary responsibilities at your previous workplace.
• What makes a good receptionist?
• Did you take over any extra duties as a receptionist?

Since the job of receptionist implies a great deal of interacting with different people, probe your candidate’s ability to get along with people of different sorts and levels. Despite loads of calls and visits, the applicant should stay poised and professional. These questions may assist:

• Do you like to communicate with different people?
• How many people on average did you serve daily? How many calls did you answer per day?
• What kind of people did you have to serve?

Also, receptionists are responsible for efficient responding to clients’ inquiries. Evaluate how your candidate used the knowledge of the company and its services for this purpose. Ask:

• What kind of inquiries did you have to respond?

Questions to uncover technical competence

Any receptionist spends loads of time maintaining records on visitors coming in and out, scheduling appointments, answering and forwarding phone calls, handling correspondence, etc. For this reason, strong technical competence is a must. Explore this aspect by asking:

• What are your computer skills?
• What applications and telecommunication systems do you use?
• How many words per minute can you type when using word processing software? What is the error rate?

Behavioral-based questions

Proper communication skills are the key to this job. A professional receptionist is expected to listen to customer’s queries, and ask the right questions to be able to understand their needs. Ask:

• Have you ever handled a difficult client? Did you sort out the problem? How?

In the view of the huge flow of work, the right person for this position should be able to arrange this chaos. Ask:

• How do you organize tasks for the day?
• How do you prioritize them to fulfill on time and on a budget?
• What software do you use to keep an eye on your activity?

Explore the candidate’s level of stress resistance, problems-solving and decision-making skills, initiative:

• Have you ever taken your own initiative as a receptionist?
• How did you solve tough problems? Provide an example.

Questions to assess motivation fit with your company

Make sure that the applicant totally fits your company’s policy and requirements. Ask the following:

• What makes our vacancy attractive for you?
• Why should we hire you?
• What type of schedule works for you?
• Are you ready to work overtime if necessary?