About 3 of every 10 receptionists work part time. Job Outlook Job opportunities for receptionists should be plentiful. In addition to faster than average employment growth, turnover is high. Each year, several hundred thousand receptionists transfer to other occupations, seeking better pay or career advancement, or leave the labor force to tend to household responsibilities, return to school, or retire. In addition, because establishments need receptionists' services even during economic downturns, they usually are not subject to layoffs during recessions.
Many receptionists also perform secretarial duties.
Good typing and computer skills, coupled with strong interpersonal and communications skills, enhance one's job prospects. Employment of receptionists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. This is largely because so many receptionists work for firms in the services industry including physician's offices, law firms, temporary help agencies, and consulting firms a sector of the economy that is expected to continue to show strong growth. On the other hand, the increasing use of voice mail may temper, somewhat, the demand for receptionists. Where several receptionists may have been required to answer the company's telephones in the past, voice mail may now make it possible for one person to do the job.