Receptionist CV example

A complete example CV for a receptionist in South Africa, then the bullets that make it work, rewritten from weaker versions with the reason for each change.

A fictional example. Lerato Khumalo is not a real person, and the employers, dates and numbers are made up to show the shape of a good CV. Use your own facts: never copy someone else's.

Lerato Khumalo

Receptionist

Sandton, Gauteng · Cell: 0XX XXX XXXX · lerato@example.com

Profile

Receptionist with three years at the front desk of a professional office. Runs a busy switchboard, welcomes visitors and keeps diaries, boardrooms and couriers organised.

Skills

Switchboard (12 lines)
Visitor management and access cards
Diary and boardroom bookings in Outlook
Microsoft Word and Excel
Couriers, post and stationery orders

Work experience

ReceptionistApr 2023 to present

Law firm, Sandton

Answer and route about 150 calls a day on a 12-line switchboard.
Welcome around 40 visitors a day, issue access cards and keep the visitor register.
Book three boardrooms for 35 staff in Outlook and set them up for client meetings.
Order stationery and track courier deliveries, keeping spend within the monthly budget.

Front desk assistant (part time)Mar 2022 to Mar 2023

Dental practice, Randburg

Booked and confirmed patient appointments and took payments at the desk.

Education and qualifications

Higher Certificate in Office Administration, NQF level 5. Private college, Johannesburg, 2022
National Senior Certificate (matric), 2020

Languages

English, Setswana, isiZulu

References

Available on request

Before and after: the bullets that make it work

Before: ~~Answering phones.~~
After: Answer and route about 150 calls a day on a 12-line switchboard.
Why: The size of the switchboard and the call volume show the pressure you handle.
Before: ~~Friendly and professional.~~
After: Welcome around 40 visitors a day, issue access cards and keep the visitor register.
Why: Let the reader see professionalism in what you do, not in adjectives.
Before: ~~Did admin.~~
After: Order stationery and track courier deliveries, keeping spend within the monthly budget.
Why: Names the admin, and shows you can be trusted with a budget.

South African details to get right

Give each qualification its NQF level: matric (the National Senior Certificate) is at level 4, and employers use the levels to compare qualifications. If you're unsure of a level, the institution or SAQA can tell you. Source: SAQA: NQF level descriptors.
Leave out your ID number, date of birth, marital status and a photo unless the advert asks for them. Contact details, your area and your work history are enough to be shortlisted.
Keep it in one column with plain headings (Profile, Skills, Work experience, Education). Tables, text boxes and two-column templates often confuse the software that reads CVs first.

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