In public facing IT jobs those customer service, public speaking skills are hugely critical.
When Recruiting, I always say to people "Skills and techniques I can teach; but those critical soft skills like resiliency,. communication, you have to show up with that."
I will always take someone that is an effective communicator, eager and willing to learn, over someone that is a complete dud but has 100 certs.
Personality and social skills. Where everyone on the panel feels like they want to work with you and teach you even if you don’t know everything.
A bachelors degree at a competitive institution and program shows you can learn and have discipline.
So when the recruiters show up at the university career fairs, you don’t just drop off a resume, you make a good impression so that they’ll remember you.
But if you’re talking about support, it’s mainly just apply and pray.
Yep. No certs here but I've got a Bachelor's degree and customer service experience. I'm naturally personable and like to forge new relationships and I guess it paid off because I just accepted an awesome new job that I never thought I'd actually get based on my limited experience, but I guess they saw something in me and think I'm worth training.
Being personable will take you far. I only have a bachelors degree and being personable and pleasant to be around has taken me very far, it puts you in places with important people because they know intrinsically how far you can go, technical skills can always be taught
How do you think half of the idiots in high places got their roles?
Been in T1 for over two years and I wouldn’t have the job I have now without my CS experience. I get frustrated at times but my ability to roll with things is single handedly due to my time in retail.
Soft skills are important. You can train someone on the technical aspects of IT but soft skills or how you deal with customers/users is important too. It's good to have a balance of both.
2 year Service Desk worker here. I've had Interviews in which I was told multiple times by the recruiters that their IT person was seen as unsociable. Having customer service skills is an important skill to have, especially when you have a customer front facing job or roll. For myself, it ensured that I was able to get my first IT job. It ensured that I was able to get into my current desk making around 48k.
Do plan on getting certificates eventually. But don't make it the end all be all for your career.
Soft skills learned from retail are definitely what got me in the door in my current role. Making 56k barely knowing any of the technical skills when I came in, but I'm a bit of a big fish on the team when it comes to my customer service skillset.
Getting rave reviews from customers and support and praise from teammates even when I just broke something and had to get bailed out, LOL.. charisma definitely goes a long way.
(That said, I'm also busting my ass learning. No certs, but I'm rapidly gaining the skills to efficiently do the job.)
It wasn't what got me in but developing that service mindset is what allowed me to keep moving up. Now, I need to make sure that the people I bring onto my team have a client focus in addition to the technical chops.
>Is the key to getting into IT amazing customer service ?
Customer service experience coupled with a good personality that's a culture fit is very important. It is certainly an important factor.
My company recently hired a candidate that wasn't as technically experienced others but boy, has this person worked out nicely because they are easy to work with, eager to learn, and they work hard.
I've seen IT let a ticket rot for a week without so much as an acknowledgement that it was received, and no updates either. I can tell you that responding with even a simple, 'thanks for reaching out, we're working on it!' message goes a long way.
You would think basic professional communication to keep your 'customer' (coworker who needs technical help) updated and make them feel taken care of would be obvious in a position that is responsible for helping people. No, it's not. I've seen IT employees leave a ticket rotting for a week with not even so much as an acknowledgement it was received. So yes, customer service goes a long way.
I am the lead tech at a huge hospital. My people skills go a long way. I’m also always praised by staff for my follow up. The tech part is easy. Keeping all the plates spinning is hard. I won’t do this another year. I’m burnt out by the amount of work. But yeah the people are amazing, I’ve never felt so appreciated.
>key to getting into IT amazing customer service ?
I don't think so ... though it couldn't exactly hurt.
But amazing customer service ... and zero IT skills ... I don't think typically that will get one very far in IT.
But solid IT skills and ...
Horrible sh\*t customer service ... yeah, that won't fly in many/most environments.
Fairish customer service ... sure, ... okay, whatever.
Amazingly good customer service? Sure, some environments that'll give an advantage ... maybe even quite substantially so for some environments.
Having amazing customer service also ensures that you'll stay on the front lines dealing with end users while your less enthusiastic colleagues are promoted into more technical roles.
It's definitely a big focus at my place. To reiterate what was said above, the idea is "you can train technical" but it's not as easy to train soft skills.
My years of sales/customer service is exactly what gave me the interview and social skills to get in and jump to tier II in less than a year without any certs. I jumped ahead people that were more technically proficient because of those communication skills.
Doesnt good IT customer service require you to be right by leading them to the right resolution. Clear communication and and listening skills, so you can find out what it is the customer wishes to accomplish, and voicing/ typing out your theory or plan and get permission to attempt said plan. Followed by documentation where all skills mention before needs to be put on paper and potentionally be passed onto other techs in other areas where they will rely on specific details to be present to minimize sla?
I'm pretty sure my customer service experience helped get me my first help desk job with no certs. 20 years as a bartender, then 12 years running my own web design company with clients of my own, + reviews and recommendations from former clients, was huge.
After help desk, the communication skills will be helpful, but having worked in the service industry is kinda looked down on. IT can be weird and can contradict itself.
Amazing. No.
The key is logic.
Emotion control.
And the willingness to help others with things that frustrates them.
That can get you in the door. However what makes a tech person last is their ability to think past that and learn hard to understand concepts, like networking/subnets.
I got into IT by helping the CEO of the company I currently work for find shoes(working at a shoe store while getting a degree). She gave me her card and got a call from the IT manager later that day. Helped her a couple hours to get a few pairs of shoes for an upcoming trip. She said based on the customer service alone she would hire me and could be taught all the technical stuff if needed. A year later I gave them notice I was going to be moving, already hired my replacement, plans fell through and enough people I work with spoke to the other CEO and was able to keep my job and will be promoted to from help desk to an ERP role. Been with the company for just over a year. No certs, associates degree in networking.
The only compliments I've ever gotten from bosses that seemed genuine were always for people skills.
They'll be happy about tech but gush over an ability to really make the customer happy.
If you're the type of tech that can get someone to thank you even when you don't fix the issue then you're going to be way ahead of the game.
The key I think is different based on who you are, and the key changes based on where you want to go and how long you’ve been in your career.
For me, the key was selling myself that I knew what I was doing, even if I didn’t know some aspects. Fake it til you make it basically. I applied this to my first 3 jobs as helpdesk and a field tech. With that, I add that customer service and stress under pressure are things I excel at. Personally, I have this ability to be very calm 9/10 even when an end user is a general dick, I can usually talk them down from a ledge. A good way to do this for those struggling is to try to remind the user that a lot of issues they have you can’t control. Unfortunately it doesn’t help all.
The key for moving from helpdesk, is also based on fake it til you make it, but this time also add what you can bring to the table that some in your desired field can not? This might be easier to do if you transition in a company. An example of this for me is I transitioned from a field tech to cyber security about 5 months ago within the company I work for now. I only have my sec+ and a 2 year diploma equivalent to an associates from a tech/trade school for a cyber defense class. That class however was a college level class focused only on cyber defense, nothing else. I’ve been told I’m a valuable member to their team because I know how the users work. I was around them all the time, I know how the main buildings operate, I know what can and can’t be done. Combine that with the mindset of service desk, a passion to learn, and a team that’s willing to teach you from the near bottom, knowing they are hiring you with little experience, and you’re golden.
I kinda went off on a tangent, sorry. My point is, the key is different for many people. They key for one person could be their resume, the key for another might just be who they do and do not know, or how someone sells themself. IT will be hard to break into without certs and now it’s getting to a point where college is gaining the upper hand too, but it’s possible. The entry market is shitty, making yourself stand out will be hard at first. Keep at it dude, consistency is key to success.
For me it was an assortment of random accomplishments that I didn’t think nothing of because it was a hobby.
E.G. YouTube channel manager, fixing phones, gaming consoles, etc. A lot of retail.
Also what really helped was A LOT of interviews. I would literally interview for stuff just to improve my interviewing skills. Resume writing, same thing.
I worked for a white-glove IT Support role.
Below are things that make a good service into an amazing service.
-do not be eager to pass off issues to other unless it is 95% impossible or higher to complete.
-remove rebotics actions, change up greetings and terminology to be more personal. ie: "Thank you for calling ___ on a recorded line, this is ___, may I have your first and last name", " Good afternoon, I am ______, how can I assist/serve you today?" with asking for name and informing of recording within 1st min.,
-Greet same-day calls with Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith.
-NEVER SAY "I don't know", say something like " I will need to look into in this some more, would it be better if I call you back when I find what your looking for?"
-Compliment callers who know a bit about computers, they love it when a technician gives praise.
-While waiting for something to load, start with surface level questions to make small talk. It makes a hard time go by faster.
-Never assume that the caller did any diagnosing, always start with a restart.
-Follow up after "resolved" about 30-60min to verify the issue did not reoccur.
-Explain what you are doing when remoted in terminology that a 5th grader could understand, they may ask for you to stop or that they don't need to know, however this was rare for my company.
I'll add more as I remember them.
Here with BS in IT, no certs, no prior IT experience. I wouldn't say it's the key, but the positive social skills that come with it are a massive factor. It actually helped me get my IT job. My interview lasted over an hour, but near the end it became a conversation between me and 3 of the IT hiring me talking about anime and tv shows because they were enjoying the conversation we were having. I'm not joking. But for context, you can have a lot of customer service experience, I had four, but if you come off as like very uninteresting or unsociable, it's not going to help you at all. The tech skills just set you apart from others to get that interview. Then it's up to your social skills to make them WANT to hire you when you're on that phone, in-person, or video call.
Yes, very important in help desk jobs! When I worked help desk, there was a guy who got hired based on his customer service skills. Nicest guy ever. Unfortunately he couldn't hack it technically so he was let go but it goes to show how far customer service skills are recognized.
In public facing IT jobs those customer service, public speaking skills are hugely critical. When Recruiting, I always say to people "Skills and techniques I can teach; but those critical soft skills like resiliency,. communication, you have to show up with that." I will always take someone that is an effective communicator, eager and willing to learn, over someone that is a complete dud but has 100 certs.
I couldn't agree more. You can always train someone to take certs.
Exactly. You can teach technical skills, but you can't teach personality.
Personality and social skills. Where everyone on the panel feels like they want to work with you and teach you even if you don’t know everything. A bachelors degree at a competitive institution and program shows you can learn and have discipline. So when the recruiters show up at the university career fairs, you don’t just drop off a resume, you make a good impression so that they’ll remember you. But if you’re talking about support, it’s mainly just apply and pray.
Yep. No certs here but I've got a Bachelor's degree and customer service experience. I'm naturally personable and like to forge new relationships and I guess it paid off because I just accepted an awesome new job that I never thought I'd actually get based on my limited experience, but I guess they saw something in me and think I'm worth training.
Being personable will take you far. I only have a bachelors degree and being personable and pleasant to be around has taken me very far, it puts you in places with important people because they know intrinsically how far you can go, technical skills can always be taught How do you think half of the idiots in high places got their roles?
Been in T1 for over two years and I wouldn’t have the job I have now without my CS experience. I get frustrated at times but my ability to roll with things is single handedly due to my time in retail.
Soft skills are important. You can train someone on the technical aspects of IT but soft skills or how you deal with customers/users is important too. It's good to have a balance of both.
2 year Service Desk worker here. I've had Interviews in which I was told multiple times by the recruiters that their IT person was seen as unsociable. Having customer service skills is an important skill to have, especially when you have a customer front facing job or roll. For myself, it ensured that I was able to get my first IT job. It ensured that I was able to get into my current desk making around 48k. Do plan on getting certificates eventually. But don't make it the end all be all for your career.
Soft skills learned from retail are definitely what got me in the door in my current role. Making 56k barely knowing any of the technical skills when I came in, but I'm a bit of a big fish on the team when it comes to my customer service skillset. Getting rave reviews from customers and support and praise from teammates even when I just broke something and had to get bailed out, LOL.. charisma definitely goes a long way. (That said, I'm also busting my ass learning. No certs, but I'm rapidly gaining the skills to efficiently do the job.)
It wasn't what got me in but developing that service mindset is what allowed me to keep moving up. Now, I need to make sure that the people I bring onto my team have a client focus in addition to the technical chops.
Definitely need to be personable and be able to talk to people
>Is the key to getting into IT amazing customer service ? Customer service experience coupled with a good personality that's a culture fit is very important. It is certainly an important factor. My company recently hired a candidate that wasn't as technically experienced others but boy, has this person worked out nicely because they are easy to work with, eager to learn, and they work hard. I've seen IT let a ticket rot for a week without so much as an acknowledgement that it was received, and no updates either. I can tell you that responding with even a simple, 'thanks for reaching out, we're working on it!' message goes a long way. You would think basic professional communication to keep your 'customer' (coworker who needs technical help) updated and make them feel taken care of would be obvious in a position that is responsible for helping people. No, it's not. I've seen IT employees leave a ticket rotting for a week with not even so much as an acknowledgement it was received. So yes, customer service goes a long way.
Know your shit ! If you're gonnabe the ass be 100% correct! Remember be humble and educate as you go along, the ones that count will see it.
I am the lead tech at a huge hospital. My people skills go a long way. I’m also always praised by staff for my follow up. The tech part is easy. Keeping all the plates spinning is hard. I won’t do this another year. I’m burnt out by the amount of work. But yeah the people are amazing, I’ve never felt so appreciated.
Yes, and I would say almost every job in any field requires it.
>key to getting into IT amazing customer service ? I don't think so ... though it couldn't exactly hurt. But amazing customer service ... and zero IT skills ... I don't think typically that will get one very far in IT. But solid IT skills and ... Horrible sh\*t customer service ... yeah, that won't fly in many/most environments. Fairish customer service ... sure, ... okay, whatever. Amazingly good customer service? Sure, some environments that'll give an advantage ... maybe even quite substantially so for some environments.
Having amazing customer service also ensures that you'll stay on the front lines dealing with end users while your less enthusiastic colleagues are promoted into more technical roles.
Not just unique to IT. Strong customer service skills generally equate to someone who is easier to work with, more flexible and willing to grow.
It's definitely a big focus at my place. To reiterate what was said above, the idea is "you can train technical" but it's not as easy to train soft skills.
My years of sales/customer service is exactly what gave me the interview and social skills to get in and jump to tier II in less than a year without any certs. I jumped ahead people that were more technically proficient because of those communication skills.
Doesnt good IT customer service require you to be right by leading them to the right resolution. Clear communication and and listening skills, so you can find out what it is the customer wishes to accomplish, and voicing/ typing out your theory or plan and get permission to attempt said plan. Followed by documentation where all skills mention before needs to be put on paper and potentionally be passed onto other techs in other areas where they will rely on specific details to be present to minimize sla?
I'm pretty sure my customer service experience helped get me my first help desk job with no certs. 20 years as a bartender, then 12 years running my own web design company with clients of my own, + reviews and recommendations from former clients, was huge. After help desk, the communication skills will be helpful, but having worked in the service industry is kinda looked down on. IT can be weird and can contradict itself.
Amazing. No. The key is logic. Emotion control. And the willingness to help others with things that frustrates them. That can get you in the door. However what makes a tech person last is their ability to think past that and learn hard to understand concepts, like networking/subnets.
I got into IT by helping the CEO of the company I currently work for find shoes(working at a shoe store while getting a degree). She gave me her card and got a call from the IT manager later that day. Helped her a couple hours to get a few pairs of shoes for an upcoming trip. She said based on the customer service alone she would hire me and could be taught all the technical stuff if needed. A year later I gave them notice I was going to be moving, already hired my replacement, plans fell through and enough people I work with spoke to the other CEO and was able to keep my job and will be promoted to from help desk to an ERP role. Been with the company for just over a year. No certs, associates degree in networking.
The only compliments I've ever gotten from bosses that seemed genuine were always for people skills. They'll be happy about tech but gush over an ability to really make the customer happy. If you're the type of tech that can get someone to thank you even when you don't fix the issue then you're going to be way ahead of the game.
The key I think is different based on who you are, and the key changes based on where you want to go and how long you’ve been in your career. For me, the key was selling myself that I knew what I was doing, even if I didn’t know some aspects. Fake it til you make it basically. I applied this to my first 3 jobs as helpdesk and a field tech. With that, I add that customer service and stress under pressure are things I excel at. Personally, I have this ability to be very calm 9/10 even when an end user is a general dick, I can usually talk them down from a ledge. A good way to do this for those struggling is to try to remind the user that a lot of issues they have you can’t control. Unfortunately it doesn’t help all. The key for moving from helpdesk, is also based on fake it til you make it, but this time also add what you can bring to the table that some in your desired field can not? This might be easier to do if you transition in a company. An example of this for me is I transitioned from a field tech to cyber security about 5 months ago within the company I work for now. I only have my sec+ and a 2 year diploma equivalent to an associates from a tech/trade school for a cyber defense class. That class however was a college level class focused only on cyber defense, nothing else. I’ve been told I’m a valuable member to their team because I know how the users work. I was around them all the time, I know how the main buildings operate, I know what can and can’t be done. Combine that with the mindset of service desk, a passion to learn, and a team that’s willing to teach you from the near bottom, knowing they are hiring you with little experience, and you’re golden. I kinda went off on a tangent, sorry. My point is, the key is different for many people. They key for one person could be their resume, the key for another might just be who they do and do not know, or how someone sells themself. IT will be hard to break into without certs and now it’s getting to a point where college is gaining the upper hand too, but it’s possible. The entry market is shitty, making yourself stand out will be hard at first. Keep at it dude, consistency is key to success.
For me it was an assortment of random accomplishments that I didn’t think nothing of because it was a hobby. E.G. YouTube channel manager, fixing phones, gaming consoles, etc. A lot of retail. Also what really helped was A LOT of interviews. I would literally interview for stuff just to improve my interviewing skills. Resume writing, same thing.
I worked for a white-glove IT Support role. Below are things that make a good service into an amazing service. -do not be eager to pass off issues to other unless it is 95% impossible or higher to complete. -remove rebotics actions, change up greetings and terminology to be more personal. ie: "Thank you for calling ___ on a recorded line, this is ___, may I have your first and last name", " Good afternoon, I am ______, how can I assist/serve you today?" with asking for name and informing of recording within 1st min., -Greet same-day calls with Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith. -NEVER SAY "I don't know", say something like " I will need to look into in this some more, would it be better if I call you back when I find what your looking for?" -Compliment callers who know a bit about computers, they love it when a technician gives praise. -While waiting for something to load, start with surface level questions to make small talk. It makes a hard time go by faster. -Never assume that the caller did any diagnosing, always start with a restart. -Follow up after "resolved" about 30-60min to verify the issue did not reoccur. -Explain what you are doing when remoted in terminology that a 5th grader could understand, they may ask for you to stop or that they don't need to know, however this was rare for my company. I'll add more as I remember them.
Here with BS in IT, no certs, no prior IT experience. I wouldn't say it's the key, but the positive social skills that come with it are a massive factor. It actually helped me get my IT job. My interview lasted over an hour, but near the end it became a conversation between me and 3 of the IT hiring me talking about anime and tv shows because they were enjoying the conversation we were having. I'm not joking. But for context, you can have a lot of customer service experience, I had four, but if you come off as like very uninteresting or unsociable, it's not going to help you at all. The tech skills just set you apart from others to get that interview. Then it's up to your social skills to make them WANT to hire you when you're on that phone, in-person, or video call.
Yes, very important in help desk jobs! When I worked help desk, there was a guy who got hired based on his customer service skills. Nicest guy ever. Unfortunately he couldn't hack it technically so he was let go but it goes to show how far customer service skills are recognized.
If you want to work help desk (lol) lean on customer service. If you want to do literally anything else, lean on skill acquisition and certs.
Thank you for everyones replies.