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Help desk administrator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Jennifer Richardson Ph.D.,

Ranganathan Chandrasekaran

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical help desk administrator skills. We ranked the top skills for help desk administrators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.7% of help desk administrator resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a help desk administrator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 help desk administrator skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how help desk administrators use customer service:

Provide exceptional customer service and training; design/conduct detailed training programs and support end users as needed to ensure functionality.
Manage customer service function by diagnosing and solving computer related problems while maintaining patience, professionalism and courtesy.

2. Desk Support

Here's how help desk administrators use desk support:

Addressed computer, printer, telephony, and network inquiries; responded and resolved problems as Tier II Desk Support.
Provided Wireless Mobility Help Desk support for User s inquiries via ticketing system, telephonic and per emails.

3. Troubleshoot

Troubleshooting is the process of analyzing and fixing any kind of problem in a system or a machine. Troubleshooting is the detailed yet quick search in the system for the main source of an issue and solving it.

Here's how help desk administrators use troubleshoot:

Configure, troubleshoot and repair desktop computers and associated devices in a networked environment.
Diagnosed and troubleshoot network, desktop/laptop hardware, and commercial software and customized applications.

4. Technical Support

Technical support or tech support are the services provided by any hardware or software company to users. They help in solving the technical difficulties the customers face with their products or services. Moreover, the tech support employees maintain, manage, and repair the IT faults. They are also responsible for resolving the network problems, installing and configuring hardware and software.

Here's how help desk administrators use technical support:

Conducted support staff training and process improvement to facilitate competent and effective utilization of technical support software system.
Provide first-level technical support for IT infrastructure supporting military, civilian and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

5. Phone Calls

Phone calls are a wireless or wired connection made over a telephone or a mobile phone between two people. Two parties are involved in a phone call, the caller and the receiver. A caller dials the number of the one he wants to call, and the recipient hears a bell or a tune to which he picks up the call. The call establishes a connection between them through which they can communicate. The voice is converted into signals and is transmitted through wired or wireless technology.

Here's how help desk administrators use phone calls:

Answered telephone calls and responded to inquiries from end users regarding hardware, software, and network-related issues.
Managed all IT related dispatch duties consisting of tickets, phone calls and walk-up service.

6. Remote Desktop

Here's how help desk administrators use remote desktop:

Performed diagnostics and troubleshooting remotely on client workstations using Remote Desktop.
Utilized remote desktop configuration tool.

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7. Computer System

Here's how help desk administrators use computer system:

Managed and maintained over 240 computer systems software/hardware uniquely assigned to sections within the unit.
Maintain daily performance of computer systems through constant troubleshooting of workstations, and customer interaction/feedback.

8. Network Printers

Here's how help desk administrators use network printers:

Implement computer workstations, network printers and print servers, hubs, routers, firewalls and cabling.
Use Smart Device Monitor for Admin Pack for network printers to see what there statues are.

9. User Accounts

A user account is a relationship established between a user and a computer, network, or information service that includes a user name, password, and all information related to the user. A user account may or may not allow a user to connect to a network, another computer, or other shared resources.

Here's how help desk administrators use user accounts:

Performed network administration functions, set up network user accounts/permissions, reset passwords and administered group policies via Active directory.
Create customer accounts and permissions through system administration, organizational, and user accounts in the Microsoft Active Directory application.

10. OS

In technical terms, OS stands for "Operating System". It is a software that is used to run programs on the computer. An operating system acts as a link between the user and the hardware components. Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux are examples of an operating system.

Here's how help desk administrators use os:

Provide 24/7 on-call application and OS support for the data center with Windows servers ranging from Windows NT to 2008 server.
Performed multiple system OS upgrades from Windows XP to Windows 7 mitigating multiple security risks due to Windows XP vulnerabilities.

11. Mac

A media access control or simply MAC is a network policy that identifies or determines how the data is being transferred in two particular servers through a network cable. The purpose of a MAC protocol is to prevent network or technical issues and simplify transferring the information or data.

Here's how help desk administrators use mac:

Coordinate timely repair of PC and Mac computer equipment covered by third-party vendor maintenance agreements.
Perform desktop hardware repair for PC and Mac computer equipment and peripherals that are not covered by third-party vendor maintenance agreements.

12. Email Accounts

Here's how help desk administrators use email accounts:

Administered over 200+ domestic and international user AD accounts and corresponding email accounts utilizing Exchange Management Console (EMC).
Used active directory to create email accounts, Organizational Mailboxes, Security and Distribution groups and create IP Reservations.

13. User Support

Here's how help desk administrators use user support:

Provided end user support remotely and locally.
Provided end user support for DMS/E-mail, file server permissions and recovery, TBMCS user training, and print server requirements.

14. VPN

A Virtual Private Network, VPN encrypts a device's internet access, activity, and identity through a secure server, making data theft and third-party traceability more difficult, and increasing the privacy and security of public and private networks, the internet, and Wi-Fi hotspots. The VPN is designed to protect one's system and network from being compromised.

Here's how help desk administrators use vpn:

Supported all desktop applications provided within multiple organizations (Microsoft Office, Lotus, VPN, NT, etc.)
Configured and deployed DNS, DHCP and VPN services within the organization using both windows 2003 and 2008 windows network.

15. Help Desk

Here's how help desk administrators use help desk:

Transitioned school-wide Help Desk system from emailed-based to various web-based applications, which resulted in quicker resolution and increased end-user satisfaction.
Managed a help desk that provided approximately 2500 associates with administration and information services, corporate policy and procedure information.

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What skills help Help Desk Administrators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on help desk administrator resumes?

Jennifer Richardson Ph.D.

Professor, Purdue University

Always the soft skills - they stand out I think first and foremost regardless of where you are coming from and where you are going to. Without the ability to communicate, collaborate, facilitate, and problem-solve it is tough to succeed in today's environment. Experience is also key no matter the position; without prior experience to demonstrate the skills you are indicating you have trained for it is hard for those doing the hiring to know if you have learned the skills or if you have learned and experienced (or applied) those skills. Students should seek out opportunities to apply their skills while still working through their program. I believe going forward with K-12 educators we will see that those that have training or professional development with teaching at a distance will go a long way. Before COVID-19 hit we were already planning a new offering for virtual instruction licensure, it is now garnering a lot of attention.

What help desk administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Ranganathan Chandrasekaran

Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University of Illinois

With remote-working and virtual collaborations becoming routine, more firms are increasing their investments in technology. In my opinion, irrespective of the location, many companies will seek to hire technology professionals.

What type of skills will young help desk administrators need?

Joshua Davis Ph.D.

Lecturer, Carleton College

Studying mathematics is good practice for rigorous thinking and problem solving, which are valued across the workforce. For science and engineering applications, it is often also helpful to have R, Python, Matlab, or another popular programming language. But technical abilities get the graduate-only so far. They need interpersonal communication skills so that they can understand the needs of stakeholders and cooperate with colleagues. For this reason, many faculty at my school emphasize writing, speaking, listening, and teamwork skills.

What technical skills for a help desk administrator stand out to employers?

Chirag Parikh Ph.D.

Computer Engineering Chair, Grand Valley State University

If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.

What soft skills should all help desk administrators possess?

Anthony Baron

Teaching Assistant, Associate Software Engineer, American University

The main soft skills I would say are needed for Computer Science software engineering are patience, perseverance, creativity, respect, teamwork, and openness to learning and teaching. Programming involves a lot of trial and error, researching, and learning better techniques for solving a problem. Due to this, patience and perseverance to reach the final goal in mind are crucial. When it comes to the learning aspect, there are many languages, frameworks, and libraries, and working with them involves a steeper learning curve than others. On top of this, there are often more elegant ways to program a solution, and many new frameworks and libraries are released throughout the industry. This is where patience and perseverance is also a virtue. Lastly, programming and creating a product are often done in teams, where working together and learning from each other is important.

Do you want to know more?

List of help desk administrator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a help desk administrator resume and required skills for a help desk administrator to have include:

Customer Service
Desk Support
Troubleshoot
Technical Support
Phone Calls
Remote Desktop
Computer System
Network Printers
User Accounts
OS
Mac
Email Accounts
User Support
VPN
Help Desk
VoIP
Workstations

Help-Desk Support
Windows Server
Remedy
SCCM
Software Issues
Linux
PCS
DNS
DHCP
VMware
Technical Assistance
SharePoint
Windows XP
Problem Resolution
SQL
Citrix
TCP/IP

Network Connectivity
Lan
Connectivity Issues
Android
Microsoft Exchange
Trouble Tickets
Technical Troubleshooting
Phone System
Group Policies
Technical Problems
DOD
Customer Support
Software Applications
Mobile Device Management
Technical Issues

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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