The Receptionist Has More Power Than You Think!
Posted by Rebecca McDaniel
By Mike Spinale, Director of Human Resources & Training
The Receptionist. Also known as the gatekeeper; your first point of contact at a company, and also the company's first impression of you.
For some reason, some people treat the Receptionist differently than they might a manager or an executive in the company. But when you come in for an interview, the Receptionist has a lot more power than you might think they do.
Conventional wisdom tells us how important it is to make a 
good first impression, and the Receptionist is the first person at the company with which a candidate interacts. Moreover, they can be the key to your success! As a hiring manager, I ALWAYS ask our Receptionist what she thinks about a candidate she has met.
Did they:
- come in demanding coffee,
- speak to her in a curt or rude manner that demonstrated an air of superiority?
- or did they treat her with respect, asking her how her day is going and making pleasant small talk with her?
The way someone interacts with her tells me a lot about the candidate and whether or not they would fit in with our culture, which is our #1 priority at Triumvirate Environmental. We have been consistently named as a best place to work serveral years in a row due to our employee-centric culture.
