Receptionist Resume Tips For Individuals With No Work Experience

The first impression, as they say, is vital. Recruiting managers see your resume before they meet you in person and so, it is necessary that you put a well-crafted, professional, and impressive resume in front of them. Whether you get a call for the interview depends on whether the hiring manager is impressed by what is on your resume. Getting an interview call for a job of receptionist without any previous experience is challenging, but completely doable. The key is to prepare a resume that highlights your skills and plays down the lack of experience.

As a large number of receptionist jobs are low-level administrative jobs, you can prepare a resume that shows you possess the required skill sets and are a suitable candidate for the job. Want to know how? Just follow these tips:

1. Use the functional resume format

Resume formats are of two types -- functional and chronological. The latter is appropriate for people with rich experience as it focuses on actual job experience. Job seekers with little or no experience should always use the functional format, according to recruiting experts.

A functional resume is created in such a fashion that it diverts attention away from work experience by focusing on education and transferable skills. In a functional resume, the career objective is mentioned in the first paragraph along with the educational background. In the second and third paragraph, the skill sets and a qualification summary is listed. Check out resume examples at assistantresumes.org to get a better idea of how to use this format.

2. Talk about your skills

The job duties of a receptionist generally include the following:

* Answering the phone

* Greeting visitors

* Booking meeting rooms and some other simple administrative tasks

* Making entries in the company's data management software

An individual can efficiently carry out these tasks even without any previous experience as a receptionist. Prepare a resume that focuses on your skill sets, such as your customer-oriented mindset, ability to answer phone courteously and professionally, and your pleasing personality. If you are a computer-literate, highlight this point in your resume. Also, remember to mention the software you are familiar with, such as Microsoft Office, and your typing speed.

3. Mention awards and memberships

During your school years, were you part of any school or social club? Did you win any awards for your social or team skills? If yes, make it a point to highlight them in your resume. Since you don't have actual work experience, listing information that highlights your communication, coordination, and other capabilities is paramount.

4. Mention preprofessional experience

Do you have any transferable work experience? If yes, do not forget to mention it in your resume. Never mind if it was not a paying job, listing pre-professional experience in the resume is far better than a resume that doesn't have any sort of experience on it. If you were part of a voluntary group or a sorority, mention that in your resume along with your duties, much like anyone with real job experience would do on his/her resume.