Stunning Medical Receptionist Resume Examples for This Year

Updated September 2, 2022538

If you’re organized and responsible, you’ll have no problem getting a job as a medical receptionist. Here’s how you can showcase your skills in a resume.

Medical Receptionist Resume Examples

Medical receptionists work at the front desk of a medical office. They greet patients, answer their questions and input patient information into a computer system. They make sure that the communication between doctors and patients flows smoothly and that the reception area stays safe and quiet for everyone. When there are open medical receptionist positions, dozens of applicants usually compete for the same job. Here’s how you can best structure your resume and present your skills and experience to put you ahead of your competition and land the job.

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What To Highlight in a Medical Receptionist Resume

Medical receptionists need a good number of soft skills to do their job. Among the skills that hiring managers look for in a medical receptionist's resume are communicating well and multitasking. To impress hiring managers, you’ll need to highlight these special skills. Let’s take a look at what you can do to increase your chances of getting hired as a medical receptionist.

Structure of a Medical Receptionist Resume

There are three primary ways of formatting your resume to highlight your skills and years of experience. If you have several years of experience, you can use the chronological resume format, which focuses on your work experience. The functional resume format focuses on your skills if you have little to no work experience as a medical receptionist. And finally, if you have gaps in your employment history or are changing careers, the combination resume format allows you to highlight your work experience and skills simultaneously.

Regardless of the resume format you use, there are five sections you should always include in your resume:

Header

The first section of your resume is the header. Located at the top of the resume, this is where you place information on how people can contact you. This makes it easier for the recruiters to contact you. In your header, you’ll want to include your name, email address, phone number and professional portfolio links, such as your LinkedIn profile.

Resume summary

A resume summary is a two- to three-sentence paragraph that highlights your skills and experience. The intention is to hook the recruiter and entice them to continue reading your resume, so be sure to include your most impressive achievements. If you have less experience, opt for a resume objective instead. This is where you showcase your skills and indicate your intentions and goals you hope to accomplish.

Skills

Hard and soft skills are important on a medical receptionist's resume. An example of a medical receptionist's hard skills is the ability to use computer software for data entry. Knowing how to work an office phone is also impressive since medical receptionists need to submit insurance claims on behalf of patients. Soft skills are those that can make handling patients and office organization better. Here are some additional examples of receptionist skills that you can consider adding to your resume:

Communication skills
Microsoft Excel proficiency
Interpersonal skills
Ability to multitask
Organizational skills
Time management skills
Understanding of medical terminology
Scheduling appointments
Handling insurance claims
Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
Ordering office supplies
Maintaining patient records
Administrative support
Managing patient check-ins
Medical billing
Scheduling patient appointments

Work experience

In the work experience section, list your employment history. A medical receptionist doesn’t necessarily need a lot of health care experience, so you can list related jobs, such as an administrative assistant or office clerk. Or, if you’ve worked at a call center, this is something that should be mentioned. Medical receptionists answer a high volume of phone calls daily, which makes this job related.

List your previous jobs in reverse-chronological order, with your most recent position listed first. For each job, write three to five bullet points indicating your job responsibilities and most significant achievements. Also, list the company name, job title and employment dates.

Education

Regardless of the resume format you use, there are five sections you should always include in your resume:

Header

Resume summary

Skills

Communication skills
Microsoft Excel proficiency
Interpersonal skills
Ability to multitask
Organizational skills
Time management skills
Understanding of medical terminology
Scheduling appointments
Handling insurance claims
Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
Ordering office supplies
Maintaining patient records
Administrative support
Managing patient check-ins
Medical billing
Scheduling patient appointments

Work experience

Education

In the education section, list your certifications and academic achievements. A medical receptionist usually doesn’t need more than a high school diploma. Still, it’ll look impressive if you’ve taken a course related to the job, such as the HIPAA certification course.

Do’s and Don’ts for a Medical Receptionist Resume

Keep these tips in mind when writing your medical receptionist resume:

Do:

Look at multiple medical receptionist resume samples. Looking at professional resume samples can give you a good idea of how to structure your resume.
Do use a good template. A good resume template can help your resume read better and look more organized.
Double check the information on your resume. Your contact information should be up-to-date so a recruiter can easily contact you.

Don’t:

Overlook the skills section. You may think you don’t have any useful skills for the job, but there is always something you can include. A solid skills section can make or break a resume, so spend time thinking about your skills.
List work experience that’s older than a decade. Hiring managers want to see what you’ve been up to recently, so don’t include jobs older than 10 years.
Overwrite. A resume should be no more than one page long. If it’s longer than that, you’ve probably written information that has little to do with the job.

FAQ: Medical Receptionist Resumes

Do I need to include a cover letter for a medical receptionist application?

Yes, you should include a medical receptionist cover letter in your application. Even if you write the perfect resume, there’s only so much you can explain in it. A cover letter can help the recruiters know you better before the interview. It’s the document that describes the path that led you to apply to the medical office and what you hope to achieve while there.

How can I write a medical receptionist resume without a lot of experience?

Most medical receptionist jobs don’t need a lot of experience. There’s usually on-site training and the learning curve isn’t too steep. If you have any experience being a family member’s medical assistant, you should include it. If you’re familiar with patient care of any sort, it counts as experience. When writing your resume, use the functional resume format and write a resume objective to focus on your skills and education instead of your experience.

How do I change my medical receptionist resume to apply for different jobs?To change your resume to fit the specific application, carefully read the job description and highlight keywords. Keywords are specific words or phrases that indicate what the recruiters are looking for. For example, if one medical office mentions data entry, talk about your ability to quickly input information in a computer program.

To change your resume to fit the specific application, carefully read the job description and highlight keywords. Keywords are specific words or phrases that indicate what the recruiters are looking for. For example, if one medical office mentions data entry, talk about your ability to quickly input information in a computer program.

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About The Author

Cindi Cervone Carlson

Cindi Cervone Carlson is a Senior Vice President for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Cindi is responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing a dynamic, world-class organization dedicated to delivering outplacement consulting, training, support, and executive coaching. Cindi started her career at Challenger as a client who had lost her job. Over the past nine years, she has risen from an entry-level, part-time professional to Senior Vice President.