Receptionist Cover Letter [Guide & Examples]

Resumes

Mar 6

There are several reasons you may be considering writing a cover letter for the receptionist jobs you are applying for. Sadly, most of the cover letter examples on the Internet are written by resume builder tech companies and they usually end up being a regurgitation of your resume. FYI, that’s a terrible way to write a cover letter.

So today, I’m going to give you everything you need to write a great receptionist cover letter. I’ll discuss:

The situations when you should write one.

How likely it is that someone will even read your cover letter?
How long should it be?
How to write one for your unique situation.
What you should highlight in your cover letter, depending on your goal for writing it.
Some mistakes to avoid.
A quick evaluation of some cover letter generators, which ones can help you and which ones to avoid.
And of course, lots of samples and examples of receptionist cover letters for you to use as inspiration.

When Should You Write a Receptionist Cover Letter

With everything you do, do it with intention. That includes writing a cover letter. There has to be a good reason to write one, otherwise, you’ll either a) waste your time, b) write it poorly, or c) both.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I wouldn’t write a cover letter for every application I complete. It’s just not worth it. There are however some situations where taking the time to write a cover letter can make the difference in whether you get that receptionist interview. Let’s discuss them.

The Company Requests One

Let’s start with the most obvious reason. The company requests that you submit a cover letter. If you see that they request it as part of their application process, then be prepared to write one. Think of this as a chance to show your skills, not tell them.

While I’m not usually a fan of requiring cover letters in the application process, some receptionist roles may require a fair amount of written communication. A cover letter is a good way to see how good someone can write. View this exercise as just this. Being able to organize it logically and write concisely is a chance to show off your written communication skills.

Alignment With a Mission

If the organization is mission-driven, you may want to communicate that you too have a passion for their mission. For example, if you were applying for a receptionist job at a dog boarding facility, communicating your love for dogs in a cover letter could help separate you from others.

Most mission-driven organizations I’ve recruited for, deeply care that their employees also share their passion.

Get In Front of Something

If you’re worried about something in your background preventing you from obtaining an interview, a cover letter is a good place to address it head-on.

Perhaps you’ve had a new job every 6 months for the past 2 years and you’re worried about what that may look like on your resume. A cover letter is a good place to address how those diverse experiences may be an advantage for your next potential employer. Or you may communicate that you’ve been in an industry dominated by layoffs.

Give Context About an Accomplishment

Cheri Gray mentions that a cover letter is a great place to give more context about a supreme accomplishment than could be included in a resume bullet point.

Let’s say you were in charge of scheduling at your past employer. During your time there you came up with a whole new scheduling system that enabled the company to book more appointments during the day.

Your resume would most likely have a two-line bullet point about this. But your cover letter could expand on it talking about how you came up with the idea, who you collaborated with, how you got executive buy-in to adopt the idea, and then how you navigated challenges during the implementation of it. This would be incredibly valuable if the company you were applying to was trying to improve their scheduling and the receptionist would be involved.

Writing a cover letter in this situation would give you the opportunity to show how you take initiative, how you come up with ideas, and how you solve problems.

Explaining Transferable Skills

Alexis Scott, Co-Founder of Verbatim, suggests using a cover letter to educate when you’re transitioning into a new career or industry. You can’t assume that the person reading your resume will understand how your old industry or old job is similar and relevant to the one you’re applying for. A cover letter is a great place to help them make those connections.

Perhaps you’ve worked in retail and you’re trying to obtain your first receptionist job. You might need to explain to the hiring team how your retail experience positions you to do the job. We all have preconceived ideas of what a retail associate does, but that doesn’t mean they are accurate or that it’s the same as your unique retail experience.

For example, If you were in charge of fulfilling online orders for store pickup, you may have worked with scheduling logistics similar to what may be required in a receptionist role. A cover letter is a good place to communicate those things.

Relocating

Kristen Edelberg suggests using a cover letter if you live out of state and want to relocate. A cover letter is a great place to communicate where you are willing to relocate to and some of the reasons why you’re choosing to relocate there. This can help put the hiring team at ease if they are concerned about hiring someone who doesn’t live locally currently.

Convey Excitement

Sometimes it’s worth writing a cover letter simply because you’ve found a job that you are extremely qualified for and extremely excited about. If this is your dream job (if there were such a thing), then writing a cover letter may be worth it. In this cover letter, you could discuss what, in particular, excites you about the company or the job, and express why they should meet with you.

Referrals

If you know someone who works at the company, a cover letter is a great place to reinforce that referral. Mention the person by name and that they referred you for the job.

Communicate Something of Value that You Can’t in Your Resume

Ultimately, if you decide to write a cover letter, it should communicate something of value to the person reading it. Don’t write a cover letter to simply repeat what you have already said in your resume. No one will like that and it won’t help you. It may do the opposite.

Whatever you do, if you decide to write a cover letter, do it with intention and purpose. Expand on something in your resume or communicate something new that wasn’t appropriate in the resume.

Why You Shouldn’t Write a Receptionist Cover Letter

The only reason I can think of to not write a cover letter is if you plan on repeating the same thing that is in your resume. If you’re going to simply restate what you already said, don’t write one.

Will Anyone Read a Receptionist Cover Letter

One thing on your mind may be, will anyone read my cover letter if I write it? That depends. Many people don’t understand how the hiring process works and at what point a cover letter becomes valuable.

If you’re expecting a recruiter to read your cover letter during their review of applications, you’ll be disappointed. Many recruiters don’t read cover letters. Your resume still has to garner enough attention to get you shortlisted by a recruiter. Shortlisted means that the recruiter sends you on to the hiring manager for review. When that happens, they’ll not only include your resume but also your cover letter (if you wrote one).

Hiring managers on the other hand are more likely to read your cover letter considering that they are only reviewing a small handful of potential candidates because the recruiter has already screened the rest for them. Several studies indicate that 70% to 80% of hiring managers prefer cover letters and read them.

Your receptionist resume has to get you past the initial round of screening, but your cover letter may get you past the second round and into an interview.

How Long Should Your Receptionist Cover Letter Be

Ultimately this depends on why you are writing the cover letter, but generally speaking, a cover letter should be somewhere between 200 and 400 words. Most have three to five paragraphs, depending on their length.

Regardless, you should aim to keep your cover letter brief and concise. No one has the time to read a full sheet of solid text, nor do they want to. If you make hiring managers spend too many brain calories to read and process your information, many times they won’t.

If you’re printing your cover letter, it should fit on one page.

How To Write a Cover Letter for a Receptionist Job

What you write in your cover letter may change significantly depending on the purpose for which you are writing it. However, there are generally four sections you will need to include in your receptionist cover letter.

Contact Information

At the top of a cover letter, you should include your contact information. This should include your name, phone number, and email address.

Greeting

Address the hiring manager by name whenever possible. If you don’t know the name of the manager, I like to use greetings such as, “Accounting Department,” or, “Optim Hiring Team.”

Most guides will tell you to use Dear Hiring Manager. I don’t talk or write that way and I’m not that formal, so I tend not to include the word “Dear” in my greetings. But that’s me and if you feel comfortable doing so, do it. I also don’t like the phrase “Dear Hiring Manager” because everyone uses it and I don’t want to sound like everyone. I want to sound like me and I want to sound different.

I still would keep it professional no matter what you decide to do. Writing “hey there” is probably not a good idea. You’re a receptionist, so write the way you think you would communicate if you were on the job and writing a letter to a client or vendor.

Cover Letter Introduction

A lot of people think the introduction or opening of a cover letter should be to introduce themselves and explain why they’re interested in the job. You don’t need to introduce yourself. What you write is going to depend largely on your purpose for writing a cover letter.

If you have a referral and that is part of your reason for writing, I would always open up with that information. Let them know you recently spoke with Anne in the paralegal group and she mentioned that you should apply for the receptionist job at your law firm.

I recently spoke with Anne who is on your paralegal team and she encouraged me to apply for the receptionist opening at your law firm. We met at the local LA Bar Association mixer last December and have stayed in touch since. She thought that my experience at Badangel Law Firm working with high-net worth clients would make me an asset to your firm. I understand that you also represent many high-net worth clients in civil cases and over the past two years I’ve become really good at providing the service those clients require as well as the support attorneys need to take care of them.

Body

This is where most receptionists will discuss relevant material as it pertains to their objective for writing a cover letter. In one or two paragraphs, you can elaborate on the information in your resume to give more context, you can discuss similarities between your past jobs and the receptionist job you are pursuing, or you can communicate why you are seeking to relocate.

In this part of your cover letter, you can convey excitement and elaborate on your qualifications. Whatever your goal was in writing a cover letter, this is the place to make sure you accomplish it.

I’ll give examples later on of different scenarios where you may write a receptionist cover letter so you can see this in action.

Closing

Finally, close by reinforcing your message and thank them for reading your cover letter. Let them know that you’re looking forward to the next steps in the process. You can include a “soft” call to action as simple as “I look forward to discussing my experience with you in more detail.” Your closing may look something like this.

I’m confident that my experience working with similar clientele and my extensive network within the legal field will be an asset to B&B Legal if I am offered the receptionist job. Thank you for taking the time to consider my qualifications, read this letter, and I look forward to the opportunity to meet you in the near future.

Tips for Writing Your Receptionist Cover Letter

Before I get into examples, I want to leave you with some additional tips. Remember, the more you can make this whole process about the employer, the better off you will fare. Between your receptionist resume and your cover letter, you should be focusing on how you solve the employer’s problems and minimizing any risks they may see by hiring you. So here are some tips to read before you write your cover letter.

Get to the point

We’re all busy people and the last thing we want is for someone to tune us out because we forced them to spend too many brain calories reading our cover letter. It’s important to get to the point and to do it quickly. Don’t state your intention. The intention is obvious. Say what you need to say and list what you can do for them briefly and concisely.

Use names

Address it to the person reading the cover letter rather than a generic, “Dear Hiring Manager.” For many companies, you can look up who the hiring manager will most likely be by using LinkedIn. If you want to email your cover letter directly to the hiring manager in the form of an email with your resume attached, use a tool like Hunter.io to uncover the person’s email address. It works eighty percent of the time. Be sure you double-check your spelling. The last thing you want to do is misspell a hiring manager’s name.

If you know someone at the company or have spoken to someone at the company before, be sure to mention their name. This could be as simple as “I recently had a conversation with Cole in your accounting department and found this position I’m a fit for.”

Have a controlling message

What do you want to convey in this cover letter? You want to have a controlling message that everything you write points back to. This controlling message should be the theme of your cover letter and the message you want the reader to walk away remembering. Remember, it should address a specific purpose.

The human brain is only capable of remembering three to four things at any given time. Having a controlling message with two or three supporting points about how you solve a specific problem for this person will ensure you are remembered.

Convey value

Every word you write should convey value to the other person. Rearticulating your resume in a cover letter is a waste of your time and a waste of time for the person reading it. Be intentional with what you write and be specific about your value. Focus on the reader’s problems and how you can help them solve those problems - and be specific. Similar to your resume, you want your cover letter to resonate with the employer, differentiate you from your peers, and substantiate your claims.

Keep it short

Cover letters used to be lengthy. Think of this like a well-crafted email. The emails that are read the most are those that are short and to the point. Get to the point with the reason you are writing the cover letter, and support your controlling message.

Traits and Transferable Skills Are Fair Game

Don’t forget that you can talk about traits and transferable skills in your cover letter if it makes sense. You shouldn’t discount these things. Many people call these soft skills because they don’t understand them well. However, traits and transferable skills can be very valuable to an employer hiring a receptionist.

Make It Work With Your Resume

Read your resume and your cover letter back to back and make sure they are communicating the same message. Be sure there are no discrepancies or mixed messages between the two. If you confuse, you lose. Don’t confuse the employer.

Proofread It

Seems obvious, but taking the extra time to hit spell check and read it yourself is worth it. Fix any grammar and spelling mistakes, but also make sure it flows well when you read it out loud.

Can I Use the Same Cover Letter for Every Receptionist Job

Probably not. Here’s why. You may not write a cover letter for every receptionist job you apply for. You’re only going to do it for the reasons listed earlier. Those reasons may change from one job posting to the next. Therefore, you’ll most likely need a new cover letter each time you utilize one. This is why I never understood how resume writing services offered cover letter services also. Is it just for one job?

But back to the point. Here’s an example. Let’s say I choose to write a cover letter for a receptionist job at a mission-driven organization that boards dogs. The goal would be to communicate my love of dogs as well. Sending that to another employer who operates a hotel, probably doesn’t make much sense, does it? You need a unique cover letter for each job.

And that’s part of the reason I think you should pick and choose strategically which receptionist jobs you use a cover letter for. Writing one for every job probably doesn’t make sense.

Receptionist Cover Letter Examples

Now that we’ve covered when to use a cover letter and how to write one, I’ve created several receptionist cover letter samples based on the goals we talked about earlier for writing a cover letter. I’ll also show them in the context of some popular receptionist jobs. Notice how each one addresses how the individual is a viable candidate for this role.

Medical Receptionist Cover Letter Example

Situation: For this cover letter, we’re going to write one for someone who has been working in multiple roles within a community hospital, but is now trying to obtain a job as a receptionist with a smaller private practice.

Goal: To educate the reader about the similarities between the work at a community hospital and private practice, and communicate how the multiple non-receptionist roles make this individual more qualified for the job than the employer may realize. Our goal is to get in front of something that could be an issue - the hiring manager having a preference for people from their same sub-industry segment.

Cole Sperry

818.568.4493

cole@optimcareers.com

April 2, 2024

Bob Dillan

Partner

Dillan Medical

Mr. Dillan,

I’m writing to express my interest in your receptionist position at Dillan Medical. I’ve spent several years working in a community hospital and I wanted to take a moment in this letter to communicate how I believe that is an asset to your private practice. In fact, I believe that hiring someone who has held multiple positions within a community health system can be more of an asset than someone who has only been in private practice.

Over the past six years, I have held multiple roles and dual responsibilities at Mercy Community Health including medical records, billing, and patient services.

As you know, there is a higher burden of administrative work put on physicians and their teams in private practice compared to large health systems or even physician groups. I believe that my diverse experience within the healthcare system positions me to tackle many of those administrative tasks that traditional medical receptionists may not have the skills or experience to do.

Not only do I have experience checking in patients, managing to schedule, and answering phones, but I also understand how to maintain patient records, conduct and analyze patient satisfaction surveys, partner with others to improve utilization of resources, and troubleshoot insurance claims and verifications.

Many private practices make the mistake of assuming that individuals from hospital health care systems don’t possess the well-rounded experiences that are needed in private practice, but in my case, because I’ve held a diversity of roles at Mercy Community, I think it makes me more qualified than my peers who have only been receptionists within a private practice environment.

Thank you for reading this letter and I look forward to expanding on this discussion in an interview with you. Please contact me anytime at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Cole Sperry

Receptionist Cover Letter, No Experience

Situation: For this cover letter, we’re going to write one for someone who has never worked as a receptionist before. Rather they have held, what I call, gateway jobs to becoming a receptionist. In this case, the individual has spent several years as a customer service representative for a large food distribution company and has a referral from someone who works at the company.

Goal: To explain transferable skills between customer service and receptionist jobs and remind the hiring manager that someone they know is vouching for us. I’m also going to add a third goal here of expanding on a key accomplishment in a resume.

Cole Sperry

818.568.4493

cole@optimcareers.com

April 2, 2024

Joann Fabrication

Office Manager

Calypso

Ms Fabrication,

I’ve known Jack Frost on your racquetball team for many years. During college, I worked as a part-time administrative assistant for him, and we’ve stayed in touch since. To my excitement, he mentioned that you had a receptionist opening on your team and encouraged me to apply.

As you will see in my resume, I’ve spent the past eight years as a customer service representative handling very similar tasks to what Jack mentioned you were hoping your new receptionist could do. In particular, I’ve been heavily involved in scheduling and improving customer experiences.

During my time at Syscop these past few years, I’ve had to rely on my communication and resourcefulness to succeed. Because of those skills, I’ve consistently been ranked in the top 3 out of 30 reps for customer satisfaction.

Customers and vendors who are visiting are the lifeblood of your success. As a receptionist, I view the job as the hub of the office. It’s more than simply greeting visitors, scheduling, and answering phones. It’s about listening to the people I speak with and helping your other team members solve their problems.

There have been many times at Syscop where I had to figure out how to best help team members. One department wanted to streamline an account update process to reduce processing times. This required me to take the initiative to research how this team currently maintained account records, understand their goals, and then partner with them to create templates that made sense.

If I am hired as your receptionist, you’ll get someone who asks intelligent questions, seeks to understand objectives, and then partners with team members to get work done.

I truly hope we have the chance to meet and discuss your receptionist opening and I look forward to finding out if we’re a good fit for one another.

Sincerely,

Cole Sperry

Front Desk Receptionist Cover Letter

Situation: For this cover letter, we’re going to write one for someone who is applying to a mission-driven organization and wants to convey their alignment with the company’s mission. This person has been a receptionist before but never worked for this type of company.

Goal: To convey excitement about the job and share their enthusiasm for the company’s mission and purpose - things that don’t necessarily belong in a resume.

Cole Sperry

818.568.4493

cole@optimcareers.com

April 2, 2024

Hiring Team

Dogtopia

Dogtopia Hiring Team,

I’m thrilled to express my interest in the Front Desk Receptionist position at your company. After reading the job description and watching the video on your website, I had to also write a personal letter in addition to my resume.

What resonates with me about Dogtopia is your commitment to creating a fun and dynamic team culture, as well as the emphasis on career progression and continuous learning. It’s rare to see a company take these things so seriously, let alone live up to these expectations.

Not to mention, the idea of being surrounded by dogs every day while contributing to their well-being and happiness excites me beyond measure. Our community needs more organizations like yours and I am eager to embody the Dogtopia-sims in everything I do.

I am a dog lover through and through, and the opportunity to bring my passion for customer service and my love of dogs together at Dogtopia’s boarding house is a dream come true. I am ready to immerse myself in the role, whether that is scheduling overnight stays, selling daycare enrollments, or simply ensuring a clean and safe environment for our furry friends.

I’m confident that the experience listed in my resume combined with my passion for dogs will make me an excellent fit for your receptionist opening.

Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to the opportunity to discuss my background and enthusiasm with you some more in the near future.

Warm regards,

Cole Sperry

Dental Receptionist Cover Letter

Situation: For this cover letter, we’re going to write one for someone who has been a dental receptionist before but is relocating to a new city because of his wife’s new job as Superintendent of Schools.

Goal: To inform the employer that they are relocating and to put them at ease with the relocation. We don’t want them worried that we’ll take the job so we can relocate and then leave them shortly after.

Cole Sperry

818.568.4493

cole@optimcareers.com

April 2, 2024

Janet Smiles

Owner

Smile Dentistry

Ms Smiles,

I’m writing to express my interest in your dental receptionist role as well as to clarify my situation in an attempt to make your review of my application easier.

As you’ll see from my resume, my wife and I are relocating to Jacksonville from Fishers. My wife has taken a job as Superintendent of Schools for the Jacksonville School District and we will be completely moved to Jacksonville next Friday, April 8th.

I’ve spent the past twenty years as a dental receptionist for pediatric dentists like yourself in the Fishers area and now with our move, I’m looking for my next long-term receptionist job.

I absolutely love working with families and children, so when I saw your job opening, it felt like the timing was perfect. As you’ll see in my resume, I also have extensive experience with claims at CDT/CPT codes and I’m happy to assist in multiple ways beyond many traditional receptionist duties.

While I won’t be in town until next Friday, I am more than happy to meet you via video conference in the meantime. I look forward to learning more about your practice and sharing more about my background with you. Please contact me at any time.

Sincerely,

Cole Sperry

AI Receptionist Cover Letter Generators

There has been an explosion of AI tools for job seekers in the past few years, one of them, being cover letter generators. I reviewed two cover letter generators with AI this week and here is what they produced for me.

Teal Cover Letter Generator for Receptionists

When I used Teal’s cover letter generator, I was pretty disappointed. For the most part, it simply regurgitated my resume into the cover letter. I wanted to use this for someone who didn’t have previous receptionist experience and needed to translate their experiences in retail to a receptionist job.

The worst part was it created what I refer to as a narcissistic cover letter. In other words, it looked like all I cared about was how amazing I was and not about solving the problems this company needed a receptionist to solve. I wasn’t trying to write a speech for my award dinner, but a cover letter. It was all about me and not about what I could do for the company as a receptionist.

In other words, it failed to meet any of the goals and objectives I laid out for writing a cover letter in the first place. And it didn’t offer value to the reader. I could read all these things in the resume, which meant I was wasting the time of the person reading this letter. And that is not the message I want them to think of when they are considering me for their opening - someone who wastes time and is redundant.

Here’s a sample of what Teal produced for me.

I am writing to express my interest in the Front Desk Receptionist position at Dogtopia. With my background in retail and a proven track record of enhancing customer satisfaction, I am confident in my ability to contribute to your team.
During my time at Nordstrom as a Sales Associate, I collaborated with my team to increase customer satisfaction by 25% through prompt customer service and order processing. I consistently processed an average of 50 orders per day with 100% accuracy, leading to improved inventory management and increased sales. Additionally, I confirmed 98% of order pickups, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and repeat business. By maintaining store cleanliness and organization, I also contributed to a 20% increase in customer satisfaction.

You can try Teal yourself for free by clicking here.

Huntr Cover Letter Generator for Receptionists

Overall I was pleased with Huntr’s AI capabilities. I couldn’t prompt it like I could with Teal’s, but despite that, it did a better job of creating a cover letter I could use. I was very impressed with the AI’s ability to somehow look up information about the company and use the job description I entered to create a workable cover letter. It checked off 3 of my goals for writing the cover letter and pulled in relevant information from the internet to create unique copy.

Here are the things I valued about Huntr’s cover letter generator:

It found a video on the company’s website and referenced it.
It discussed how my non-receptionist experience aligned and transferred to the receptionist job.
It communicated my enthusiasm for the job.
It communicated how I aligned with the company’s mission.

With that being said, you still have to read through the AI’s creation. It’s not perfect. I still used some language that was a bit over the top, like “your esteemed establishment.” I don’t know many people who talk or write that way. It also opens with, “I hope this letter finds you well,” which is very overused. But there was nothing terrible or off-putting.

Here’s a sample of what Huntr produced for me.

I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Jay Schmitt, and I am thrilled to express my interest in the Front Desk Receptionist position at your esteemed establishment. After reading through the job description and watching the video about the brand, I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Dogtopia team.
Having worked as a Customer Service Representative at Sysco Foods, I have honed my skills in providing exceptional customer service, managing inquiries efficiently, and ensuring customer satisfaction. I am proud of the fact that I ranked in the top 3 out of 30 reps based on customer satisfaction scores. I am confident that my experience and skills align well with the requirements of the Front Desk Receptionist role.
What truly resonates with me about Dogtopia is your commitment to creating a fun and dynamic team culture, as well as the emphasis on career progression and continuous learning. The idea of being surrounded by dogs every day while contributing to their well-being and happiness excites me beyond measure. I am a firm believer in your Noble Cause and am eager to embody the Dogtopia-isms in everything I do.
I am a dog lover through and through, and the opportunity to bring my passion for customer service and my love for dogs together at Dogtopia is a dream come true. I am ready to immerse myself in the role, whether it's selling daycare enrollments, managing the front desk, or ensuring a clean and safe environment for our furry friends.
I am confident that my strong organizational skills, dedication to providing excellent customer service, and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment make me a perfect fit for this role. I am enthusiastic about the possibility of contributing to the success of Dogtopia Temecula and am eager to bring my positive energy and commitment to the team.
Thank you for considering my application. I am looking forward to the opportunity to further discuss how my background, skills, and enthusiasm can contribute to the fantastic work being done at Dogtopia.

Not bad for an AI cover letter tool. If you are having trouble writing a cover letter from scratch, this is a great way to break through the brain fog and get it done quickly. If you’re applying to a job that requires a cover letter, this would be a great way to get it done fast. You could even send it as is.

You can try Huntr for free by clicking here.

Cover Letter For Receptionist Recommended Reading

Receptionist Resume Guide and Examples

Receptionist Resume Downloadable Templates

Receptionist Certifications (coming soon)

Where to Find Receptionist Jobs

Receptionist Salaries (coming soon)

Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a botique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.