Receptionist

You're the first face people see and the last line of defense against people who don't have appointments. You know everyone's business without trying, your phone voice is an Oscar-worthy performance three octaves above your real one, and you keep the entire office from descending into chaos while being treated like furniture. Nobody notices you until they need something — which is always.

What you'll actually do

• 01Answer the phone with a voice three octaves higher than your real one — it's a performance and you deserve a Tony
• 02Watch people walk past you like you're furniture until they need something printed, signed, or found
• 03Schedule meetings for people who will absolutely cancel them within the hour
• 04Accept that the hold music is now your personal soundtrack — you hear it in your sleep
• 05Field 'is the boss in?' like you're a bouncer at the world's most boring nightclub
• 06Sign for packages that aren't yours and somehow become the entire mail room by default
• 07Know more office gossip than TMZ without even trying — people just talk in front of you like you don't exist

Career Path

Where this role sits in the bigger picture — and where it can take you.