Top 12 IT Support Specialist Skills to Put on Your Resume
In today's fiercely competitive job market, an IT Support Specialist needs a sharp mix of technical depth and people skills to stand out. Show the blend. Prove you can fix, automate, explain, and secure—without slowing down the business.
IT Support Specialist Skills
- Python
- PowerShell
- Active Directory
- Linux
- Windows Server
- VMware
- Cisco Networking
- AWS
- Azure
- SQL
- Microsoft 365 (Office 365)
- ITIL
1. Python
Python is a high-level, interpreted language known for quick scripting, clear syntax, and a vast ecosystem. In support, it shines at automation, log parsing, API work, light ETL, and glue-code that saves hours.
Why It's Important
It reduces toil. Automates repetitive tasks. Speeds up triage. With a few libraries, you can interrogate systems, call services, crunch data, and ship small tools in a day.
How to Improve Python Skills
Build muscle through use, not just reading.
Nail the core: data types, functions, modules, virtual environments, packaging.
Automate your day: write scripts for account cleanup, report generation, ticket enrichment, inventory pulls.
Work with APIs: practice requests, authentication patterns, pagination, error handling, and retries.
Data handling: get comfortable with CSV/JSON, regex, and libraries like pandas when needed.
Quality habits: logging, exceptions, type hints, linting, and small tests with pytest.
Ship small tools: package a CLI, document it, gather feedback, iterate.
Consistency wins. Little scripts turn into trusted utilities.
How to Display Python Skills on Your Resume
2. PowerShell
PowerShell is Microsoft’s shell and scripting language for automation and configuration across Windows, Microsoft 365, Azure, and beyond. It plays nicely with objects, remoting, and policy-driven management.
Why It's Important
One script can do what twenty manual clicks can’t. Bulk changes, audits, quick fixes, and standardized operations—repeatable and safe.
How to Improve PowerShell Skills
Master the pipeline: objects in, objects out. Filter left, format last.
Use modern tooling: write in Visual Studio Code with the PowerShell extension; lean on integrated debugging.
Core modules: ActiveDirectory, Exchange Online, Microsoft Graph, Az, and package management.
Reliability: robust error handling with try/catch/finally, $ErrorActionPreference, and transcript logs.
Remoting and JEA: secure remoting, Just Enough Administration, and constrained endpoints.
Testing: add Pester tests for critical scripts and functions.
Automate the boring. Guard the dangerous with dry runs and approvals.
How to Display PowerShell Skills on Your Resume
3. Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is Microsoft’s identity backbone for on-prem domains. It centralizes authentication, authorization, policy, and directory services; often paired with cloud identity via Microsoft Entra ID.
Why It's Important
Identity is the new perimeter. Clean design and tight controls keep users productive and attackers out.
How to Improve Active Directory Skills
Identity hygiene: principle of least privilege, tiered admin model, protected groups, and regular entitlement reviews.
Password and MFA: favor long passphrases, breach checks, and MFA everywhere; avoid forced periodic resets unless risk dictates.
Group Policy sanity: consolidate, document, and test GPOs; use WMI filters sparingly; monitor SYSVOL health.
Auditing: enable advanced auditing, forward logs, alert on sensitive changes, and baseline normal behavior.
Lifecycle cleanup: expired users, stale computers, orphaned groups—retire them with workflow and approval.
Secure delegation: split duties, use dedicated admin workstations, and avoid domain admin for routine tasks.
Backup and recovery: test forest and domain recovery; know your RPO/RTO; practice restores.
Hybrid alignment: sync with Entra ID, enable Conditional Access, and protect privileged roles with PIM.
Threat detection: deploy identity threat detection tools (e.g., Defender for Identity) for lateral movement and DC monitoring.
Health, security, and lifecycle discipline—make them routine.
How to Display Active Directory Skills on Your Resume
4. Linux
Linux is the open-source engine for servers, containers, appliances, and more. It’s stable, scriptable, and everywhere—from web stacks to network gear to cloud images.
Why It's Important
When incidents hit production, command-line fluency and log literacy shorten outages. Linux delivers both.
How to Improve Linux Skills
CLI first: filesystem layout, permissions, processes, systemd, packaging, journald, networking tools.
Shell scripting: bash, POSIX sh, environment management, quoting, traps, and idempotent scripts.
Networking and security: ip, nftables/iptables, OpenSSH hardening, PAM, sudo policies, and fail2ban.
Troubleshooting: top/htop, vmstat, iostat, strace, lsof, journalctl, and log rotation know-how.
Services and packaging: build, enable, sandbox with systemd; understand RPM/DEB workflows.
Practice: run a homelab VM fleet; break and fix deliberately; document what you learn.
Repetition breeds speed. Speed lowers downtime.
How to Display Linux Skills on Your Resume
5. Windows Server
Windows Server underpins AD, file/print, virtualization, and app hosting across many enterprises. Modern LTSC releases (2019, 2022, 2025) add security and management gains.
Why It's Important
It’s the backbone for identity, storage, and line-of-business apps. If it’s stable and secure, everything else hums.
How to Improve Windows Server Skills
Patch cadence: schedule updates, test in stages, and track firmware/driver health.
Role minimalism: install only what’s needed; reduce attack surface and complexity.
Protect data: BitLocker for at-rest protection, secure SMB (signing/encryption), and Just-In-Time admin.
Firewall and AV: tune Windows Defender Firewall rules and baseline Defender AV with ASR rules.
Admin Center: use Windows Admin Center for inventory, updates, certificates, and performance views.
Backup strategy: frequent backups, offsite copies, and regular restore drills.
Observability: Performance Monitor, Event Viewer forwarding, and alerts for disk, CPU, and service failures.
Security baselines: apply and validate CIS/Microsoft baselines; audit deviations.
Virtualization hygiene: for Hyper-V, enable resource metering, isolate management networks, and checkpoint wisely.
Least privilege: JEA for PowerShell, LAPS for local admin rotation, and separate admin accounts.
Keep it lean, locked down, and backed up.
How to Display Windows Server Skills on Your Resume
6. VMware
VMware provides the vSphere stack—ESXi hosts, vCenter, clusters—that run virtual machines and critical workloads with high availability and smart scheduling.
Why It's Important
Virtualization means faster recovery, better density, and simpler lifecycle management. Less hardware juggling, more uptime.
How to Improve VMware Skills
Right-size VMs: match CPU/memory to workload; avoid overcommit that chokes performance.
Keep tools current: update VMware Tools and hardware compatibility; align drivers and firmware.
Monitor continuously: watch CPU ready, ballooning, latency, datastore I/O, and contention.
Storage discipline: pick the right protocol, align disks, plan datastores, and enable multipathing.
Network design: segregate vMotion, management, and storage networks; use distributed switches for scale.
Patch hosts: keep ESXi and vCenter updated; stage maintenance with DRS and maintenance mode.
Use advanced features: HA, DRS, Storage DRS, vSphere Replication—configure, test, and document failovers.
Measure first, then tune. Document the cluster quirks you uncover.
How to Display VMware Skills on Your Resume
7. Cisco Networking
Cisco networking covers switches, routers, wireless, and security devices plus the OS that runs them (IOS/IOS XE/NX-OS). It’s the enterprise network toolkit.
Why It's Important
Solid networks keep users connected and apps responsive. Misconfigured networks do the opposite—spectacularly.
How to Improve Cisco Networking Skills
Fundamentals first: VLANs, trunking, STP, routing basics, ACLs, NAT, and QoS.
Hands-on labs: practice with Packet Tracer or GNS3; build topologies, break them, and recover.
Config discipline: use templates, comments, secure management (SSH, AAA), and backups.
Troubleshooting: master show/debug commands, SPAN, and methodical isolation.
Security: port security, DHCP snooping, dynamic ARP inspection, 802.1X, and segmented design.
Cert-aligned learning: track CCNA/CCNP blueprints to cover the breadth without gaps.
Clarity over cleverness. Simple networks are easier to fix at 2 a.m.
How to Display Cisco Networking Skills on Your Resume
8. AWS
AWS is a broad cloud platform offering compute, storage, databases, networking, security, and a galaxy of managed services.
Why It's Important
It scales fast, bills by the sip, and lets support teams provision, automate, and recover with minimal hardware fuss.
How to Improve AWS Skills
Identity first: strict IAM policies, roles over keys, MFA, and guardrails with SCPs.
Observability: CloudWatch metrics/logs, alarms, dashboards, and end-to-end tracing.
Cost awareness: tag everything, use budgets and rightsizing, pick the right storage and instance families.
Automation: Infrastructure as Code (CloudFormation/Terraform), Lambda for event tasks, SSM for fleet actions.
Resilience: backups with AWS Backup, multi-AZ patterns, tested restore runbooks.
Security: CloudTrail, Config rules, encryption at rest/in transit, and regular posture reviews.
Cert path: aim for associate-level, then specialty where your role leans.
Design small, test often, scale when ready.
How to Display AWS Skills on Your Resume
9. Azure
Azure is Microsoft’s cloud for compute, storage, networking, identity, and analytics—deeply integrated with Windows Server, Entra ID, and Microsoft 365.
Why It's Important
For hybrid shops, it bridges on-prem and cloud neatly. Tooling is familiar, management unified.
How to Improve Azure Skills
Recommendations: use Azure Advisor for performance, security, cost, and reliability tips.
Security: protect with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Key Vault, and robust Conditional Access in Entra ID.
Cost control: budgets, reservations, savings plans, and cleanup of idle resources.
Operations: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and alerts; wire them to incident management.
Automation: ARM/Bicep or Terraform, Automation Accounts/Runbooks, Functions for event-driven fixes.
Networking: plan VNets, peerings, Private Endpoints, and monitor with Network Watcher.
Build guardrails early. Guardrails prevent messes later.
How to Display Azure Skills on Your Resume
10. SQL
SQL is the language of relational databases. You ask questions; it returns truth in rows and columns.
Why It's Important
Support work leans on data: find the bad record, trace the outage, aggregate the pattern. SQL makes that quick and precise.
How to Improve SQL Skills
Core fluency: SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING, JOINs, window functions.
Schema sense: normalization basics, keys, constraints, and when to denormalize.
Speed: learn indexing patterns, execution plans, and how to avoid full scans.
Write for ops: defensive queries, safe updates, transactions, and rollback planning.
Practice: solve real questions from tickets; build views or scripts to help your team.
Cross-DB awareness: know the quirks of SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL—portable habits matter.
Readable queries are maintainable queries. Comments help the next person—you, tomorrow.
How to Display SQL Skills on Your Resume
11. Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)
Microsoft 365 blends productivity apps with cloud identity, collaboration, and device management. Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Intune—the daily toolkit.
Why It's Important
Your users live here. Smooth mail flow, secure collaboration, and sane device posture reduce tickets and risk.
How to Improve Microsoft 365 Skills
Security first: enable MFA, Conditional Access, and monitor Secure Score.
Automation: use Exchange Online and Microsoft Graph PowerShell for user lifecycle, licenses, and policies.
Service health: watch the dashboard, set alerts, and communicate proactively during incidents.
Endpoint management: configure Intune baselines, compliance, and app protection policies.
Troubleshooting: keep the Support and Recovery Assistant handy; collect logs methodically.
User enablement: short guides, tips in Teams, and targeted training reduce recurring tickets.
Default-deny where practical. Explain the why to get buy-in.
How to Display Microsoft 365 Skills on Your Resume
12. ITIL
ITIL is a framework for IT service management. The current ITIL 4 view emphasizes value, practices, and continual improvement over rigid processes.
Why It's Important
It gives shared language, predictable workflows, and a path to better service—without smothering speed.
How to Improve ITIL Skills
Start with essentials: Incident, Problem, Change, Request, Knowledge. Keep them lightweight but consistent.
Define SLAs/OLAs: clear targets, realistic priorities, and visible dashboards.
Shift left: build a knowledge base, templates, and self-service; measure deflection.
Change safety: standard changes, peer review, maintenance windows, and rollback steps.
Continual improvement: run retros, collect metrics, and ship small fixes frequently.
Tooling: use your ITSM platform for automation, CMDB hygiene, and reporting that drives decisions.
Value to users is the north star. Everything else serves that.
How to Display ITIL Skills on Your Resume
