Top 12 Helpdesk Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today's fast-paced world, effective helpdesk support is crucial for customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. A standout resume highlighting top helpdesk skills can significantly boost your chances of landing your desired position in this competitive field, demonstrating your ability to tackle challenges and provide exceptional service.

Helpdesk Skills

1. Zendesk
2. ServiceNow
3. Active Directory
4. JIRA
5. Salesforce
6. Microsoft Office
7. Slack
8. Freshdesk
9. PowerShell
10. Linux
11. Cisco
12. VMware

1. Zendesk

Zendesk is a cloud-based customer service software that offers tools for ticketing, support, and customer communication, helping businesses manage customer inquiries and issues more effectively.

Why It's Important

Zendesk is important for a Helpdesk because it provides an intuitive, scalable platform that streamlines customer support interactions, enhances customer satisfaction, and improves response efficiency through automation and integration capabilities.

How to Improve Zendesk Skills

To enhance Zendesk for a helpdesk, focus on customization, automation, and integration.

1. Customization: Tailor your Zendesk interface and workflows to fit your team's specific needs. Use Zendesk themes and apps to enhance functionality and user experience.

2. Automation: Implement Zendesk triggers and automations to streamline repetitive tasks, ensuring quick and consistent responses to common queries.

3. Integration: Integrate Zendesk with other tools your team uses via the Zendesk Marketplace. This can include CRMs, project management tools, and internal communication platforms, ensuring a seamless workflow.

4. Self-Service: Enhance your Help Center with comprehensive FAQs and knowledge bases, allowing customers to find answers quickly without needing to contact support.

5. Training & Support: Regularly update training for your team on Zendesk's latest features and best practices. Utilize Zendesk Training for official courses and certifications.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your Zendesk helpdesk.

How to Display Zendesk Skills on Your Resume

2. ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a cloud-based platform that provides software solutions for IT service management (ITSM), allowing organizations to manage and automate IT services, including helpdesk operations, to streamline and improve the delivery of IT support services.

Why It's Important

ServiceNow streamlines and automates helpdesk processes, enhancing efficiency, tracking, and resolution of issues, thereby improving overall service quality and user satisfaction.

How to Improve ServiceNow Skills

Improving ServiceNow for a Helpdesk involves enhancing efficiency, user experience, and automation. Here are concise strategies:

1. Customize Dashboards: Tailor dashboards for different roles to provide relevant information at a glance. ServiceNow Dashboards

2. Implement Self-Service Portals: Create user-friendly self-service portals that allow users to resolve common issues without contacting the helpdesk. Self-Service Portal

3. Utilize Knowledge Base: Develop and maintain a comprehensive knowledge base to help users find solutions quickly. Knowledge Management

4. Automate Routine Tasks: Use ServiceNow's Flow Designer to automate routine tasks and workflows, reducing manual work. Flow Designer

5. Integrate with Other Systems: Integrate ServiceNow with other systems (e.g., email, Active Directory) for seamless operations. Integrations

6. Regular Training and Feedback: Provide regular training for both users and helpdesk staff, and implement a feedback system to continuously improve the service. Training and Simulation

7. Monitor and Analyze Performance: Use ServiceNow's Performance Analytics to monitor service desk performance and identify areas for improvement. Performance Analytics

Adopting these strategies can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a ServiceNow Helpdesk.

How to Display ServiceNow Skills on Your Resume

3. Active Directory

Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is used for managing and storing information about network resources such as users, computers, and printers, enabling administrators to control access to these resources and apply security policies across a network. For a Helpdesk, AD is crucial for user account management, password resets, and granting or restricting access to networked resources.

Why It's Important

Active Directory is crucial for a Helpdesk because it centralizes user management, enabling efficient access control, password resets, and account troubleshooting, thereby ensuring secure and streamlined IT support operations.

How to Improve Active Directory Skills

Improving Active Directory (AD) for a Helpdesk involves optimizing its setup and management to ensure efficient user access and security. Here are concise tips:

1. Regular Audits and Cleanup: Periodically review and clean up outdated accounts, groups, and permissions. This reduces security risks and improves performance.
2. Implement Group Policies: Use Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to manage configurations and settings for users and computers. It helps in enforcing security settings and operational policies efficiently.
3. Use PowerShell for Automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as account creation, password resets, and group memberships using PowerShell scripts. It increases efficiency and reduces human error.
4. Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Define roles and assign permissions based on job functions. This RBAC approach ensures users have access only to what they need, enhancing security.
5. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security. Activating MFA for AD accounts helps protect against unauthorized access.
6. Educate Users: Provide training on security best practices, including recognizing phishing attempts and securing their credentials. Informed users are the first line of defense.

For comprehensive guidance, refer to Microsoft's Active Directory documentation.

How to Display Active Directory Skills on Your Resume

4. JIRA

JIRA is a project management and issue tracking software developed by Atlassian, widely used for tracking bugs and managing Agile software development projects. In a Helpdesk context, JIRA can be used to track and resolve customer support tickets efficiently.

Why It's Important

JIRA is important for a Helpdesk because it streamlines issue tracking and resolution processes, enabling efficient management of customer requests, prioritization of tasks, and collaboration among support teams to enhance service quality and response time.

How to Improve JIRA Skills

Improving JIRA for a Helpdesk involves enhancing efficiency, organization, and user experience. Here are concise strategies:

1. Automate Repetitive Tasks: Use JIRA's automation feature to handle repetitive tasks like ticket assignments and status updates, improving response times and accuracy. Automation in JIRA.

2. Customize Workflows: Tailor workflows to reflect your specific Helpdesk processes, ensuring issues are resolved through the appropriate steps efficiently. Customizing Workflows.

3. Implement SLAs: Set up Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in JIRA to ensure timely responses and resolutions, enhancing customer satisfaction. Setting up SLAs.

4. Use Dashboards and Reports for Insights: Create dashboards and reports to monitor Helpdesk performance and identify areas for improvement. Dashboards and Reporting.

5. Integrate with Email and Chat Tools: Link JIRA with your email and chat systems for seamless communication with requesters, keeping all information centralized. Integrations.

6. Optimize Issue Types and Fields: Streamline issue types and custom fields to make ticket submission straightforward for users and categorization easier for agents. Configuring Fields and Screens.

7. Educate Your Team: Provide ongoing training for your Helpdesk team on JIRA functionalities and best practices to ensure they utilize the system efficiently. Atlassian Training.

By focusing on these areas, your Helpdesk can leverage JIRA more effectively, improving both the team's and the customers' experiences.

How to Display JIRA Skills on Your Resume

5. Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-based software company that provides a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, offering tools for businesses to manage customer interactions, support, and services, including helpdesk functionalities.

Why It's Important

Salesforce is important for a Helpdesk because it centralizes customer information, streamlines case management, automates workflows, and provides analytics, enhancing customer support efficiency and satisfaction.

How to Improve Salesforce Skills

To improve Salesforce for a Helpdesk setup, focus on these areas:

1. Customization: Tailor Salesforce to fit your specific helpdesk needs. Utilize custom objects and fields to track information unique to your processes.

2. Automation: Implement Workflow Rules and Process Builder to automate routine tasks, ensuring quick and consistent responses to common issues.

3. Integration: Use Salesforce APIs to integrate with external systems, providing a seamless flow of information between your helpdesk and other tools like email, chat, and telephony systems.

4. Self-Service: Develop a Salesforce Community for customers to find answers themselves through knowledge articles and peer support, reducing the load on your helpdesk.

5. Analytics: Leverage Salesforce Reports and Dashboards to monitor helpdesk performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve service.

6. Training and Adoption: Ensure your team is fully trained on Salesforce capabilities. Use Trailhead for personalized learning paths to boost user adoption and maximize the effectiveness of your helpdesk.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your Salesforce-based Helpdesk.

How to Display Salesforce Skills on Your Resume

6. Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office is a suite of productivity applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, designed for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and managing email and calendars.

Why It's Important

Microsoft Office is crucial for a Helpdesk because it provides essential tools like Word for documentation, Excel for data management, Outlook for email communication, and Teams for collaboration, enabling efficient resolution of user issues and support tasks.

How to Improve Microsoft Office Skills

Improving Microsoft Office for a Helpdesk environment involves enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and problem-solving capabilities. Here are concise strategies:

1. Utilize Office 365 Admin Center: Centralize management of services, user accounts, and support tickets. Learn More

2. Leverage Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA): Automate fixes for common issues. Download SaRA

3. Implement Quick Access Toolbar Customization: Personalize toolbars for faster access to frequently used functions. Customization Guide

4. Use Office Scripts in Excel: Automate repetitive tasks to improve productivity. Office Scripts Overview

5. Educate with Microsoft Learn: Enhance skills with tailored learning paths and modules. Microsoft Learn for Office

6. Deploy Microsoft Power Automate: Streamline workflows across Office applications to reduce manual tasks. Get Started with Power Automate

Implementing these strategies can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a Helpdesk team in managing and supporting Microsoft Office environments.

How to Display Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume

7. Slack

Slack is a communication platform designed for teams and workplaces, facilitating instant messaging, file sharing, and collaboration in channels organized by topic, project, or team, often used for helpdesk and customer support operations to streamline communication and response times.

Why It's Important

Slack is important for a Helpdesk as it facilitates real-time communication, enables quick resolution of queries, and enhances team coordination, improving overall customer support efficiency.

How to Improve Slack Skills

To improve Slack for a Helpdesk setup, focus on integration, automation, and customization:

1. Integrate with Helpdesk Software: Use Slack's App Directory to integrate with popular helpdesk tools (e.g., Zendesk, Jira) for seamless ticket management within Slack.

2. Automate with Bots: Deploy bots like Workbot for automating common helpdesk tasks (e.g., ticket creation, updates) directly from Slack messages.

3. Customize Channels and Workflows: Create dedicated channels for different support tiers or topics and use Slack's Workflow Builder to automate routine communications and task assignments.

By leveraging these strategies, you can enhance efficiency and response times for a Helpdesk team operating within Slack.

How to Display Slack Skills on Your Resume

8. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer service software that provides helpdesk support with all smart automations to get things done faster. It enables businesses to manage customer queries and requests across multiple channels in a single platform.

Why It's Important

Freshdesk is important for a helpdesk because it streamlines customer support processes, enabling efficient ticketing, multi-channel support, automation of repetitive tasks, and comprehensive analytics, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

How to Improve Freshdesk Skills

Improving your Freshdesk Helpdesk can be achieved through several strategic enhancements aimed at increasing efficiency, improving customer satisfaction, and streamlining operations. Here’s a concise guide:

1. Automate Repetitive Tasks: Utilize Freshdesk Automation to handle repetitive tasks like ticket assignment and prioritization, saving time for more complex issues.

2. Self-Service Options: Enhance your Knowledge Base and FAQs to empower customers to find answers quickly without needing to create a ticket.

3. Integrate with Other Tools: Use Marketplace Integrations to connect Freshdesk with other tools your team uses, like CRM systems or project management tools, for a seamless workflow.

4. Optimize Ticket Management: Implement Canned Responses for common queries and use ticket tags for better organization and quicker retrieval.

5. Multi-Channel Support: Ensure you're utilizing Freshdesk’s ability to manage tickets from various channels like email, chat, social media, and more, all in one place for a unified customer view.

6. Analyze and Act on Feedback: Regularly review Customer Satisfaction Surveys and ticket analytics to identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategies accordingly.

7. Train Your Team: Continuously train your support team on Freshdesk features and best practices. Encourage certification through Freshdesk Academy for enhanced proficiency.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve your Freshdesk Helpdesk’s performance and customer satisfaction levels.

How to Display Freshdesk Skills on Your Resume

9. PowerShell

PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language designed for task automation and configuration management, enabling Helpdesk professionals to streamline administrative tasks and manage systems efficiently.

Why It's Important

PowerShell is important for a Helpdesk because it enables efficient automation of system administration tasks, quick resolution of user issues, and effective management of multiple computers from a single interface, enhancing productivity and service quality.

How to Improve PowerShell Skills

Improving PowerShell for a Helpdesk involves enhancing efficiency, managing scripts, and improving the security of script execution. Here are concise ways to achieve this:

1. Learn and Master Fundamentals: Start with the basics of PowerShell. Microsoft’s PowerShell documentation provides a comprehensive guide.

2. Utilize PowerShell ISE: PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is a powerful tool for writing and debugging scripts. It's built into Windows and offers syntax highlighting, tab completion, and more to streamline script development.

3. Implement Module Management: Use PowerShellGet to discover, install, and maintain PowerShell modules. This simplifies adding capabilities to your scripts. More details are available on PowerShellGet.

4. Secure Script Execution: Leverage Execution Policies to control the execution of PowerShell scripts securely. Execution policies help protect against the execution of potentially harmful scripts. Learn about execution policies on the official Execution Policies page.

5. Automate Recurring Tasks: Identify common Helpdesk tasks that can be automated (e.g., user account creation, password resets). Automating these can significantly reduce manual workloads. Microsoft offers insights on automating with PowerShell.

6. Error Handling: Implement try-catch blocks to manage errors gracefully in your scripts. This ensures that your scripts can handle unexpected issues without crashing. The about_Try_Catch_Finally topic covers this.

7. Use Version Control: Utilize a version control system like Git to manage your PowerShell scripts. This allows you to track changes, revert to previous versions, and collaborate with others. GitHub provides a Hello World guide for getting started.

8. Stay Updated: PowerShell is regularly updated. Stay informed on the latest features and improvements by following the PowerShell Team Blog.

9. Join the Community: Engage with the PowerShell community through forums, social media, and user groups. The PowerShell subreddit is a great place to ask questions and share knowledge.

10. Practice: The key to mastering PowerShell is practice. Set aside time to write and test scripts, exploring new cmdlets and modules as you go.

By following these steps and utilizing these resources, you can significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of PowerShell usage within a Helpdesk environment.

How to Display PowerShell Skills on Your Resume

10. Linux

Linux is a free, open-source operating system used on servers, desktops, and other devices, known for its stability and security. It's widely used in enterprise environments for hosting websites, running applications, and managing data.

Why It's Important

Linux is important for Helpdesk because it offers a stable, secure, and cost-effective operating system option for managing servers and applications, ensuring efficient resolution of technical issues and support tasks.

How to Improve Linux Skills

Improving Linux, especially for a Helpdesk environment, involves a focus on system stability, security, user accessibility, and efficiency. Below are concise strategies to enhance your Linux setup:

1. Regular Updates: Ensure your system and applications are up-to-date. Use your distribution's package manager (e.g., apt for Ubuntu/Debian or yum for CentOS) for easy updates. Ubuntu Updates

2. Security Hardening: Implement security best practices, such as setting up firewalls (e.g., using ufw or firewalld), enforcing strong password policies, and regular security audits with tools like Lynis. Lynis Security Auditing

3. Backup and Recovery: Set up automated backups using tools such as rsync or Bacula and test your recovery process regularly. Rsync, Bacula

4. Use Monitoring Tools: Implement monitoring solutions like Nagios or Zabbix to proactively manage system health and performance. Nagios, Zabbix

5. Optimize and Automate: Use shell scripting or tools like Ansible for automation to streamline and standardize system configurations and deployments. Ansible Best Practices

6. Documentation: Maintain clear, up-to-date documentation of your systems, configurations, and troubleshooting procedures. Consider using a wiki or documentation tool like DokuWiki. DokuWiki

7. Training and Knowledge Sharing: Foster a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing among the helpdesk team. Utilize platforms like Linux Academy or edX for structured learning. Linux Academy, edX Linux Courses

By focusing on these areas, you can enhance the reliability, security, and efficiency of Linux systems within a Helpdesk environment, ultimately leading to improved support and user satisfaction.

How to Display Linux Skills on Your Resume

11. Cisco

Cisco is a global technology leader that designs, manufactures, and sells networking equipment, software, and telecommunications products used to facilitate communication and connectivity across various types of networks. For a Helpdesk, Cisco provides solutions and support for network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and collaboration tools to ensure smooth and secure communication and operations.

Why It's Important

Cisco is crucial for a Helpdesk because it provides reliable and scalable networking infrastructure and solutions, enabling efficient communication, problem-solving, and support delivery within and outside an organization.

How to Improve Cisco Skills

Improving Cisco for a Helpdesk involves enhancing network reliability, streamlining communication, and ensuring robust security. Focus on the following key areas:

1. Training and Certification: Encourage your team to pursue Cisco certifications for improved expertise in network solutions.
2. Cisco Software Tools: Utilize Cisco's software tools for network management and troubleshooting to enhance efficiency.
3. Security Enhancement: Implement Cisco's security solutions to protect data and resources.
4. Automation: Leverage Cisco DNA Center for network automation, simplifying operations and reducing human errors.
5. Knowledge Base and Support: Utilize the Cisco Support Community and Cisco Documentation for quick access to troubleshooting tips and configuration guides.
6. Feedback and Continuous Improvement: Actively seek feedback from end-users and continuously refine processes and tools based on insights.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of Cisco within a Helpdesk environment.

How to Display Cisco Skills on Your Resume

12. VMware

VMware is a software company that provides cloud computing and virtualization technology, enabling users to create and manage virtual machines on a single physical computer, thereby improving efficiency, scalability, and resource management. For a Helpdesk, it facilitates managing, deploying, and troubleshooting virtual environments and applications for users.

Why It's Important

VMware is important for a Helpdesk because it enables the efficient management and operation of virtual machines, allowing for rapid deployment, troubleshooting, and recovery of applications and services, thus ensuring minimal downtime and enhanced support for end-users.

How to Improve VMware Skills

To improve VMware performance and efficiency for a Helpdesk environment, follow these concise strategies:

1. Optimize Virtual Machine (VM) Configuration: Ensure your VMs are configured with the necessary resources without overallocation. VMware's Performance Best Practices guide offers detailed advice.

2. Update VMware Tools: Keeping VMware Tools up to date within your VMs ensures better performance and functionality. Instructions are provided in the VMware Documentation.

3. Monitor Performance and Resources: Use VMware's built-in monitoring tools like vCenter Server to track VM performance and adjust resources as needed. The vSphere Monitoring and Performance Guide is a comprehensive resource.

4. Enable Advanced Features: Features such as Storage I/O Control (SIOC) and Network I/O Control (NIOC) help prioritize traffic and improve performance. Learn how to implement these in the vSphere Resource Management Guide.

5. Educate the Helpdesk Team: Ensure your team is familiar with VMware best practices and troubleshooting techniques. VMware’s Learning Platform offers courses and resources.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly enhance the performance and efficiency of VMware in a Helpdesk environment.

How to Display VMware Skills on Your Resume