I’ve been employed a receptionist off and on for over 20 years, and I think it’s truly a shame that some people have a negative impression about my chosen field…or think it is amusing to belittle the importance of the work being done.
In a corporate environment that sometimes may seem cold and impersonal, it is good for a company to have employees who are capable of bringing a humanizing element and warmth to the job…as well as to provide a positive image for an organization. A competent receptionist with the right matrix of technical and interpersonal skills who enjoys his or her work does this each working day. They are truly a value added member of their organizational team…and a smart boss knows this!
A receptionist position, on the surface, may appear boring, but if you are smart and resourceful… it can be a job that may be used as a foot in the door. Think about it: you are in prime spot to get to know people and to network. You meet and greet a variety of people daily, and some of them come in on a regular basis. You handle the mail and messages daily, so you know who matters in a company and who does not.
A person who has a positive image of a company is more apt to do business with them. Believe it or not, companies have actually lost MILLIONS of dollars because of a negative impression that a receptionist may give. If people in power can see that you can even do the “small things” well…and do it without an attitude, you DO get noticed and can move up if that is what you want. There are a lot of people who started in this job and eventually moved on and up into other fields…especially in the entertainment and media industries.
One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed working in this field is because it affords me the opportunity to pursue other interests (in my case music and the performing arts)and it is the type of job while it is important to be somewhat engaged in it to be successful, it’s also the kind of job that doesn’t take over your entire life.
