Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a help desk analyst and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A help desk analyst uses remote communication to provide technical and customer support to the end-user or client by analyzing and resolving problems in installation, implementation, maintenance, and documentation of various hardware and software technologies. He/she also provides training to end-users.

Other than providing the remote support, other duties include installing new software and hardware; taking inquiries from customers; opening and closing support tickets; follow-up with clients to ensure the problem has been resolved; diagnose the problem and provide the best solution; identify and arrange tickets based on priority and service ; log all support activity as well as appropriately distribute tickets to other technicians , engineers and the relevant support teams.

Core Skills Required to be a Help Desk Analyst

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A help desk analyst should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Public Speaking:

Public Speaking though closely related to presenting differs in that it is the process of performing a speech before a live audience with the purpose of informing, persuading or entertaining.

A Help Desk Analyst must be equipped with good public speaking skills to be able to address an audience through presentations or talks to drive the point home and create a reputable record.

Personal Growth:

Personal Growth is the improvement of one's awareness, identity, developing talents and potential to facilitate the growth of oneself and the position they handle at the workplace.

A Help Desk Analyst ought to assist his employees in finding themselves by introducing or referring them to methods, programs, tools, techniques and assessment systems that support their development at the individual level in the organization.

Work Attitude:

Work Attitude is one's feelings towards and beliefs about one's job and their behavior that can tell how it feels to be there.

A Help Desk Analyst ought to encourage his workers and provide all the requirements for the workplace to ensure a positive attitude is maintained by the employees that can help them get a promotion, succeed on projects, meet goals and enjoy the job more.

Emotional Intelligence:

Emotional Intelligence is the capability to identify your emotions, understand what they are telling me and realize how the feelings are affecting you and the people around you.

A Help Desk Analyst should be wise to handle different personalities that carry different emotions presented in the workplace while ensuring relationships are managed more efficiently by respecting your perception and the employee's as well.

Attention to Detail:

Attention to Detail is the capacity to achieve a thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing a task.

A Help Desk Analyst needs to have this prime characteristic and utilize it in a high performing organization that allows both the customers and staff to understand the need to be keen to all the details required to avoid massive costs for overlooked details that are common in the workplace.

Consistency and Reliability:

Consistency and Reliability are the ability to be trusted to do what you do best all the time with or without supervision and without failure to produce results.

A Help Desk Analyst is liable to maintain a high level of consistency and reliability by engaging with employees and treating them with respect deserved which produces excellent results in various kinds of reliability coefficients.

Persuading Others:

Persuading others is making sure your best ideas get a fair hearing without manipulating others or using trickery.

A Help Desk Analyst needs to creatively learn how to introduce new ideas that will boost growth for the company without managing the staff or put them under pressure with more work but with manageable goals that the employees will delight working on and grow as they do.

Self-Discipline and Sense of Duty:

Self-Discipline and Sense of Duty is an active effort which helps in developing set ways for your thoughts, actions, and habits empowering your to stick to your decisions.

A Help Desk Analyst needs to learn the secret of fostering the development of self-discipline amongst the employees by clearly defining the expectations, staying in sync with the work related events and propagate result yielding ideas that employees suggest.

Using Common Sense:

Using Common Sense is the ability to see what is missing in a situation or a project and supplying it without necessarily being assigned or asked to do it.

A Help Desk Analyst needs to creatively train his employees always to see the missing element that is typically crucial in any workplace or project and take the opportunity to do business out of it.

Customer Service:

Customer Service is the ability to cater for the needs of the client by providing excellent customer service without compromise.

A Help Desk Analyst must understand that pleasing customers is directly connected to the success of the business, therefore, must create a superior customer experience culture in the company that every employee should follow in ensuring all the customers are treated as they should.

Hard Skills Required to be a Help Desk Analyst

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A help desk analyst should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Help Desk Analyst: Hard skills list

Active Directory
Algebra
Analytical assessment of engineering data
Assembly Language Programming
C++ Language Programming
Calculate Memory and Speed Requirements
Change Control
Cisco Networking
Computer Application Flow Charts
Computer Hardware
Computer Programs and Programming Tools
Computer Networks
Computer Networking Technology
Computer Science Principles
Computer Systems
Computer System Validation
Data Processing Information
Data Processing Systems
Data Security Procedures
Data Storage Technology
Design computer hardware and software interface
Disaster Recovery
Electrical Equipment
Electronic equipment
GAMP
GxP
Hardware
Internet Information Server (IIS)
IT Operations
IT Outsourcing
Java
Knowledge of Mainframe Computers
Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
Linear Algebra
Linux
Network Management/Administration
Network Security
Management Control Systems
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Active Directory
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Office
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft SharePoint
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Word
Operating System
Oracle
Program Mainframe Computer
Prototype Computer Software Systems
Records Management System and Guidelines
Research
Root Cause Analysis and Final Status Reports
Servers
Software
SQL
Statistical Methods
Statistical Modeling
Storage Area Networking (SAN)
Strong Analytical Thinking
Structural Analysis Principles to Computer Systems
Structured Design or Development Methodologies
System Administration
Systems Evaluation
Systems Analysis
System Analysis and Development
Technical
Test and Troubleshoot Problems
Train System Users
Troubleshooting
Troubleshoot Computer Programs and Systems
Virtualization
VMware ESX
WebLogic Development Framework Experience
Windows 2003 Server
Windows NT / 2000 / XP Networking
Windows Operating Systems General Use
Windows Server
Windows Server 2012 R2
Write Instruction Manuals
Write Project or Bid Proposals
.Net

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