Top 12 Support Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today's fast-paced and technology-driven job market, a sharp, resilient mix of skills separates a reliable support technician from the rest. The right stack doesn’t just polish your resume. It speeds up fixes, calms outages, and nudges your next opportunity closer.

Support Technician Skills

1. Troubleshooting
2. Networking
3. Windows 10/11
4. Linux
5. Active Directory
6. Microsoft 365
7. PowerShell
8. VMware
9. Cisco
10. ITIL
11. SQL
12. Python

1. Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is the craft of diagnosing and resolving problems across hardware, software, and systems to restore stable, expected operation.

Why It's Important

It’s the heartbeat of support. A structured troubleshooting approach slashes downtime, guides clear communication with users, and keeps systems humming when they’d rather hiccup.

How to Improve Troubleshooting Skills

Make it methodical. Make it repeatable. Then make it faster.

1. Use a framework: Identify symptoms, define the scope, form a hypothesis, isolate, test, fix, verify, document.
2. Go layer by layer: Start with basics—power, cables, connectivity—then progress to OS, application, and account layers.
3. Lean on built-in tools: Event Viewer, Reliability Monitor, Resource Monitor, Task Manager, Device Manager, Safe Mode, Clean Boot.
4. Reproduce consistently: Capture exact steps, error codes, timestamps, and recent changes. Small details crack big problems.
5. Separate variables: Swap known-good components, test on another account or device, disable add-ons or policies to isolate culprits.
6. Use system integrity checks: SFC and DISM on Windows; logs and journal tools on Linux; vendor diagnostics for hardware.
7. Write runbooks: Document fixes, common branches, and rollback steps. Future you will thank present you.
8. Communicate clearly: Confirm understanding, set expectations, summarize findings. Calm beats chaos.

How to Display Troubleshooting Skills on Your Resume

2. Networking

Networking for a Support Technician means wiring together systems, services, and devices so data moves reliably and securely across an organization.

Why It's Important

No network, no work. Connectivity, performance, security, and access control all hinge on solid networking foundations—vital for diagnosing outages, slowdowns, and odd edge cases.

How to Improve Networking Skills

1. Master the fundamentals: OSI model, TCP/UDP, IP addressing, subnetting, VLANs, routing basics, DNS, DHCP.
2. Lab relentlessly: Configure switches and routers, practice ACLs and NAT, build small topologies. Use emulators or spare gear.
3. Get comfortable with wireless: SSIDs, bands and channels, roaming, WPA3, guest isolation, site surveys.
4. Monitor and measure: Ping, tracert/pathping, iperf, netstat, Wireshark. Evidence beats guesswork.
5. Harden the edges: Access control lists, port security, VPN foundations, segmentation, least privilege.
6. Diagram and document: Keep accurate maps of IP ranges, VLANs, routes, and dependencies. Diagrams save hours.
7. Know the tools: From switch logs to SNMP and syslog, pick signals out of the noise quickly.

How to Display Networking Skills on Your Resume

3. Windows 10/11

Windows 10 and Windows 11 are Microsoft’s client operating systems for desktops, laptops, and tablets, known for broad hardware support, centralized management options, and a deep administrative toolkit.

Why It's Important

Most organizations run Windows clients. Supporting installs, drivers, policies, updates, and security features across versions is daily bread for a technician.

How to Improve Windows 10/11 Skills

1. Stay current: Use Windows Update and maintenance windows to keep devices patched and secure.
2. Control startup impact: Manage startup apps in Task Manager; trim what slows boot and login.
3. Tidy storage: Use Storage Sense, Disk Cleanup, and Optimize Drives (TRIM SSDs; defrag only HDDs).
4. Tune performance: Adjust visual effects for best performance; check background apps and power plans.
5. Scan and protect: Use Windows Security for malware scans, ransomware protection, and firewall checks.
6. Fix system corruption: Run SFC and DISM when updates or apps misbehave.
7. Keep drivers healthy: Prefer OEM-provided drivers when troubleshooting device quirks.
8. Prepare for rollback: Create restore points, enable File History or backups, and document recovery options.

How to Display Windows 10 Skills on Your Resume

4. Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system kernel powering servers, desktops, and appliances. It’s prized for stability, security, and flexibility.

Why It's Important

Plenty of back-end services run on Linux. Supporting users, services, and networks means touching shells, logs, and config files—often over SSH.

How to Improve Linux Skills

1. Live in the shell: Master Bash, pipes, redirection, permissions, and file system navigation.
2. Admin essentials: Package managers, service control (systemd), users/groups, sudo, cron and timers.
3. Logs and diagnosis: journalctl, syslog, dmesg, top/htop, iostat, vmstat, ss.
4. Networking: ip/nmcli, resolvers, firewalld/iptables, OpenSSH basics.
5. Storage: Partitions, LVM, file systems, mounts, quotas, and backups.
6. Scripting: Automate with Bash or Python; write idempotent, well-documented scripts.
7. Security: SSH hardening, SELinux/AppArmor basics, patch cadence, least privilege.
8. Containers and virtualization: Docker/Podman fundamentals; spins up labs to practice.
9. Validate skills: Consider Linux+ or LPIC if certifications matter to your path.

How to Display Linux Skills on Your Resume

5. Active Directory

Active Directory (AD) is Microsoft’s directory service for Windows domains, storing users, computers, groups, and policies to enable authentication and authorization. Many environments run hybrid identity with Microsoft Entra ID in the cloud.

Why It's Important

Identity is the gatekeeper. Smooth onboarding, secure access, clean policies, and swift password or access fixes all flow through AD.

How to Improve Active Directory Skills

1. Harden identity: Enforce strong password policies, enable MFA for remote and privileged access, disable stale accounts.
2. Patch and protect DCs: Keep domain controllers current, minimize installed roles, and restrict interactive logons.
3. Monitor and audit: Enable advanced audit policies, track key security events, integrate logs with a SIEM if available.
4. Back up and test: Perform regular system state backups; validate restores. Enable AD Recycle Bin for object recovery.
5. Least privilege: Use separate admin accounts, tiered administration, and Just Enough Administration where possible.
6. GPO hygiene: Central Store, change control, minimal WMI filtering, and careful link ordering to avoid policy sprawl.
7. Health checks: Run dcdiag and repadmin to verify replication; document FSMO roles and site topology.
8. Secure protocols: Prefer LDAPS, disable SMBv1, restrict legacy NTLM as feasible.

How to Display Active Directory Skills on Your Resume

6. Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a cloud subscription suite with apps like Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, plus admin and security controls.

Why It's Important

It’s where users live—email, files, chat, meetings, and collaboration. Supporting M365 means solving the problems people feel first.

How to Improve Microsoft 365 Skills

1. Track changes: Watch the roadmap and Message center; know what’s rolling out and when.
2. Automate: Use PowerShell modules (Exchange Online, Entra ID, Teams, SharePoint) to script repetitive admin tasks.
3. Troubleshoot smarter: Use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant and service health dashboards to triage.
4. Secure the tenant: Enforce MFA and Conditional Access, review Secure Score, enable mailbox auditing, and set sensible DLP/retention policies.
5. Navigate admin centers: Microsoft 365 admin, Exchange admin, SharePoint admin, Teams admin, Entra admin—know where settings live.
6. License literacy: Understand plan differences so you assign the right features and set expectations.
7. Document procedures: Onboarding, mailbox migrations, Teams lifecycle, OneDrive restores—step-by-step and repeatable.

How to Display Office 365 Skills on Your Resume

7. PowerShell

PowerShell is Microsoft’s automation and configuration framework: a shell, a scripting language, and a rich ecosystem of modules for managing systems at scale.

Why It's Important

It turns manual drudgery into scripts you can trust. Faster, repeatable, less error-prone—exactly what support teams need.

How to Improve PowerShell Skills

1. Think in objects: Get comfortable with cmdlets, the pipeline, Get-Help, Get-Command, and Get-Member.
2. Write scripts: Functions, parameters, loops, error handling (try/catch/finally), and logging that tells the story.
3. Module mindset: Reuse code via modules; version them and document clearly.
4. Remoting and scope: PowerShell Remoting, JEA, and execution policy basics for controlled administration.
5. Style and quality: Use PSScriptAnalyzer, verbose output, and transcripts. Readability wins.
6. Source control: Keep scripts in Git, review diffs, and tag releases of stable tools.
7. Explore the gallery: Learn what community and Microsoft modules can already do for you.

How to Display PowerShell Skills on Your Resume

8. VMware

VMware provides virtualization software that lets multiple virtual machines run on a single physical host. Support work spans setup, patching, optimization, and recovery.

Why It's Important

Virtualization is the backbone of many environments. Fast provisioning, efficient resource use, and cleaner recovery depend on it.

How to Improve VMware Skills

1. Know the stack: ESXi, vCenter, VM hardware versions, VMware Tools—how they interlock.
2. Use snapshots wisely: Short-term only; backups for the real safety net. Test restores.
3. Tune performance: Understand CPU/memory reservations, shares, limits; storage provisioning (thin vs thick); monitor contention.
4. Network fluency: Standard and distributed switches, port groups, VLANs, NIC teaming.
5. Keep hosts healthy: Patch regularly, manage certificates, and use DRS/HA and vMotion smartly.
6. Read the signals: Host and VM logs, performance charts, and alerts that actually matter.
7. Document changes: Resource pools, datastores, and cluster policies—note the who/what/why.

How to Display VMware Skills on Your Resume

9. Cisco

Cisco builds networking and security gear—routers, switches, wireless controllers, firewalls—and the software to manage them.

Why It's Important

It’s everywhere. Knowing Cisco conventions, commands, and design patterns helps you deploy fixes quickly and safely.

How to Improve Cisco Skills

1. Lab the basics: IOS interface configuration, VLANs, trunks, EtherChannel, static routes, OSPF/EIGRP fundamentals.
2. Secure the edge: ACLs, NAT, DHCP snooping, port security, and 802.1X concepts.
3. Wireless know-how: Controllers vs autonomous, SSID design, client onboarding, and RF hygiene.
4. Work the toolbox: show and debug commands (carefully), logs, config backups, and firmware planning.
5. Build repeatability: Standardized templates, golden configs, and change control.
6. Validate skills: CCNA is a solid baseline; deepen as your role demands.

How to Display Cisco Skills on Your Resume

10. ITIL

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a set of practices for IT service management. ITIL 4 focuses on value, collaboration, and continual improvement.

Why It's Important

Structure beats chaos. Clear processes for incidents, requests, changes, and knowledge speed up support and lift customer satisfaction.

How to Improve ITIL Skills

1. Nail the core practices: Incident, Problem, Change Enablement, Request Fulfillment, Knowledge Management, Service Level Management.
2. Standardize intake: Ticket templates, priority matrices, clear SLAs/OLAs, and escalation paths.
3. Major incident muscle: Roles, bridges, comms plans, and tight post-incident reviews with action items.
4. Measure what matters: MTTR, first contact resolution, backlog health, reopen rate, CSAT—act on the data.
5. Build a knowledge base: Searchable, current, and written for humans; retire stale articles.
6. Automate workflows: Use your ITSM tool to route, categorize, and notify without manual steps.
7. Continual improvement: Small, steady changes beat sporadic overhauls. Track wins.

How to Display ITIL Skills on Your Resume

11. SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for querying and manipulating relational databases.

Why It's Important

Data drives decisions. SQL helps you pull diagnostics, build reports, and troubleshoot the applications your users rely on.

How to Improve SQL Skills

1. Get fluent in CRUD: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE with proper WHERE clauses.
2. Join the dots: INNER/LEFT/RIGHT joins, subqueries, GROUP BY with HAVING, and window functions.
3. Design awareness: Normal forms, keys, indexes, and schema basics so queries fit the model.
4. Read execution plans: Spot missing indexes, scan vs seek, and expensive operators.
5. Optimize thoughtfully: Avoid SELECT *, filter early, index selectively, and batch operations.
6. Protect data: Least privilege, parameterized queries, and careful handling of PII.
7. Backups and recovery: Practice restores, understand transactions and isolation levels.

How to Display SQL Skills on Your Resume

12. Python

Python is a high-level programming language known for readability and a rich library ecosystem—ideal for automation, integration, and quick tools.

Why It's Important

Automate the boring stuff. Parse logs, call APIs, massage CSVs, and stitch systems together with simple scripts.

How to Improve Python Skills

1. Build the basics: Data types, control flow, functions, modules, and virtual environments.
2. Automate real tasks: File operations, CSV/JSON handling, REST calls with requests, subprocess for system tasks.
3. Work with data: Use pandas or openpyxl to clean, transform, and report.
4. Windows and networks: pywin32 for Windows tasks, paramiko for SSH, and simple sockets where needed.
5. Make CLIs: argparse or click for tidy command-line tools with help and flags.
6. Quality matters: Logging, exceptions, pytest, and type hints to stabilize scripts over time.
7. Ship it: Package small tools, version in Git, and document usage with examples.

How to Display Python Skills on Your Resume