Based on an ethnographic and statistic study of the work done by receptionists, this article connects the characteristics of a position considered unskilled, with the fact that it is often filled through subcontracting, and the social characteristics of the employees who fill it. It demonstrates how the kind of reception, the age of employees and sub-contracting combine to reduce the value of this position. It also looks at receptionists and the range of ways in which they use this job, to identify those who remain in the position long-term. If the task of representing highly stereotyped femininity at work is applicable to a large social range of women, those who become “professional” receptionists are often those who have the lowest levels of social and cultural resources.