A Comprehensive Guide to Hiring the Perfect Receptionist
Are you an executive or HR manager looking to recruit the ideal Receptionist? If …
Your interviews went well. You had all of your questions answered and you feel really confident about the way you represented yourself. The environment felt like a positive one and overall you got that really good ‘gut feel’ about the organisation and the person that you would report to. So whilst you nervously wait to hear back about what they think of you – what can you do to make sure that you are appropriately assessing them? How do you make sure that it’s not just a ‘first date glow’ that you are feeling?
Being a recruitment agency specialising in office support roles including Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants and Legal Secretaries, one of the things that we recommend is a very basic rating scale. There are 7 main factors that influence a person’s enjoyment and motivation in the workplace. These include the salary on offer, the location of the role, the direct manager that they are working with, the stability & security in the role, the work life balance that can be offered, the career opportunity available and the workplace culture.
Prior to going to interview, we recommend taking the time to assess the order of importance that you would place on these factors. Literally rating them from 1 – 7, with 1 being the most important factor for you when you consider employment and 7 being the least. Then after attending an interview do the same, but rate the job instead and compare the ratings to see if they are compatible. Ideally you would like to see that your priorities 1-4 are similar to what the job has on offer.
Below we have given you some ‘food for thought’ to consider as you assess each factor and how it fits in to your motivators over the next three years (longevity on average is around three years). These factors change for us throughout our career as our personal lives change, so it’s important to revisit them each time you start a new job search.
What is the salary on offer? Is it more or less than what I am earning now? Will the duties be more or less than what is required of me now? Will I feel well rewarded with this salary? Is there opportunity to earn bonuses? What is the review process for salary increases? Will my lifestyle be affected if I have to take a drop in salary? Will there be too much pressure if I take such an increase in salary and am I ready for it? Am I really motivated by money?
What is the organisations philosophy when it comes to work life balance? How do they demonstrate it rather than just talk about it? What are the standard work hours and is it expected that you work back late? Is time in lieu on offer? How do they support employees when workloads are high? If I am moving from part time to full time hours is it really the right time to do that? If it’s a part time role can I really fit it in with all of my other personal commitments? Are they a family friendly environment?
Is this job the right step up for me? Or does it have the potential for me to keep climbing in to the area that I would like to go? How long would I be expected to remain in this particular role before having the opportunity to apply for internal promotions? Were they able to provide me with examples of other people similar to me and how they have supported their careers? Did the HR and Training divisions seem active and respected in the organisation?
Ok so you got a really good ‘gut feel’ about the person you would be reporting to but what did you learn about their management style? What do you know about yourself as an employee and the management style that suits you best? How important is it for you to feel inspired by and respect your Manager, do you think you could feel these things about them? Did you get the opportunity to speak with others that have worked with him/her and ask them to describe their style? How sure did you feel about their continued longevity in the role and will you be comfortable if someone else is your Manager in this organisation in the future?
Once again the ‘gut feel’ was good – but let’s face it most interviewers and interviewees are on their best behaviour at interview. What sort of descriptive words were used on their website when you first assessed them as a potential employer and did they demonstrate these values and commitments in their communication style when describing their culture? Did people seem happy and engaged? Were they keen to tell you about the organisation in detail and did they seem proud of working there? How important is this to you? Do you need to feel like you are a part of an engaged and connected team – or do you get on with the job no matter who you are working with?
For some people this is far more important than they realise until it’s too late. It’s generally black or white, you either don’t mind travelling to be at the right workplace or you do. What time do you need to start in this new role and is there extra travel? How will that affect your work/life balance? Will you be able to meet other commitments if travel is increased, like family, sport or study? Will it cost more money to park if you have to drive to this location and how much – does the salary cover this?
A really difficult one to assess these days, but none the less very important to many people. Is it a newly created role that you are moving in to, how committed to making this work do they seem to be? How long has the organisation been around and are they talking about positive growth and success? Are there possible long term opportunities for you to grow in to? Is the management team stable and committed? Can you see that performers in the business are well rewarded and resected? Does the culture demonstrate reward for loyalty?
MJD Recruitment is a leading recruitment agency based in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane focusing on roles for Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants, Legal Secretaries and other Office Support positions. Some of our clients include top tier Investment Banks, Law Firms, Accounting, Audit & Advisory Firms, Financial Services, Major Corporations and High Net Worth Individuals. Our team of experienced recruiters boasts a combined 80+ years of expertise in recruitment, having worked in both local and international markets. We take pride in delivering a high level of service, treating these business-critical positions with the respect they deserve. Each recruitment assignment and candidate is managed by a dedicated recruitment specialist with an extensive network and commercially mature understanding of recruitment strategy.
Good luck!
Are you an executive or HR manager looking to recruit the ideal Receptionist? If …
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