Picture a receptionist in your mind. Can you see them? I bet they’re standing behind a desk, dressed smartly, all ready to help the next customer who walks in the door. Now imagine the next few moments. What do they do? Perhaps they answer the phone, or maybe they take a payment or book an appointment.
This is the classic role of a receptionist. A virtual receptionist will perform many of the jobs of a receptionist, but from a remote location rather than at the address of the actual business they are working for.
They may be working in a large call centre, or more likely, the workplace will be the virtual receptionist’s own home.
This method of working offers many benefits both for the employer, and the virtual receptionist themselves.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the advantages of hiring a virtual receptionist, or pursuing a career as one…
The advantages of hiring a virtual receptionist
Hiring a virtual receptionist fits well with running a smaller business. It’s the perfect compromise, sitting halfway between hiring a full-time on-premises receptionist, and dealing with all the duties of a receptionist yourself.
It provides the best of both worlds and the disadvantages of none.
Small businesses don’t necessarily have the volume of calls to require someone to sit at a desk all day, or perhaps you run a business that just doesn’t have regular visitors that require attention.
Hiring a virtual receptionist creates a professional image, it makes your business accessible and approachable, without the expense of having someone on the premises all day long.
Indeed, a small business may not even have premises. There are plenty of successful enterprises run entirely remotely these days, so it makes sense to have a receptionist that can also work from home.
In the beginning, many small business owners take care of these duties themselves, but these tasks are time-consuming, and as the business grows, the demands on the receptionist grow in proportion.
By hiring a virtual receptionist, you can hand over some of the work and get on with what you do best – running your business.
Many online businesses now operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering products or services to people all over the globe.
Rather than hiring a local team of receptionists to work shifts throughout the night to deal with queries from international customers, you can instead hire virtual receptionists in different time zones, and together they can cover all the hours you need within their own standard working hours. This is certainly a cost-effective option.
The benefits of becoming a virtual receptionist
Working as a virtual receptionist can offer a lot of flexibility and it potentially opens more doors than a career as a regular receptionist.
A virtual receptionist can work for any company, anywhere in the world. There’s no commuting time to consider, nor the expense of train tickets or gas to drive to a job that’s quite far away.
When you work from home, you save a lot of time and it can really help to improve your work/life balance.
In addition, unless your work involves video calling, there is no requirement for your appearance to be perfectly polished, saving you money on smart suits and expensive hairstyles!
You can also look for work that will fit around your other commitments. Many companies looking to hire a virtual receptionist may not require someone full time, or may be searching for people to work shifts so they can have round-the-clock phone cover.
So if you need to work around school hours, or you prefer to work nights, you should be able to find something suitable, particularly if you start looking for work in states or countries with different time zones. It really can be very flexible.
As we’ve mentioned, oftentimes businesses only want a virtual receptionist on a part time basis, and at first, this may seem like a negative if you really want full time work, however, this does give you the opportunity to work as a virtual receptionist for several different companies, and as a result, you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
Should one company fail, you’re not totally out of a job as you have your other employments to fall back on.
How to get a job as a virtual receptionist
Keen to start your career as a virtual receptionist? Then here are our top tips to scoring that dream job…
Keep improving your skills
When you’re working for a small business, there are plenty of ways in which you can add value to your skillset.
Think about what else you can offer a potential employer.
If you speak any other languages, this could be incredibly beneficial to a business selling its goods or services in a global market.
If you have skills in marketing, graphic design, or web design, a potential employer might see an opportunity to take advantage of your extra skills and save some time and money.
Keep looking for opportunities to learn new skills that could be useful in your career as a virtual receptionist. It could just make the difference when an employer is making hiring decisions.
Here are some skills to learn and tips to get started…
- Time Management & Organization – Master scheduling tools like Google Calendar and Asana.
- Email Management & Inbox Organization – Learn how to filter, prioritize, and automate email workflows. Take an online course on Gmail or Outlook productivity.
- Social Media Management – Understand how to schedule posts, engage with followers, and analyze performance. Use free tools like Canva and Buffer to practice content creation and scheduling.
- Data Entry & Spreadsheet Management – Learn how to organize and analyze data in Excel or Google Sheets. Take a beginner-friendly data entry course.
- Basic Bookkeeping & Invoicing – Understand financial tools like QuickBooks or Wave for client billing.
- Customer Service & Communication – Develop professional email and phone etiquette for client interactions. Role-play customer interactions and take online customer service training.
- Tech & Automation Tools – Get familiar with CRM software, Zapier, and project management tools. You can even sign up for free trials and experiment with automation workflows.
- Content Writing & Copywriting – Write engaging emails, blogs, and social media captions for clients. Read copywriting blogs and practice rewriting existing content in different styles.
Become an excellent communicator
As a remote receptionist, much of what you do will hinge on your communication skills, both verbal and written.
It is these skills that will be most scrutinized prior to being hired, so you need to excel in both. Your written skills will be put to the test in your resume and cover letter, so you must make absolutely sure that there are no errors.
Silly mistakes are unprofessional and show a lack of attention to detail, and no one wants a virtual receptionist with either of those qualities!
In addition, it’s likely that you’ll have a telephone interview, so it may be wise to practice your telephone manner, and give some thought to your answers to some popular interview questions.
You don’t want to suddenly go silent on the end of the line because you have no idea where you see yourself in five years time, or why you particularly want to work for that specific company.
Be prepared and be confident.
Study and earn a certificate
Proving your abilities can be tough, especially if you haven’t previously worked as a receptionist.
One way to demonstrate your capabilities is to take a course that focuses on training for receptionists, and earns a certification.
This is irrefutable proof that you’re dedicated, motivated and possess the necessary skills to do the job competently and efficiently.
Certification looks great on a resume, and training will help boost your confidence.
