Receptionist resume keywords and skills

Receptionist postings describe a desk, and the keywords are the things that land on it: a multi-line phone, visitors, the calendar, mail and whatever software the office runs. Medical, legal and corporate front desks each add their own terms, such as insurance verification or conference room booking. Copy the posting's words for the tasks you have handled and give volume, like calls per day or visitors checked in. Skip the ones you would need training on.

Check a posting for these keywords

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Paste a posting to see which of these 19 keywords it asks for.

  • Multi-line phone system
  • Greeting visitors
  • Visitor check-in
  • Call screening
  • Front desk operations
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Calendar management
  • Conference room booking
  • Microsoft Office
  • Data entry
  • Mail and package handling
  • Office supplies
  • Filing and scanning
  • Confidentiality
  • Patient check-in
  • Insurance verification
  • Copay collection
  • HIPAA
  • Electronic health records (EHR)

Receptionist resume keywords

The bullets are writing models, not anyone's real results. Use a keyword only when you can back it with your own work.

Phones and visitors

Multi-line phone system
The most common receptionist keyword. Give the number of lines or daily calls, and name the system if the posting does.
Answered a multi-line phone system with 10 lines, routing about 90 calls a day to 35 staff.
Greeting visitors
The first impression part of the job. Say who came through the door, such as patients, clients or vendors.
Greeted visitors and clients at the front desk, offering water and letting hosts know by chat.
Visitor check-in
Offices with security rules want sign-in logs and badges done right. Envoy is a common check-in tool, so name it if you used it.
Ran visitor check-in for about 40 guests a day, printing badges and keeping the sign-in log.
Call screening
Law firms and executive offices list it. It shows judgment about who gets put through and what can wait.
Screened calls for four partners and took messages with the caller's name, number and reason.
Front desk operations
A catch-all postings use for running the lobby. Use it once, in a line that says the size of the office you covered.
Managed front desk operations alone for a 35-person office, covering phones, visitors and deliveries.

Scheduling and software

Appointment scheduling
Central to medical, dental and salon desks. Count the providers or chairs you booked for and mention confirmations and reschedules.
Scheduled appointments for 6 providers and confirmed the next day's visits by phone and text.
Calendar management
Corporate postings ask receptionists to keep shared calendars. Name the tool, usually Outlook or Google Calendar, and whose calendars you kept.
Handled calendar management in Outlook for three managers, fixing double bookings before the meeting day.
Conference room booking
Offices with shared rooms list it. Add catering orders or video setup if you handled them.
Booked conference rooms and set up video calls in Zoom and Microsoft Teams for client meetings.
Microsoft Office
Postings mean Outlook, Word and Excel. Say what you made in each, since the suite name alone is on every resume.
Used Microsoft Office daily, drafting letters in Word and tracking visitor counts in Excel.
Data entry
Front desks update records all day. Name the system, such as a CRM or patient database, and what you entered.
Entered new client records and updated contact details, completing data entry for about 25 files a day.

Office support

Mail and package handling
Listed on most postings. Include courier shipments, the postage meter or certified mail if you handled them.
Handled incoming mail and packages and prepared FedEx and UPS shipments for the office.
Office supplies
Shows you keep the office running without being asked. Mention the budget or the vendor account you ordered from.
Ordered office supplies and kitchen stock monthly, staying within a $400 budget.
Filing and scanning
Paper still arrives at the front desk. Say what you filed and whether it went into a cabinet or an electronic system.
Kept up with filing and scanning of signed contracts into the shared drive each afternoon.
Confidentiality
Legal, medical and HR offices name it. Point to a practice, like keeping paperwork out of view or verifying callers.
Maintained confidentiality of client files and visitor logs, keeping paperwork out of view at the desk.

Medical front desk

Patient check-in
Medical postings use patient terms instead of visitor terms. Mention the forms, ID and insurance cards you collected.
Completed patient check-in for about 60 visits a day, updating demographics and scanning insurance cards.
Insurance verification
Clinics want eligibility checked before the visit. Say how you did it, by payer portal or phone, and how far ahead.
Ran insurance verification through payer portals two days before each appointment.
Copay collection
Front desk collections affect a practice's cash flow. Mention the payment types you took and whether you closed out the day.
Collected copays at check-in by card or cash and balanced the drawer at the end of the day.
HIPAA
Required for any desk that handles patient information. List it with the setting where you applied it.
Followed HIPAA privacy rules at the desk, confirming identity before releasing any patient information.
Electronic health records (EHR)
Name the system, such as Epic, athenahealth or eClinicalWorks. Recruiters at clinics search by product.
Registered new patients in the Epic EHR and scheduled follow-up visits before they left.

Receptionist job description for a resume

Common duties written as resume bullets. Keep the ones you did and add your own numbers.

  • Answer and route calls on a multi-line phone system and take accurate messages.
  • Greet visitors, sign them in and notify the person they are meeting.
  • Schedule, confirm and reschedule appointments and meetings for office staff.
  • Sort and distribute mail, sign for deliveries and prepare outgoing shipments.
  • Keep the reception area, conference rooms and kitchen neat and stocked.
  • Order office supplies and track what is running low.
  • Update contact records, file documents and scan paperwork into shared folders.
  • Book conference rooms and set up video calls for meetings.
  • Protect confidential information on the desk, the phone and the screen.

Receptionist resume summary examples

Entry level

Restaurant host with two years at a busy location, moving into reception work. Answered phones, managed a waitlist of up to 40 parties and greeted every guest at the door. Comfortable with Microsoft Office and Google Calendar, types 50 WPM and is available for full-time weekday hours.

Experienced

Receptionist with 7 years at medical and corporate front desks. Answers about 90 calls a day on a multi-line phone system and schedules for 6 providers in Epic. Handles patient check-in, insurance verification and copays, follows HIPAA at the desk and has trained three front desk hires.

Phrases to replace on a receptionist resume

  • Answered phones

    Give lines, volume and who you routed to. Answered a 10-line phone system and routed about 90 calls a day to 35 staff.

  • Greeted guests with a smile

    Say what check-in involved. Signed in about 40 visitors a day, printed badges and notified hosts.

  • Performed various office duties

    Name them. Ordered supplies within a $400 monthly budget, sorted mail and booked conference rooms.

Receptionist resume examples

See these keywords in a full resume, by experience level.

Entry LevelMid LevelSenior Level Compare levels Before and after rewrites

Receptionist resume keywords FAQ

What skills should a receptionist list on a resume?

Multi-line phones, greeting visitors, appointment scheduling and calendar management appear on most postings, along with Microsoft Office and data entry. Medical desks add patient check-in, insurance verification and HIPAA. Use the terms from the posting you are answering, each in a bullet with a number, and only for work you have done.

How do I write a summary for a receptionist resume?

Keep it to two or three sentences. Say how long you have worked a front desk and in what kind of office, give one or two numbers such as calls per day or providers scheduled, and name the main software. A first-time applicant can lead with related work, like hosting or retail, and the phone and scheduling tasks it involved.

Is a front desk coordinator the same as a receptionist?

The titles overlap. Coordinator postings usually add scheduling for several people, supply ordering or some billing, and may pay more. If you did that work under a receptionist title, keep your real title and let the bullets show the extra duties. Do not change a job title to match a posting.

Should a medical receptionist resume use different keywords?

Yes. Clinics search for patient check-in, insurance verification, copay collection, HIPAA and the EHR by name, such as Epic or athenahealth. General terms like greeting visitors matter less there. If your experience is in a non-medical office, keep your accurate terms and add any medical terminology or HIPAA training you have completed.

Keywords for related roles

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