Receptionist Job Interview Questions

50% of all advertised receptionist job positions are part time roles?

This is due to the large scale of reception jobs. With positions being able in a number of job sectors, from education to construction, from finance to the health sector.

Receptionist jobs are advertised throughout the world, with various salaries and responsibilities, depending on the job sector the receptionist role is being advertised in.

How competitive is a receptionist job interview?

Interview Specifics:

Can you demonstrate the relevant knowledge and experience to pass a receptionist job interview?

  • How to greet visits in a professional manner
  • Data inputting, using a variety of IT skills
  • The process for allocating security passes
  • Answer enquiries in person, by phone and email
  • Experience of booking systems
  • Administrational skills and experience
  • Knowledge of GDPR

Check the average pay for a receptionist job role.

Below is a list of commonly asked job interview questions for a receptionist role.

Each summary comes with an explanation of the interview question and an example interview answer.

It is important to tweak each interview answer template, making it relevant to the interviewee’s own skills, qualities, experience, and knowledge.

An interviewer’s perception of a job applicant, their interview identity, is made up of the interviewee’s perceived level of knowledge/experience vs their level of confidence during the recruitment process.

The first stage, when preparing for a job interview, is to recognize your own ‘interview identity’.

Job Interview Questions and Answers for a Receptionist

Prior to the official job interview, the panel of interviewers (often 3 staff members, including a direct line manager) will make small talk to help relax the interviewee.

The hiring manager will start the interview by explaining the process of the structured job interview.

Including, the number of questions that will be asked, who on the interview panel will ask which questions, and how the applicant can ask for a question to be repeated.

They will go to explain the post-interview details; when each candidate will be told if they have been successful or not.

The job applicant, who prior to the recruitment day has made ample preparation, is expected to answer the questions by showcasing how they meet the job criteria.

Tell me about your experience working as a receptionist, and what you can bring to the team?

The opening question for a receptionist interview is always an open-style interview question.

The question may be framed slightly differently:

  • “What is your understanding of a receptionist duties?”
  • “Why did you apply for a receptionist job role within our company?”
  • “How does your work experience apply to this position?”

All opening questions, compared to the forthcoming more specific interview questions, allow an applicant to choose how the answer the question.

This ‘choice’ can result in a clever interviewee focusing their answer on their own unique selling point, what they can bring to the team and how they fulfill the job criteria.

It is important, therefore, to be aware of the three rules for a successful job interview.

In short, the initial question is designed for the employer to gain a general overview of the applicants suitable for the receptionist job role.

Start the interview answer with a standout point that will create interest:

  • A long duration in the industry, as time served is associated with talent: “I have worked as a receptionist for over 12 years…”
  • A required but rare skill to create interest: “One of my key skills is my ability to (add rare skill)….”
  • A reference to the industry the receptionist job role is in, which highlights sector knowledge and understanding: “Throughout my career I have always worked in (sector), throughput this time I gained the knowledge to (industry related receptionist task)…”

Next, be more generic list other receptionist duties, being detailed on any duties that the applicant is highly skilled in:

“I have a wide range of experience working as a receptionist and in administrational roles which include: diary management, making appointments over the phone, data inputting, customer service, and in my last role I led on (highly skilled task) where I (add detail)…”

End the interview answer, with a short summary:

“To summarize, I have X number of years and experience and my skill includes A, B, and C.”

What is your knowledge of ITC systems?

In an article on Indeed, they state the following ITC skills are commonly required:

  • Analytics
  • Social media
  • Graphic design
  • Microsoft Office
  • Spreadsheets
  • Email communication
  • Marketing automation
  • Data visualization

For certain sectors a particular database may be commonly used, requiring the job applicant to not only be aware of the database but to reference the specific database tasks during the interview answer.

An example is the use of ‘Sims’ in schools or ‘autocad’ in civil engineering.

The ITC question is asked for two reasons, to confirm the interviewee has a basic understanding of ITC systems, including emails, excel, word documents. And, more importantly, any specific sector-related ITC systems.

To answer the technology question, start generic and become more specific, highlighting awareness of the applicant’s level of industry ITC systems and products.

“I am very skilled in a range of ITC skills, including the basics, excel, word, publisher. In fact, my level of (IT system) is above average – I am able to (add specifics details). Because I have worked in the sector for X number of years, I am fully conversed with (sector-related ITC system). I have experience of (add ITC system duties).

An example of this, was when I worked at X organization. We were tasked to X. Because of my knowledge of (ITC system) I personally (action taken) which resulted in (outcome).”

What would you do if the computer system failed?

Most offices are becoming paperless, with digital documents replacing paper, and storage cupboards becoming obsolete as businesses move to storing information in the cloud.

The risk, therefore, is system failure.

Employers need receptionist staff to be able to pro-actively respond to difficult ITC situations.

ITC system failure questions may be more specific depending on the sector the advertised receptionist job role is in:

  • “How would you gain customer information if the database crashes?”
  • “How do you recover lost documents in Word?”
  • “How do you backup databases to prevent loss of information encase of a hack?”

The best way to answer the specific ITC question is via a real-life example. Stating a past experience highlights the skills the applicant possesses to deal with the stated problem.

“This has actually happened to me. While working at X organization, I arrived early one day in the office to find that (ITC failure). The timing was terrible, as the company had (a deadline, audit, inspection, customer/client meeting, etc).

My manager was stressed and nobody had any idea what to do.

Because of MY excellent ITC skills, I was able to (add actions taken).”

Give me an example of dealing with an awkward customer?

A key task for a receptionist is taking a customer or client’s phone calls, responding to emails, signing for office deliveries, making/confirming appointments, communicating face to face, and screening external stakeholders who are requesting meetings with senior staff members.

This task requires various skills:

  • Communication
  • Listening
  • Assertiveness
  • Confirming
  • Professionalism

Customers become ‘awkward’ or frustrated due to many reasons:

  • Feeling unwell – this especially important to understand in NHS receptionist roles
  • Having previously trained to get through to a certain person time and time again
  • Time constrictions – commonly happens with delivery drivers
  • A customer with a complaint/unhappy customer
  • Stressed/anxious/annoyed

Start the interview answer, by explaining the reasons a customer or client would be awkward or annoyed (relating to common industry problems).

Follow the opening statement by giving an example of what you would do if a future customer was being awkward.

“In our industry customers can become awkward when X, Y, and Z happen.

In this situation, the best course of action is to remain professional, polite, and to listen to any complaint. It is also important to understand the customer’s point of view and to find common ground. This is because an annoyed customer may leave bad reviews online which could affect the image of the company.

An example of helping an awkward customer is when I was working at X company as a (job role). A customer was (complaining/being angry/being awkward) because (reason).

First, I listened to the complaint without interrupting, as it’s important to let me let the anger out. I then asked specific questions to understand the situation without making assumptions.

I then asked what was the best way to resolve this and shared the options I was able to do there and then. This helped the customer to relax as they felt they were being listened to and supported, resulting in (positive outcome).”

What information would you take from a client who is looking to book an appointment?

Accuracy is key for a receptionist job role.

The specific interview question around what information to take from a client appointment booking could easily be asked for a number of receptionist job duties:

  • “How would you confirm a meeting request?”
  • “In what way would you ensure the accuracy of a data inputting task?”
  • “When speaking to a customer on the telephone what information do you need to take?”

A receptionist is often the first point of call, an information receiver, and giver, and often for many businesses the gatekeeper – deciding which persons get put through to senior staff members, and which don’t.

It is the information gained that allows the receptionist to the decision of who speaks to who. The wrong decision can result in either, an annoyed senior staff member due to having their time wasted or an outraged stakeholder for not being let through the ‘gate’.

To answer the ‘information’ interview question, state the required steps, specifying what information is needed:

“I am highly experienced in booking client appointments. When a client telephones for an appointment I first check who the client is; their name, DOB, and address. Requesting the DOB and address is a check to ensure that the person calling is the client and not a fraud caller.

Next, I check the reasons for the appointment. And the availability of the department. Once a date and time have been agreed, I would send a reminder to each of the appointment attendees via email.

This strategy ensures the accuracy of the appointment and reduces any errors.”

How would you arrange your working day?

Receptionists either work within a small team of receptionists (commonly seen in the healthcare service) or on their own initiative (receptionist in a small office).

Either way, the receptionist has to manage their own workload.

The time management question is really asking – how do you prioritise your workload?

For each receptionist, there will be a list of regular daily and/or weekly tasks, plus additional ad-hoc duties that randomly pop up depending on workload.

When answering the interview question: how do you arrange your day (or workload). Split the interview answers into two sections – regular tasks and ad-hoc duties.

“Each day is different. Generally speaking, I will have a set of regular tasks; checking emails, confirming appointments, updating finance information, taking phone call,s and completing a range of administrational tasks.

For these duties, I prioritise each task depending on the level of urgency and importance. As all these tasks happen weekly, I can easily split each task over a period of a week.

In addition, throughout my working week, new urgent tasks will land on my desk. This could include the month-end finance report that needs double-checking, or an influence of customers due to a new promotion.

When new ad-hoc tasks present themselves, which are urgent, I will delegate some of the regular duties to other staff while I prioritise the new job which often has a short deadline.”

Give an example of being GDPR compliant?

GDPR is a fairly new regulation that has a large impact on the responabilities of receptionists.

Therefore, it is important for receptionists to familiarize themselves with the GDPR regulations in preparation for a job interview.

Most employers will deliver GDPR and data protection training for all new recruits. For the job interview, hiring managers want to ensure that the successful interviewee has enough awareness to not breach the GDPR regulations.

In the interview answer cover the following 3 points:

  1. GDPR Training
  2. Daily actions taken not to breach GDPR
  3. Any additional knowledge

“Due to my previous roles requiring me to handle sensitive personal data I have undertaken a range of GDPR and data protection training.

I am fully versed in (add GDPR regulation related to the sector you are in)

On a daily basis, I follow GDPR by ensuring that all personal data is kept in lockable cabinets, using unique passwords on the various IT systems, and locking my computer when I’m away from my desk.

Because in our (sector) we deal with (sector-related sensitive data) I am also aware of the need to (add actions relating to the sectors sensitive data)”

Evolve the mind book on Amazon

Do you have any questions for me?

Each hiring manager during all job interviews will ask each interviewee if they have any questions for the employer.

Knowing that the final ‘ask me’ question will be asked, a set of questions needs to be prepared.

  • How many staff members work in the reception area?
  • What percentage of the job is customer facing?
  • What does an average do look like?
  • Why do you like working for X company?
  • What CPD is on offer for new staff members?

This site uses the ‘LMI for All’ online data portal to access official government ‘big data’ sources. This powers the labour market data provided on this site.

Employer Interview Questions for a Front of House Receptionist

Front of House Receptionist Interview Questions

The job interview is designed to ensure that you, the employer, recruits a suitable candidate with the required skills, qualifications and capabilities to meet the role criteria. To achieve this you need to ask the right questions for the position you are applying for – see below.

When interviewing job candidates, it is important to determine their work ethic, temperament, stress indicators and if they possess the required skills and knowledge essential for the desired position.

The interview should be set into 5 key sections:

  • One. Introduce you the interviewer, the company and the role. Many candidates will be applying for several roles and you want to retain the bets interviewee. Discussing the company values, ethics and goals can be highly influential in the candidate’s discussion when choosing an employer to work for.
  • Two. Discuss the interview set up, explaining the interview process. Give details of potential exercises, tests, group work or if you have adopted the panel interview approach.
  • Three. Ask around 10 questions relevant to the role (see below) when required repeat the question or ask the same question in a different way, making it clear to the candidate what the question objective is
  • Four. Allow the candidate to ask questions and encourage examples
  • Five. Explain the follow up process; how candidates will be informed of interview outcome

job interviewEmployer Job Interview Questions for a Front of House Receptionist

      • Job Interview Question 1: What is your customer service experience?
      • Job Interview Question 2: How do you assess the success of a hotel front of house department?
      • Job Interview Question 3: How does the hotel reception contribute to the strategies and goals of the hotel?

    • Job Interview Question 4: What was quality of standard of work/customer service in previous positions
    • Job Interview Question 5: Give an example of welcoming a customer.
    • Job Interview Question 6: Give an example of going above and beyond on behalf of a customer?

Interview questions and answers

      • Job Interview Question 7: How do you recall large amounts of information?
      • Job Interview Question 8: What us key when answering a call from a customer or business associate?
      • Job Interview Question 9: Give an example of successful multi-tasking while working under pressure?
      • Job Interview Question 10: What does customer service mean to you?
      • Job Interview Question 11: How do you manage your day to day duties?
      • Job Interview Question 12: Do you have any questions to ask?

Job Interview Questions for a Hospitality Receptionist

Hospitality Receptionist Job Interview

Hospitality jobs are on the increase and front of house hotel and receptionist positions are still on the rise even with an increase in online bookings.

For many hotel chains having a hotel receptionist skilled in customer service is key to customer retention.  Employers, therefore, during the job interview will ask questions designed to understand if each applicant possesses interpersonal skills, organisational skills and experience of problem-solving. 

This article will help you pass your next job interview by providing you with a list of commonly asked hotel reception job interveiw questions and an explanation of how to answer each interview question. 

Job Interview Questions and Answers for a Hospitality Receptionist

Job Interview Question 1: What is your customer service experience?

The initial open question is designed to get an overview of the applicant’s relevant experience in reference to the criteria of the advertised position. 

When answering the ‘experience’ question, start generally before giving specific details;

‘I have X years of experience working X customer service roles..’

Next add in any relevant, hotel-related, qualifications;

‘…I possess a national diploma in customer service and an NVQ in computer studies…’

The answer should end with a list of specific skills and/or experiences relating to working with the hotel trade or customer service roles;

‘…For the last 5 years, I have worked at X where I was  responsible for taking bookings and cancellations, recording customer data on the computer, checking in guests, allocating rooms and answering questions about hotel facilities, local transport, places of interest and entertainment.’ 

Job Interview Question 2: How do you assess the success of a hotel front of house department?

What this question is really asking is if you understand what is required to make a successful front of house team. 

As customer service is key to the success of a hotel, you can link this essential element to the interview answer. Next, list some of the key job duties, that if completed properly, will result in a successful department.

‘Customer feedback provides the overall success rate of a hotel reception. If the feedback has common areas of development then this is an area that needs improving.  If the feedback is positive, then it is deemed that the front of house team is being successful. Behind the scenes, though, the front of house team have a number of key targets they have to meet. It is the meeting of these targets and the completion of business-as-usual duties that are key indicators of success.’ 

Job Interview Question 3: How does the hotel reception contribute to the strategies and goals of the hotel?

Hotel managers, when recruiting, require a team that all work together to achieve the objectives of the hotel. In the main, the goal of any hotel is to provide an excellent service to paying customers, as this increases repeat business and of course profits. 

When answering interveiw questions about the wider team and the overarching strategic objectives, you need to highlight how you understand that it is a team approach that is needed to be successful, from the cleaning team to the hotel manager, from the kitchen team to the front of house department. 

Job Interview Question 4: What was quality of standard of work/customer service in previous positions?

Employers ask questions about previous positions as new employees can bring over good practice or bad habits. Often if the standards were poor in a previous job role, it can be assumed that the employee will expect the same level of standards in the new role. 

It is important, then, to make it clear that either the standard of work was high in a previous role – and that you enjoyed working to this level of professionalism, or that it was the low standards that made you want to apply for a position with a more professional hotel. 

Job Interview Question 5:  Give an example of welcoming a customer to the hotel.

Example questions can be answered by stating the process you follow, in this instance, to welcome a hotel guest. 

  • Give a friendly welcome
  • Check booking details 
  • Give an overview of the room and the facilities 
  • Ask if they require anything to if they would like an upgrade
  • So the guest to their rooms 

Job Interview Question 6: Give an example of going above and beyond on behalf of a customer?

Customer service is gold in the hotel sector, with that old saying ‘the customer is always right’. 

Employers expect the front of house team to offer exceptional customer service. Don’t fall into the trap of answering this interveiw question with business-as-usual customer service (even though this level of customer service may be above and beyond in a different industry). 

A real-life example is required here. Previous, successful, examples have included:

  • Helping a guest gain a room when the hotel was full and the customer’s booking had been lost.
  • Taking extra time during a wedding to help the happy couple to have a lovely day by event managing the event that was starting to go badly.
  • Being an interpreter, once your shift had ended, for a group of non-English speaking customers on a trip from abroad. 

 

interview prediction grid

Job Interview Question 7: How do you recall large amounts of information?

As a front of house staff member, the guest expects the receptionist to know all the local facilities. 

Here, the interviewee, needs to explain their process for remembering all the required information needed for a potential guest. 

‘When starting work in a new city I first check for the key venue, activities and facilities that a guest may require; theatres, bars, museums. I also use the internet to find the random request that may be asked for, this way I always have an answer for a guest.’ 

Job Interview Question 8: What is key when answering a call from a customer or business associate?

Taking calls from guests is a daily occurrence. Employers are looking for a polite, professional and friendly receptionist to help key the brand’s positive image. 

As a technical interveiw question, the best way to answer it is to breakdown the steps embedded in the process for each duty. 

  • Answer with a good morning/good afternoon and name the hotel 
  • Ask how you can help 
  • Listen to the query and check any details 
  • Give advice, information or answer the question
  • Ask if there is anything extra you can help with
  • Wish them a good day 

Job Interview Question 9: What does customer service mean to you?

Customer service is about going above and beyond the call of duty to keep the customer happy. 

When answering the ‘customer service explanation’ question give a description, similar to the above statement, before giving an example of you using customer service in a previous role. 

Job Interview Question 10: Do you have any questions to ask?

  • How many hotels are in the chain? 
  • Can employees work across hotels?
  • What training is in place for employees?
  • What percentage of guests are repeat customers? 
  • Does the hotel have an internal promotion programme? 

Interview Questions for a Receptionist Interview

Receptionist Interview

  • Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
  • What is your experience as a Receptionist?
  • What were the main responsibilities as a receptionist?

  • What ITC packages can you use?
  • What is your typing speed?
  • Why is customer service important to your role?
  • What do you understand about my diary management?

 

  • Are you confident on the telephone?
  • How do you organise your day?
  • Do you have any questions for me?