How to Respond to Interview Questions for Receptionist
If you are applying for a receptionist job in Northern Ireland, it is essential that you showcase your people skills. As you are the first point of contact for a company’s customers, you are effectively the ‘face’ and ‘voice’ of the organisation. When seeking a qualified receptionist, hiring managers analyse the personality of interviewees, which is every bit as important as their qualifications and experience.
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If you have created a receptionist CV and cover letter that has been tailored to the job description, there’s a good chance that you’ll get called in for an interview.
Let’s dive in:
5 Receptionist Interview Questions and Answers
Hotel Receptionist Interview Questions
Office Receptionist Interview Questions
Medical Receptionist Interview Questions
Tips on How to answer Receptionist Interview Questions
Let’s provide a few examples of questions you may be asked.
5 Receptionist Interview Questions and Answers
1 – How Do You Keep Your Daily Schedule Organised?
If you are an experienced receptionist, you know that the number of visitors you meet and greet in this front of house role dictates your overall schedule. It is important to state that you create a flexible schedule to ensure you combine the all-important duty of greeting and assisting customers with the normal day-to-day duties.
2 – What Are the Qualities of a Good Receptionist?
Arguably, the most important quality of any successful receptionist is communication skills, along with a friendly and positive attitude. In many cases, you are the first point of contact, and your behavior towards visitors will colour their opinions of the entire company, so no pressure! It is essential that you give a fantastic first impression. Organisational skills are also extremely important because a receptionist must deal with several tasks at once.
3 – What Motivates You to do Reception and Administrative Work?
This is merely a variation of questions such as ‘why do you want to work here’ and ‘why did you decide to become a receptionist?’ A good answer is succinct and specific to the role you are interviewing for. As a receptionist, you enjoy the challenge of meeting targets or deadlines, meeting people, and helping customers find what they need. The interviewer is trying to gain an insight into your character with this question.
4 – Tell Me About a Time When You Had an Angry Customer, How Did You Deal with Them?
As a receptionist, there will be times when an irate customer demands to speak to someone from the company. Tell a story of an occasion when an angry person came in and vented their frustration. Explain how you allowed them to express their anger, and only interjected when they had calmed down. Mention that you were able to direct them to the right department. In many situations like this, customers calm down once they get what they want.
5 – Are You Willing to Work Flexible Hours?
When working in reception, you are often expected to work shifts especially if employed by a hotel or large department store. You should already be aware of this and be ready to say ‘yes.’ If you are willing to work overtime, make sure you mention it as well. It is okay to point out that you would need a day’s notice so that you can plan.
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Hotel Receptionist Interview Questions
- How many people did you interact with daily on average in your last role?
- Do you have experience working in a hotel or the hospitality sector?
- Why do you want to work at this hotel?
- Are you available to work night shifts if necessary?
- How do you prioritise clients, deliveries, and calls, along with other pressing issues?
- Tell me about a time when you were able to fulfill an exceedingly tricky guest request.
Office Receptionist Interview Questions
- How many years of experience do you have as a speed typist? What is your typing speed?
- How do you ensure the office’s security protocols are followed?
- What types of software have you used in previous roles?
- If someone gets in touch looking for an individual who is not available to chat, what do you tell the caller?
- In your opinion, what is a receptionist’s ideal relationship with the office?
- How do you deal with extremely busy spells?
Medical Receptionist Interview Questions
- Describe an occasion when you had to deal with an upset patient. Were you able to solve their problem?
- Have you experience in using multi-line phones or a switchboard?
- What are your goals in 5/10 years?
- Describe a situation when you had a conflict with one of your colleagues.
- How would you greet a visitor?
- Outline an occasion when you felt pressurised at work. How did you handle it?
Tips on How to Answer Receptionist Interview Questions
Once you have read the receptionist job description and are getting ready to send your CV and cover letter, please note that you may end up answering competency-based interview questions. In this type of interview, the hiring manager tries to find out how you have used specific skills in previous roles. The interviewer is also attempting to discover how you approach problems, challenges and everyday tasks.
The STAR technique is one of the best methods of answering competency-based interview questions for a receptionist. This technique requires decent storytelling abilities and is a method of outlining how you solved a problem by using your unique skill set.
- Situation: Set the scene and describe the story. In a couple of sentences, describe where you were working, your role, and any other information relevant to the story.
- Task: Outline the challenge or problem you (or your company) faced, and the goal you were hoping to attain. Make sure you explain why this story is relevant to the role you’re being interviewed for.
- Action: What did you do to solve the issue? Mention other people who were involved in the story. While the Situation and Task elements of STAR should be concise, you can elaborate a bit more at this point. Talk about the steps you took, the challenges faced, and the skills you used.
- Result: What was the outcome? It should go without saying that you must mention a positive story! How did your actions result in a positive outcome? Now is a good time to mention numbers because few things capture a prospective employer’s attention more than tangible evidence.
We hope this article proved useful, and that it helps you prepare for a receptionist role in Northern Ireland.
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What should I do next?
- View and apply for Receptionist Jobs
- Set up a Receptionist Job Alert
- Learn how to create an attractive Receptionist CV . This article is packed with lots of useful tips and a template!
- Learn how to create an attractive Receptionist Cover Letter . This article is packed with lots of useful tips and a template!
- Learn everything that you need to know about this role with our Receptionist Job Description
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