Technical Support Skills and Opportunities

Technical Support Soft Skills

What are soft skills?

• Positive behaviors and attitudes
• Effectively communicate, collaborate, and manage
• Actively listen to clients
• Work with others to resolve problems
• Diffuse stressful situations

Soft skills

• Customer service mindset
• Communication
• Organization
• Leadership
• Problem-solving
• Flexible and adaptable

  Positive behaviors and attitudes

• Knowledge of technology is one part
• Work with others and manage social situations
• Positive behaviors and attitudes
• Effectively communicate, collaborate, and manage conflict

Set yourself up for success

• Use your soft skills
• Ask questions
• Take good notes
• Stay organized
• Say “I don’t know” and “I’ll find out”

Customer Support mindset

• Empathetic
• Customer-centered
• Patient

Learn to improve

• Document your notes as you work
• Read suggestions and notes from supervisors
• Learn techniques to help you withstand pressure and reduce stress

  Experienced background

• Lack of work experience does not mean that you lack interest in technology
• Use your passion for technology to boost your self-confidence
• Positive behaviors and attitudes
• Be willing to level-up your soft skills

Soft-skills tune-up

• Additional online courses
• Podcasts, audiobooks
• Peers and social groups

Basics of Technical Skills

The job interview

Basic programming and coding

• Machine code and source code
• Compiled programming and interpreted programming languages
• Programming languages like C, Java, HTML, Python, and JavaScript
• Basic-level coding

Computers and operating systems

• Basic knowledge of android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS is necessary.

SQL and NoSQL basics

• Basic knowledge of both
• Differences of SQL and NoSQL
• SQL queries retrieve information
• NoSQL databases are nonrelational databases with unstructured data
• Technical support services for databases
• Database application services, management, security, backups, updates, and optimization

Analyze application logs

• View information about events that have occurred in an application
• Read and analyze application logs
• Track information about the application
• Includes timestamps for tracking issues
• Logs levels of issues with labels

Server knowledge

• Understand servers
• Settings up and configuring servers
• Updating server software
• Monitoring and maintaining servers
• Maximizing uptime
• Managing virtual servers

Support ticket workflow

• Track and manage client questions and issues
• Zendesk, Jira, and LiveAgent
• Similar workflow for most ticketing systems

Using knowledge base

• Knowledge base skills
• A collection of a group’s knowledge
  • Search
  • Read
  • Understand

New hardware and applications

• Trying new hardware and applications
• Interest in emerging technology

Additional technical tools

• VMs
• VPNs
• Network security
• IT infrastructure monitoring software
• Enterprise hardware

Performance Evaluation of Technical Support Professionals

Performance evaluations

What is the purpose of a performance evaluation?

What you should expect?

• Accomplishing responsibilities
  • Possess technical knowledge and skills necessary to perform your job
  • Understand company policies and procedures
  • Complete required records, documents, and tickets
• Decision-making
  • Evaluate issues
  • Work on your own
  • Recognize problems
  • Make decisions
• Productivity
  • Complete tasks in a timely and efficient manner
  • Work according to instructions
  • Ask for help, when needed
• Customer service
  • Strong commitment to customers
  • Work towards a solution
  • Call recordings
  • Customer ratings
  • Time-to-resolve measurements
  • First-contact resolution and contacts per customer
  • Average number of tickets handled
• Work attitude
  • Positive attitude for work and responsibilities
  • Effective working relationships with others
  • Positive attitude toward suggestions
• Communication skills
  • You write clearly, and effectively
  • You understand written and spoken communication
• Goal achievements
  • Your new certifications and skills
  • Achievement of professional goals
  • How you have improved

Benefits to performance evaluations

• Your role performance
• Recognition for your accomplishments
• Share your “good job” moments
• Discuss goals and ways to meet goals
• Provide opportunities for advancement

Career Paths and Progression in Technical Support

Technical Support entry-level roles

• IT support specialist
• IT technician
• Help Desk technician
• Desktop Support Specialist
• Field Service Technician

Skills for entry-level roles

• Access data and share with those who need it
• Actively listen to clients and their description of computer-related issues
• Ask questions to determine the problem
• Guide customers through steps to resolve problems
• Train users on new computers and software
• Note changes, updates, and issues
• Share information with other team members and managers

Experience for entry-level roles

• IT experience or a degree not required
• Customer service experience is beneficial
• Knowledge of technology is a plus
• Increase your chances of getting a better job
• Professional certificates
• A computer science or related degree

Technical support mid-level roles

• Help desk analyst
• Technical support specialist
• Tier II Support

Skills for mid-level roles

• Test and maintain equipment and software
• Try out new systems and programs
• Communicate with clients about technology use
• Train users on how to use new hardware and applications
• Communicate on proper use of technology
• Train new technical support team

Experience for mid-level roles

• Technical support specialist level 2
• 1 to 3 years of experience
• With on-the-job training
• Certifications, Cisco, Microsoft, and CompTIA, like A+, Network+, Security+
• Technical support specialist level 3
  • 3 to 5 years of experience
  • Advanced on-the-job training
  • Certifications similar to level 2

Technical support upper-level roles

• Technical support lead or manager
• IT support team lead
• Field engineer supervisor

Skills for upper-level roles

• Manage systems and capabilities
• Research and explore new systems, software, and processes
• Train users on standard usage practices for hardware and software
• Manage ongoing issues in projects
• Communicate changes in policies to organization management
• Manage and train teams

Experience for upper-level roles

• On-the-job training in leadership
• 5 or more years of experience
• ITIL, SixSigma, and relevant certifications

Technical Support Paths

• Use technical support experience to switch to other IT roles
• Develop cross-skills you can apply to other roles
• Consider tasks and responsibilities you enjoy
• Interview for roles that want to know more about

Cross-skills and up-skill paths

• Use cross-skills you learn on the job to move to better roles
• Level-up skills to promote to more roles

Cross-skill and up-skill roles

• Network Administrator
• Network Security Analyst
• Database Administrator
• Cloud Developer
• QA Engineer
• Software Developer

Industry Certifications for Technical Support

What are industry certifications?

• Certify skills meet industry standards
• Confirm understanding of strategies and concepts
• Validate knowledge about information technology (IT)
• Certify that starting skill requirements are met
• Show specialization in the field

Certifications

• Certifications for starting a career in technical support
  • CompTIA, Microsoft, Apple, ITIL Foundation, and Cisco

CompTIA IT Fundamentals (ITF+)

• For starting in IT
• Demonstrates basic IT knowledge and skills

CompTIA A+ for progressing in technical support

Demonstrates mastery of:

• Hardware
• Software troubleshooting
• Networking
• Operating systems
• Device and network troubleshooting
• Security for devices and networks
• Mobile devices Virtualization and Cloud computing
• Operational procedures

CompTIA Network+

• Networking path
• Demonstrating skills for troubleshooting, configuring, and managing networks

Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals

• Microsoft role-based and specialty-based certifications

Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP)

• For technical support for Mac users
• macOS, troubleshooting, and support

ITIL Foundation certifications

• Start at support center courses
• Develop skills in supporting customers, IT role functions, and troubleshooting methods

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)

• Demonstrate knowledge of networking
• Highlights skills in administering network maintenance, creating secure network access, and improving network connectivity
• Certification are not required
• Begin by studying for certifications
• Some employers offer assistance
• Ask about certification opportunities