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

A support specialist provides customers or end-users with resolutions for their technical problems in the network, software, and hardware issues as well as helping the users in configuring systems, analyzing needs, identifying, and solving usage problems. He/she guides the clients all the way through the solutions and provides clear communications whether written or verbal to the clients.

Duties associated with the position include solving complex technical problems by following set processes and workflows; consulting with customers on matters related to software systems and network administration in support of the company's products; recording, tracking and updating customer requests from the beginning until a resolution is found; coordinates installation or installs hardware and software, trains users and updates knowledge on present hardware and software solutions.

Core Skills Required to be a Support Specialist

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 support specialist 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 Support Specialist 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.

Innovation:

Innovation is the process of translating new invention into a service that creates value or brings better solutions that meet the requirements.

A Support Specialist ought to introduce innovation in their business to help save time and money giving a competitive advantage to grow and adapt the business in today's marketplace as well as creating more efficient processes and ideas with a likelihood for your business to succeed.

Safety at work:

Safety is being protected from hurt or other non-desirable outcomes that may tend to overrule a situation and cause damages of different kinds.

A Support Specialist must learn to keep the organization safe from different risks by developing a high sense of alertness that detects danger from afar and stops it before it causes risk, danger or injury in the organization.

Collaborating with others:

Collaborating is willingly working with one another and cooperating in whatever task one is assigned without behaving poorly or having an attitude change that hurts others.

A Support Specialist is meant to collaborate with all workers and management both male and female without causing frustrations or sidelining any worker or delaying their promotion from any informal conversations where most decisions are often made.

Dependability:

Dependability is the characteristic of being able to be counted on and relied upon by providing services that be trusted within a period.

A Support Specialist needs to be dependable and hire reliable employees who can be counted on as consistent and beneficial to the business, building their niche as an essential element of the larger team without worrying about bringing less than your efforts.

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 Support Specialist 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.

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 Support Specialist 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 Support Specialist 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 Support Specialist 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.

Analytical Skills:

Analytical Skills is the ability to collect and analyze information, solve problems and make decisions according to the policies and regulations of the business.

A Support Specialist should hire employees who use clear, logical steps and excellent judgment to understand an issue from all angles before executing an action depending on the objective and the methodical approaches to benefit a company's productivity.

Hard Skills Required to be a Support Specialist

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 support specialist should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Support Specialist: 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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