Receptionist interview questions and answers

• Tell me about yourself. — “My name is Sabina Tamang. I completed my +2 in management from Lalitpur and I am studying BBS in the morning. I worked for one year at the front desk of a consultancy in Putalisadak, where I handled calls, visitors and the appointment register. I am comfortable with Word, Excel and email, and I speak Nepali, English and Hindi.”
• Why do you want to work as a receptionist? — “I enjoy meeting people and keeping things organised. The front desk is where both happen, and I like being the person who makes a visitor’s first five minutes easy.”
• What are the duties of a receptionist? — Greeting visitors and directing them, answering and transferring calls, taking messages, keeping the visitor and appointment registers, receiving couriers and letters, keeping the reception area tidy, and supporting the office with typing, filing and email.
• What is the most important quality in a receptionist? — “Patience with a pleasant manner. Skills can be learned, but a visitor remembers how they were treated.”
• How do you handle several things at once — a ringing phone, a visitor and a courier? — “I greet the visitor so they know they have been seen, answer the phone and ask the caller to hold for a moment or take their number, sign for the courier, and return to the visitor. I finish the shortest task first and I never leave anyone without a word.”
• How do you deal with an angry visitor? — “I let them finish without interrupting, apologise for the trouble, and repeat the problem so they know I understood. I solve what I can at the desk; if I cannot, I call the right person and tell the visitor exactly how long it will take. I do not argue and I do not take it personally.”
• A visitor wants to meet the director without an appointment. What do you do? — “I ask their name, organisation and purpose, request them to take a seat, and check with the director or the secretary by phone. I do not send anyone in directly, and I do not say the director is ‘not available’ before checking.”
• How do you keep information confidential? — “I do not share staff phone numbers, salaries, client names or documents left at the desk with anyone outside, and I lock the screen and the register when I leave the desk.”
• Which computer programs can you use? — Name them and what you did: “Word for letters, Excel for the attendance and visitor sheets, Gmail and Outlook, and I can type in Nepali Unicode.” If you know your typing speed, say it.
• Where do you see yourself in three years? — “I would like to grow within the organisation — into front office supervision or administration — after I have learned the work properly here.”

With no experience, the panel is not expecting front-desk stories. It is checking whether you can speak clearly, learn quickly and turn up on time. Use examples from college, a family business, volunteering or an event you helped organise.

• You have no experience. Why should we hire you? — “I am a fast learner, I am punctual and I am comfortable speaking with people. In college I handled registration for our annual programme, where I guided more than two hundred guests. I will learn your systems in the first weeks.”
• Are you comfortable answering calls in English? — Answer in English, calmly, and give the greeting: “Good morning, thank you for calling ABC Company, Sabina speaking. How may I help you?”
• What would you do on your first day? — “Learn the names and extensions of every department, how calls are transferred, where the registers are kept, and who to call in an emergency.”
• Can you work on Saturdays or in shifts? — Answer truthfully. Hotels and hospitals run shifts, including nights; an office usually does not.
• What are your salary expectations? — “I am a fresher, so I will accept the organisation’s scale for this post.” If asked for a figure, give a range you have checked. The minimum salary in Nepal guide shows the legal floor for a full-time job.

• What is the check-in procedure? — Greet the guest, confirm the reservation and ask for identification: passport and visa for a foreign guest, citizenship or another ID for a Nepali guest. Fill in or print the registration card and take the signature. Confirm the room rate and length of stay, and take the payment guarantee. Then issue the key, explain breakfast and facilities, and call a bell attendant.
• What do you do at check-out? — Confirm the room number, check for minibar or other late charges, present the bill for the guest to review, settle the payment, collect the key, ask about the stay, and offer help with luggage or transport.
• What is overbooking, and what would you do if no room is available? — “Hotels sometimes accept more bookings than rooms because of no-shows. If a guest with a confirmed booking arrives and there is no room, I apologise and inform the duty manager. Then I arrange a room of the same or a higher standard at a nearby hotel, with transport, as the hotel’s policy allows.”
• What do upselling and a walk-in guest mean? — Upselling is offering a better room or an extra service for a higher price, by suggesting rather than pushing. A walk-in is a guest who arrives without a reservation.
• Which hotel software have you used? — Name the property management system if you have used one. If not: “I have not used a PMS yet, but I use Excel and booking sites comfortably and I learn software quickly.”
• A guest complains the room is not clean. What do you do? — “I apologise, thank them for telling me, send housekeeping at once or offer another room, and follow up with a call after fifteen minutes. I record it in the log book so the next shift knows.”

• How is a hospital front desk different from an office? — “People arrive worried or in pain, so speed and calm matter more. I register the patient, direct them to the right department, and tell them clearly what happens next and how long it may take.”
• A patient arrives in an emergency while others are waiting. What do you do? — “I send them to emergency immediately and inform the nurse on duty. Registration and payment can be completed by a relative afterwards. I explain to the people waiting that it is an emergency.”
• A relative asks for a patient’s report or diagnosis by phone. Do you give it? — “No. A patient’s information is confidential. I ask them to come with the patient’s card or to speak with the doctor or ward in charge.”
• How do you handle a long queue at the OPD counter? — “I keep the queue in order by token, tell people the waiting time honestly, and help elderly and seriously ill patients first where the hospital’s rule allows.”
• What would you do if a patient cannot pay the registration fee? — “I would not turn them away myself. I would inform the supervisor or the social service unit, because many hospitals have a procedure for patients who cannot pay.”

Expect to be told “I am a caller — answer the phone.” The panel is listening for a greeting, your name, a clear voice and whether you take a complete message.

1. 1Answer within three rings, with a greeting, the organisation’s name and your own.
2. 2Ask who is calling before you transfer, and tell your colleague who is on the line.
3. 3Never say only “hold on”. Ask, “May I put you on hold for a moment?”
4. 4When taking a message, write the name, organisation, number, purpose, and the date and time — then repeat it back.
5. 5End with thanks, and let the caller hang up first.

• What are the working hours, and is Saturday or shift work part of the job?
• How many calls and visitors does the front desk handle in a day?
• Which software and registers does the front desk use?
• Who will I report to, and is there training in the first weeks?
• Is the salary under the organisation’s scale, and does it include Social Security Fund contribution?

1. 1Wear clean, ironed formal clothes — a kurta suruwal, sari or formal shirt and trousers — with tidy hair and light or no perfume.
2. 2Arrive fifteen minutes early. A receptionist who is late to the interview has answered the most important question already.
3. 3Bring two copies of your CV, a passport-size photo, your citizenship copy and your academic certificates in a folder.
4. 4Switch your phone to silent before you enter.
5. 5Greet every person on the panel, sit when invited, and thank them by name if you caught it.

A receptionist CV is read in seconds. Put the things a front desk needs at the top: languages, typing and software, and any customer-facing experience, even from a shop or an event. The receptionist CV example is already written in that order — change the details to yours and download it. If the vacancy asks for an application, the job application letter guide has the format, and current vacancies are listed with the employer’s own apply link.