Cover Letter for a Receptionist Job (No Experience) — Tips

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A receptionist job can be a great entry-level position at a company that you really want to work for, but what if you don’t have a background as a receptionist?

Convincing someone to hire you for a receptionist job with no experience starts with a good cover letter that catches the eye of the person doing the hiring and persuades them it is worth bringing you in for an interview.

Getting a job without experience means you have an extra hurdle to clear, but the cover letter can help. Keep reading for more on how you can land this job.
 

What points should you emphasize?

When you are trying to get a job without any experience, there are a couple of things that you need to emphasize.

One is that you have the qualities that will make you good at the job. The other is any experience you have that will be transferable to the job.
 

Qualities that will make you a good receptionist

First, you want to indicate that even though you may not have experience, you will be able to pick up what you need for the job quickly. Therefore, you might use words like “fast-learning” or “eager to learn.”

You should then think about other qualities that are important in a receptionist. What are some of the duties of a receptionist?

If you aren’t sure, try to do some research. You should also learn as much as you can about the position and the company before applying.

Being a receptionist is often more about answering the phones or greeting people when they come through the door.

You might have other responsibilities as well, including filing, arranging travel for people and setting up meetings. Depending on the job, you might be dealing with sensitive information or upset callers.

Here’s a list of some qualities that may be helpful for this position:

Friendly
Responsible
Good at multi-tasking
Organized
Quick thinker
Detail-oriented
Good in fast-paced environments
Good spoken and written communication
Calm under stress
Assertive

Obviously, you don’t need to list every single quality. Choose a few that you think are your strongest and most important to the position, and list them.

For example, “assertive” might be especially important if the receptionist job is one where you are going to be fielding a lot of calls from angry people or if part of the job is to tell people that no, you can’t put them through to speak directly with your boss.

Here’s one more thing to consider.

Anyone can describe themselves with a list of qualities, but what will make this more convincing is if you can show examples of these qualities.

For example, instead of just saying that you are friendly, you might write something like this:

I am also very friendly. As a member of my high school’s Art Club, I was the liaison for new members because I am good at connecting with people and making them feel comfortable.

This overlaps with thinking about your transferable experience.
 

Transferable experience

The other important thing to think about before writing your cover letter is what things you have done that have developed skills you can use a receptionist.

For example, maybe your only other job has been working in fast-food restaurants. This actually provides you with a lot of skills that prepare you well for working as a receptionist!

Some of the skills you’ll develop in a fast food restaurant include working with the public, working in a fast-paced environment and multitasking.

If you’ve never had a regular paid job, don’t despair!

Think about any casual work you may have done, such as babysitting for neighborhood kids, or any volunteer work you may have done. Were you in any clubs in high school or college?
 

Boosting your chances

If you really can’t think of anything you could include as a transferable skill or if you just want to increase the likelihood of getting the job, you could always pick up some volunteer work and apply for the receptionist job after a few weeks, including the transferable skills that you have been using. You would then include this in your cover letter.

You could also talk to friends and family members to see if they might know a job they could give you a referral to. Having this in your cover letter can be a big help, especially if you don’t have any experience.
 

What should go in your cover letter

Every cover letter should have a few elements.

You should start by addressing a specific person if possible. In the first paragraph, you should introduce yourself and say what job you are applying for and where you saw the job posting.

If a mutual friend or colleague recommended you for the job, this is the place to mention it.

In the next paragraph or two paragraphs maximum, you should highlight the points mentioned above: your transferable skills and your qualities that will make you a good receptionist.

You don’t have to come out and say “I don’t have any experience as a receptionist.” You aren’t hiding the fact, but you don’t have to highlight it either.

They will see this when they look over your resume and your application.

In the body, you should emphasize what you can do for the company and not what the company can do for you.

In other words, instead of writing something like “I would be an excellent addition to your team because I want to develop my skills in working with the public,” you should say something like “I would be an excellent addition to your team because of my excellent work ethic and my eagerness to learn new things.”

It’s okay if you say why you want to work at the company, but be sure that your primary focus is on how you will be an asset to them.

At the end of the letter, you should be assertive in suggesting further contact so that you can arrange an interview.

Your cover letter should be short, definitely less than a page.
 

Example of a cover letter for a receptionist job with no experience

Your contact information and the date should go in the heading if this is a letter you’re sending in the mail. If it’s going by email, put that information at the end.

Here’s a sample of how the letter might go: