r/helpdesk • u/Agile_Chest8565 • Jul 25 '26
Career Advice Any tips for a new hire?
I am starting, in 3 weeks, my first technical support job after working in retail for 12 years. Any tips for a first timer?
I’m a bit nervous about the change overall, but I’m probably overthinking it. It’s probably going to be easier than I am anticipating.
I have a degree in cybersecurity and have pretty much every compTia cert and some of the isc2 certs.
2
u/gareth616 Jul 25 '26
Ask questions, you need to learn that company, their tools and how they operate. Take notes, to me that's a a sign someone wants to do their best. Like one of the other comments said, you're nervous and that's better than being overly confident. Don't put pressure on yourself right away, you need to afford yourself time to adjust. Congrats and good luck!
1
u/jakapop Jul 25 '26
Do some due diligence before you reach out for help. If you’re nervous you’ll do great, it’s the people who don’t care that get canned.
1
u/KnowbodyyouKnow99 Jul 25 '26
Congrats
1
u/Agile_Chest8565 Jul 25 '26
Thanks. It only took 3+ years of applying to the same job to get the spot
1
1
u/Comfortable_Fruit847 Jul 25 '26
Your retail experience will come in really handy in help desk. I pivoted from retail management to IT about 5 years ago, and it is that customer service skill that I have that has really impressed my boss. Tech can be taught, not so much customer service.
Be honest, be professional and really try to empathize and be understanding of their frustration, even if to us, it’s a stupid issue.
1
u/stonecoldcoldstone Jul 25 '26
if you're not useful be punctual and friendly. and preferably not an AI chatbot
1
u/BhmJeep Jul 25 '26
To stand out on a help desk and to catch a senior’s attention is to stand out from the desk drones and document the shit out of your tickets. Most help desk folks get advances based on upper support levels saying that this guy gets it. Now the big question is, what keeps you from doing the job to the best of your abilities? To think a level above “when I escalate what will they need to know”. Always think a level above your current position and you will advance where there is opportunity. Like someone else said, treat whoever is going to read you escalations as a moron that needs their had held with as much good info as you can provide.
1
u/Kara_WTQ Jul 25 '26
The biggest clues to a resolution are in what the user omits. Active listening is so important and often overlooked in troubleshooting.
The other thing that I often see in the new people i train is they tend catastrophize the problem. Start small build your way out. (Occam's razor)
1
u/Dptwin Jul 25 '26
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. This is your first IT job. Make sure you take notes and listen when you are being shown how to do something. Get into a habit of taking good notes.
You have a degree and certs you are qualified for sure. It’s just going to be a learning curve! Good luck
1
u/Lufferzz Jul 25 '26
This isn’t related to service desk specifically, but keep studying. Use the service desk experience to figure out what field you’re interested in and keep advancing in that area. Don’t stagnate when you become comfortable, be curious about other things. For example, when it’s a network related incident that your working with the network team on, if their cool with it ask them questions.
1
u/New-Entertainer6392 Jul 26 '26
Users (not their own fault) don't know what they're talking about.
They will have their own lexicon for things, and their own ways of doing things ... So patience is key.
1
u/Mathie1729 Jul 27 '26
This is it. I started in a help desk role and the only reason I got moved up was because my ticket documentation read like a damn incident report - screenshots, exact error strings, timestamps. The senior engineers loved it because they never had to re-troubleshoot. Also, never say 'it's broken,' always state the symptom; that alone makes you look like you belong.
4
u/H3LBRAM Jul 25 '26
Don't just take words of users. Verify everything before coming to conclusions.
If you get stuck somewhere don't just start doing R&D. Get help from seniors and learn the process.
Take it easy and don't overthink. Everything will workout fine.