The Fine Art of Building Rapport With The “Gatekeeper”

Ask any job seeker, trying to network over the telephone and make appointments for
information meetings, what is the biggest challenge they face, and most of them will say
it is getting through the “gate keeper”. This “gate keeper” as job seekers have come to
refer to them, in an office set up is either the receptionist or the administrative assistant
performing the function of reception or screening calls for the employer.
Having been an administrative assistant myself and having ultimately moved on to
training administrative assistant to perform their duties effectively, one thing is very
evident – the function of reception in any office is viewed by most people as a very
simple and non-important one. Hence the lack of respect and importance given to the
person performing this role. The opposite is in fact true. A receptionist, as per the job
description, has a lot of powers in determining which particular colleague gets to see the
visitors or take phone calls.
Keeping this very important aspect in mind and remembering that receptionists are
people too who have needs, the following techniques will help you to deal with them and
effectively be passed on to speak to the employer.
Tips and Techniques
Initial stage of the phone call
1. Listen very attentively to the way in which the receptionist answers the phone
and have a pen and pad handy
2. Most receptionists will answer the phone with a greeting for the time of day, the
name of the company and their own name.
3. Immediately write down their name on your pad and return their greeting using
the name that you have just written down. This technique is most effective as
research has shown that very few receptionists ever get called by their name by
telephone callers who are always in a hurry to get what they want – to be
connected to the person they are looking for.
4. Ask them “how are you today?” and wait to hear the response. Be prepared to
get a terse response. But do not let that prevent you from being friendly yourself.
5. Next give them importance by saying that you need their help and that you are
sure they will be able to help you. This technique changes the tone of the
conversation and even the most busy and curt receptionist will say modestly that
she will do her best to help you.
6. Now you are ready to make your request.