What does a Receptionists and Information Clerk do?

Answer inquiries and provide information to the general public, customers, visitors, and other interested parties regarding activities conducted at establishment and location of departments, offices, and employees within the organization. Day to day that includes work like operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments and Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations.

What skills should a Receptionists and Information Clerk put on a resume?

O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Receptionists and Information Clerk list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Alpha Software Alpha Five, Appointment scheduling software, Automated information system software, and Billing software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Receptionists and Information Clerk work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Front Desk Receptionist, Greeter, Office Assistant, and Receptionist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Receptionists and Information Clerk need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 49% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Receptionists and Information Clerk role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Receptionists and Information Clerk resume example

A resume for a Receptionists and Information Clerk needs to show the work itself: answer inquiries and provide information to the general public, customers, visitors, and other interested parties regarding activities conducted at establishment and location of departments, offices, and employees within the organization. Day to day that means work like this: operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments; greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Front Desk Receptionist
Greeter
Office Assistant
Receptionist
Clerk Specialist
Information Assistant
Info Assistant
Medical Receptionist
Member Services Representative
Member Services Rep
Registration Clerk
Scheduler
Auto Club Info Clerk
Call Center Rep
CCR
ER Clerk
Info Receptionist
Land Leasing Info Clerk

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments.
Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations.
Receive payment and record receipts for services.
Schedule appointments and maintain and update appointment calendars.
Transmit information or documents to customers, using computer, mail, or facsimile machine.
Hear and resolve complaints from customers or the public.
File and maintain records.
Provide information about establishment, such as location of departments or offices, employees within the organization, or services provided.
Perform administrative support tasks, such as proofreading, transcribing handwritten information, or operating calculators or computers to work with pay records, invoices, balance sheets, or other documents.
Collect, sort, distribute, or prepare mail, messages, or courier deliveries.
Perform duties, such as taking care of plants or straightening magazines to maintain lobby or reception area.
Analyze data to determine answers to questions from customers or members of the public.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Receive payment and record receipts for services, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Schedule appointments and maintain and update appointment calendars, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3M Post-it App
Alpha Software Alpha Five
Appointment scheduling software
Automated information system software
Billing software
Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
Bookkeeping software
Claim processing system software
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data entry software
Database software
Desktop publishing software
Electronic calendar management software

41 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Credit card processing machines
Data input scanners
Desktop computers
Dictation equipment
Electric typewriters
Filing Cabinets
Handheld calculators
Laser facsimile machines
Multi-line switchboards
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Photocopying equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

schedule appointments
sort mail

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Speaking
02Active Listening
03Service Orientation
04Critical Thinking
05Reading Comprehension
06Social Perceptiveness
07Coordination
08Writing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Administrative
English Language
Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

49%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
26%Some College Courses
21%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Receptionists and Information Clerk do?: Answer inquiries and provide information to the general public, customers, visitors, and other interested parties regarding activities conducted at establishment and location of departments, offices, and employees within the organization. Day to day that includes work like operate telephone switchboard to answer, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments and Greet persons entering establishment, determine nature and purpose of visit, and direct or escort them to specific destinations.
What skills should a Receptionists and Information Clerk put on a resume?: O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Service Orientation, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Receptionists and Information Clerk list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Alpha Software Alpha Five, Appointment scheduling software, Automated information system software, and Billing software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Receptionists and Information Clerk work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Front Desk Receptionist, Greeter, Office Assistant, and Receptionist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Receptionists and Information Clerk need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 49% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Receptionists and Information Clerk role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.