5 Skills Every IT Support Specialist Must Have

When we’re recruiting our IT support engineers, we look for that little something extra. Do you have what it takes?

5 Skills Every IT Support Specialist Must Have

We pride ourselves on recruiting the best IT support talent in the business, but what makes for the best?

Yes, IT support engineers need experience in a broad cross-section of IT disciples from hosting and networks to security and performing regular maintenance. Yes, they must be hungry to learn and stay up to date on the latest network systems and security issues.

Our IT support team maintains our client’s networks and provide technical support to make sure their companies run seamlessly 24/7. We maintain and monitor computer systems, configure and install software and hardware, and solve all those daily technical issues that might stop our clients from doing business.

They also need a few special skills that make our team stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Problem-solving skills.

The best IT support personnel need to have deductive reasoning skills worthy of Sherlock Holmes himself. A computer support specialist needs outstanding analytical abilities and to be able to think on their feet. It’s not for the faint-hearted. IT support teams don’t have time to Google the answers and get back to our customers. Our staff need to be able to work their way through a puzzle or issue and think on their feet. That takes a certain type of person and a special kind of mindset.

We’re not joking when we say our IT support technicians are BRILLIANT at escape rooms and are up for the challenge. Organisation, creativity, and theorising – It’s in the job description.

Communication is key.

It’s a myth that IT support people can’t communicate by means other than email.

We want our team to be able to pick up the phone and talk to our customers. Communication is vital in resolving any problem quickly and efficiently. We pride ourselves on our IT customer service skills and our team are trained to listen as well as react.

Often our engineers will have to talk to one of our clients through a problem remotely or ask critical questions to get the cause of a problem. Our team know how to ask our customers the right questions to diagnose their IT problems and take them through those problem-solving steps.

Communication also covers writing and reporting, both key elements as part of the IT support process. We want our engineers to be able to explain difficult concepts in clear and plain English. We appreciate that not everyone is an expert and we need our support crew to be able to communicate effectively with whoever is on the other end of the phone to solve their problem.

Attention to detail.

Coming back to Sherlock Holmes again, we recruit the sort of people who can see beyond what’s immediately apparent. Our support team can focus on an issue but also see the bigger picture. It’s “Elementary.”

Our team members need to be thorough and accurate when doing what they do for our clients. We look for the sort of people who can schedule, who limit their distractions and who work with a plan in mind and on paper. These are people who have excellent time management and organisational skills, and who can think analytically. They need to have a ‘quality mindset’. We want the sort of people who see what others miss.

Flexibility.

IT support is not a nine to five job. Sure, there’s work-life balance, but our IT support engineers need to be on call and ready to get stuck in at a moment’s notice.

If we’re on call, they’re on call. Our clients rely on us to be there when we need them, so we need that same dedication from our support engineers. If you can’t swear off a drink and be ready to drop everything every alternate weekend it’s probably not the career for you.

Self-motivated.

While we often work as part of the overall deeserve team, our staff also have to be capable of working under their own steam and (if necessary) making those important decisions on their own.

We also want the sort of staff who are motivated to achieve the tasks in front of them because they have a passion for what they do through their own enthusiasm and interest, without needing to be pushed by others. Many of our team have hobbies and interests related to our industry, like programming or electronics, that makes them curious, passionate about what we do and motivated to get the job done.

They need to stay abreast of the industry, from the latest patches and fixes to new technology and features.

Do you think you have what it takes to make the deeserve team? We’re always on the look out for the right individuals for our IT support crew. Drop us a line on careers@deeserve.co.uk, and send us your CV if you think you’ve got what it takes.

More services to help

We offer a comprehensive range of IT services to suit all businesses - from "helpdesk"-style IT support to data centre hosting services.

Proactive IT Systems

Established solution partners

  • Microsoft
  • Hp
  • WatchGuard
  • cisco.

Want to work with us?

We are driven by creating experiences that deliver
results for your business and for your customers.
Or just email on hello@deeserve.co.uk