Editing Receptionist (section)

==Opportunities for advancement==
[[Image:HamptonInnFrontDesk.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Front desk in a [[Hampton by Hilton|Hampton Inn]] hotel in [[New York City|New York]], USA]]
Depending on the industry a receptionist position can have opportunities for [[business networking|networking]] in order to advance to other positions within a specific field. Some people may use this type of job as a way to familiarize themselves with office work, or to learn of other functions or positions within a corporation. Some people use receptionist work as a way to earn money while pursuing further educational opportunities or other career interests such as in the performing arts or as writers.

While many persons working as receptionists continue in that position throughout their careers, some receptionists may advance to other administrative jobs, such as a [[customer service representative]], [[dispatcher]], [[interview]]ers, [[secretary]], [[production assistant]], [[personal assistant]], or executive assistant. In smaller businesses, such as a doctor's or a lawyer's office, a receptionist may also be the [[office manager]] who is charged with a diversity of middle management level business operations. For example, in the hotel industry, the night-time receptionist's role is almost always combined with performing daily account consolidation and reporting, more particularly known as [[night auditor|night auditing]].

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 [[Betty Williams (peace activist)|Betty Williams]], a co-recipient of the 1976 [[Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ryder |first1=Chris |title=Betty Williams obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/20/betty-williams-obituary |access-date=16 March 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=20 March 2020}}</ref> A number of celebrities had worked as receptionists before they became famous, such as singer/songwriter [[Naomi Judd]]<ref>{{Cite news|title =National Receptionist Day|url =https://wyrk.com/national-receptionists-day/|work =[[WYRK]]|date =14 May 2014|access-date =4 April 2021|first =Dale |last =Mussen}}</ref> and [[Linda McCartney]], photographer, entrepreneur and wife of [[Paul McCartney]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070529222930/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/19/mccartney.obit2/ Funeral held for Linda McCartney], [[CNN.com]] 20 April 1998, retrieved from [[Archive.org]] on 24 July 2012</ref> Other famous people who began their careers as receptionists or worked in the field include [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] activist [[Rosa Parks]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/us/25parks.html?pagewanted=2 |date=October 25, 2005 |last=Shipp |first=E. R. |author-link=E. R. Shipp |access-date=January 1, 2010 |page=2}}</ref> and former [[Hewlett-Packard]] CEO [[Carly Fiorina]].<ref>{{Cite news|title = For Carly Fiorina, Peripatetic Childhood Helped Build Worldview|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/27/us/politics/carly-fiorina-presidential-election.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 26, 2015|access-date = December 3, 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Jason|last = Horowitz}}</ref>