A receptionist sets the first impression of an entire company, so hire on presence and composure rather than on résumé length. Test it directly: greet the candidate the way a visitor would be greeted, then watch how they handle a phone call arriving mid-conversation. This role turns over often, so keep applications mobile-friendly, the loop short and the offer fast.
Local and mobile beats national and polished. Hotel front desks, salons, gyms, clinics and retail floors all produce people who greet strangers warmly for a living, which is the core of the job. Community groups and neighbourhood boards work well because this role must be commutable. Temporary agencies cover gaps and often supply permanent candidates who have already proved themselves on your desk. Referrals from your own front-of-house team are reliable, since they understand exactly what the job demands. These candidates apply from a phone between shifts, so a long multi-page form silently destroys your pipeline. A well-built [careers page](/careers-page-builder) with a short mobile application and the full [receptionist job description](/job-descriptions/receptionist) fixes most of the drop-off.
The hours, because the desk cannot be empty. Publish fixed start and finish times rather than implying flexibility that does not exist, and state how lunch and holiday cover work. Describe the whole job honestly: visitors and sign-in, phone volume, deliveries and post, meeting room setup, supplies, and any administrative work that fills the quieter parts of the day. Mention dress expectations and the site itself, including parking and transport, since commutability decides who accepts. Say whether the role is a stepping stone into administration or operations, because many strong candidates take a front desk job specifically as an entry point and will stay longer if the path is real and stated up front.
The phone screen is the assessment, not a formality. Call the shortlist and pay attention to what you would notice as a customer: clarity, warmth, pace, whether they let you finish, and how they handle being asked something they do not know. Background noise and how they manage it tells you something too. Confirm availability against the fixed desk hours before anything else, because this is where most applicants fall away. Skip long written assessments entirely; they measure nothing relevant to a front desk. Ask two or three availability questions in writing first, so the calls you do make are worth making. Let [recruitment automation](/recruitment-automation) handle acknowledgements, screening invitations and reminders, because in a high-volume, fast-turnover role the administrative delay is usually what loses the good candidates.
One site visit, well designed. Have the candidate arrive and be greeted exactly as a visitor would be, then run the interview at or near the desk. Midway through, arrange for the phone to ring and for somebody to approach with a question, and watch how the candidate handles two people at once. That single moment is more predictive than an hour of competency questions. Introduce them to the people who depend on the desk daily, since those colleagues will spot things a manager misses. Use a short set of [receptionist interview questions](/interview-questions/receptionist) covering difficult visitors and confidentiality, then decide within days rather than weeks. One well-designed visit beats three rounds, and a second interview rarely reveals anything the desk test did not already show you.
Accept that this role turns over more than most and design around it. The two biggest causes are boredom in the quiet hours and feeling invisible, both of which are fixable. Give the desk genuine ownership of something beyond greeting: supplier coordination, meeting room management, onboarding logistics, an administrative area that grows. Make sure breaks actually happen by naming a trained backup before the first day rather than improvising when someone calls in sick. Say thank you publicly. Keep a warm list of past applicants and temporary cover staff so the next vacancy starts with a shortlist instead of an empty advert, and revisit the progression conversation every few months.
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