A receptionist is an administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office of an organization or business. The title "receptionist" is attributed to the person who is specifically employed by an organization to greet any visitors, patients, or clients.

The occupation has been the traditional domain of women, but more men today are becoming involved in receptionist duties, possibly under different names of employment, such as front desk coordinator, or information clerk. During the late-1990's, some companies have begun to refer to their receptionist with the upgraded title of "Director of First Impressions."

National Receptionists Day was initiated in 1990 by Jennifer Alexander, the director of National Receptionists Association. The mission of  National Receptionists Day is to gain awareness and appreciation for the role of receptionists in the business setting, and to provide community and support for receptionists nationwide.

In 2006 "Receptionist Day" will be celebrated on May 10.

Companies observe National Receptionists Day in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A popular celebratory effort is to write up a proclamation from the company which officially recognizes National Receptionists Day and their receptionist. Proclamation forms are available for download from the association website. There are also National Receptionists Day mugs and pens available for sale.

Website of National Receptionists Association

A receptionist is often the first business contact a person will meet at any organization. It is a expectation of most organizations that the receptionist maintain a calm, courteous and professional demeanor at all times regardless of the visitor's behavior. Some personal qualities that a receptionist is expected to have in order to do the job successfully include: attentiveness, a well groomed appearance, initiative, loyalty, maturity, respect for confidentiality and discretion, a positive attitude and dependability. At times, the job may be stressful due to interaction with many different people with different types of personalities, and being expected to perform multiple tasks quickly

While many persons working as receptionists continue in that position throughout their careers, some receptionists may advance to other administrative jobs such as customer service representative, dispatcher, interviewers, secretary, production assistant, and executive assistant. In smaller businesses, such as doctor's or lawyer's office, a receptionist may also be the office manager who is charged with a diversity of middle management level business operations. When receptionists leave the job, they often enter other career fields such as sales and marketing, public relations or other media occupations.

A few famous people were receptionists in the beginning, such as (Northern Irish) Betty Williams, a co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize. A number of celebrities had worked as receptionists before they became famous, such as the late entrepreneur/Beatle wife Linda McCartney. Other famous people who began their careers as receptionists or worked in the field include civil rights activist Rosa Parks and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

(From left to right: Betty Williams ; Rosa Parks ; Carly Fiorin)