Crafting a CV that effectively showcases your problem-solving skills and technical expertise can be a significant challenge for a service desk analyst. Delve into our guide, where you'll discover tailored advice to highlight your competencies and frame your experiences in a way that resonates with hiring managers.
- Answer job requirements with your service desk analyst CV and experience;
- Curate your academic background and certificates, following industry-leading CV examples;
- Select from +10 niche skills to match the ideal candidate profile
- Write a more succinct experience section that consists of all the right details.
Do you need more specific insights into writing your service desk analyst CV? Our guides focus on unique insights for each individual role:
Structuring your service desk analyst CV layout: four factors to keep in mind
There are plenty of best practices out there for your CV layout and design. At the end of the day, a clear format and concise CV message should be your top priority. Use your CV design to enhance separate sections, bringing them to the forefront of recruiters' attention. At the same time, you can write content that:- Follows the reverse chronological order in the experience section by first listing your most recent jobs;
- Incorporates your contact information in the header, but do skip out on the CV photo for roles in the UK;
- Is spotlighted in the most important sections of your CV, e.g. the summary or objective, experience, education, etc. to show just how you meet the job requirements;
- Is no longer than two-pages. Often, the one-page format can be optimal for your service desk analyst CV.
Before submitting your CV, you may wonder whether to export it in Doc or PDF. With the PDF format, your information and layout stay intact. This is quite useful when your CV is assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS) . The ATS is a software that scans your profile for all relevant information and can easily understand latest study on the ATS , which looks at your CV columns, design, and so much more.
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Use bold or italics sparingly to draw attention to key points, such as job titles, company names, or significant achievements. Overusing these formatting options can dilute their impact.
The top sections on a service desk analyst CV
Professional Summary to showcase service desk achievements: This provides a snapshot of the candidate's key accomplishments and sets the tone for the CV, highlighting their expertise and value they can bring to the service desk analyst role.
Technical Skills for effective problem-solving: Detailing proficiency in software, hardware, and systems relevant to service desk operations shows a candidate's capability to handle technical queries.
Work Experience with IT service desk roles: Listing past positions with specific responsibilities and achievements demonstrates the candidate's progression and expertise in service desk environments.
Education and Certifications for credibility: Displaying educational background and certifications, especially ITIL or other service desk-related qualifications, establishes the candidate's formal knowledge and commitment to professional development.
Customer Service Excellence in previous roles: This section illustrates the candidate's ability to provide high-quality support and their dedication to customer satisfaction, which is crucial for a service desk analyst.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your technical expertise by detailing your familiarity with service desk software, such as ticketing systems or live chat platforms, and your proficiency in troubleshooting common IT issues.
- Emphasise your communication skills by showcasing examples of how you've successfully managed customer queries and resolved conflicts, reflecting your ability to maintain customer satisfaction.
- Demonstrate your ability to follow processes by mentioning certifications such as ITIL or experience with service level agreements, indicating your understanding of industry best practices.
- Include any relevant experience with customer service metrics, such as First Call Resolution or Average Handling Time, to show your commitment to efficiency and continuous service improvement.
- Outline examples of your problem-solving skills by sharing specific incidents where you've effectively identified, diagnosed, and resolved complex technical problems under pressure.
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Tips and tricks on writing a job-winning service desk analyst CV header
The CV header is the space which most recruiters would be referring most often to, in the beginning and end of your application. That is as the CV header includes your contact details, but also a headline and a professional photo. When writing your CV header:
- Double-check your contact details for spelling errors or if you've missed any digits. Also, ensure you've provided your personal details, and not your current work email or telephone number;
- Include your location in the form of the city and country you live in. If you want to be more detailed, you can list your full address to show proximity to your potential work place;
- Don't include your CV photo, if you're applying for roles in the UK or US, as this may bias initial recruiters' assessments;
- Write a professional headline that either integrates the job title, some relevant industry keywords, or your most noteworthy achievement.
In the next part of our guide, we'll provide you with professional CVs that showcase some of the best practices when it comes to writing your headline.
Examples of good CV headlines for service desk analyst:
- Senior Service Desk Analyst | ITIL Certified | Problem Resolution Expert | 10+ Years in Technical Support
- IT Support Specialist | Microsoft Certified | Desktop & Network Troubleshooting | 5 Years' Experience
- Customer-Focused Service Desk Analyst | Incident Management Professional | CompTIA A+ | 3-Year Track Record
- Junior IT Helpdesk Analyst | Keen Interest in Cybersecurity | Emerging Technologies Enthusiast | Under 2 Years' Experience
- Experienced Technical Support Engineer | Project Management | Service Improvement Initiatives | 8 Years in IT Infrastructure
- Lead Service Desk Analyst | Industry Expert in User Support | SLA Management | 12+ Years' Experience
Catching recruiters' attention with your service desk analyst CV summary or objective
Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:
- Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
- Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.
Judging which one you need to add to your service desk analyst CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:
CV summaries for a service desk analyst job:
- Seasoned Service Desk Analyst with over 8 years of experience in providing exemplary customer service and IT support within high-paced financial firms. Expert in troubleshooting software/hardware issues, managing ticketing systems, and improving response times. Proudly achieved a 98% customer satisfaction rate over the past two years.
- Diligent IT professional with 5 years of experience, pivoting into a Service Desk Analyst role, armed with a potent blend of network administration skills and a solid understanding of cloud services. Adept at technical problem-solving and eager to apply cybersecurity expertise to enhance system reliability and user support.
- Dynamic educator seeking to leverage 10 years of complex problem-solving and relationship-building skills as a Service Desk Analyst. Adept at translating technical information to non-technical users, aiming to facilitate seamless IT operations and proactive user support while expanding knowledge in cutting-edge tech solutions.
- Acclaimed customer support specialist transitioning into IT services, bringing forward 6 years of valuable experience in high-volume support environments. Possesses keen analytical skills to diagnose issues promptly and a history of advancing to team-leading roles due to exceptional service delivery and client engagement.
- As a recent graduate with extensive volunteer experience in IT support, my objective is to apply my passion for technology and strong communication skills to provide top-tier assistance. Eager to develop professionally in a dedicated analyst capacity by contributing to efficient problem resolution and high customer satisfaction.
- With a foundation in freelance IT support and a recently completed certification in network administration, my goal is to contribute as a Service Desk Analyst. Enthusiastic about joining a team where I can utilize my problem-solving abilities and commitment to delivering user-centric solutions to enhance organizational efficiency.
More detailed look into your work history: best advice on writing your service desk analyst CV experience section
The CV experience is a space not just to merely list your past roles and responsibilities. It is the CV real estate within which you could detail your greatest accomplishments and skills, while matching the job requirements. Here's what to have in your experience section:
- Prove you have what the job wants with your unique skill set and past successes;
- Start each bullet with a strong, action verb, and continue with the outcome of your responsibility;
- Use any awards, nominations, and recognitions you've received as solid proof of your skill set and expertise;
- align your experience with the role responsibilities and duties.
For more help on how to write your CV experience section, check out the next section of our guide:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Managed a high-volume service desk, successfully resolving an average of 30 tickets per day, ensuring client satisfaction and adherence to SLA targets.
- Developed comprehensive troubleshooting guides for common issues, reducing average call handling time by 15% and improving first-call resolution rates.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to integrate service desk support for new software rollouts, leading to a smoother transition and fewer user disruptions.
- Customised and managed ITSM tools, such as ServiceNow, to streamline ticketing processes and provide efficient and trackable support to end-users.
- Provided training sessions for junior service desk analysts, resulting in a 20% increase in team efficiency and a significant reduction in escalations.
- Adopted a proactive approach to system monitoring, identifying and resolving potential issues before they affected users, maintaining a 99% system uptime.
- Mastered remote support techniques, efficiently resolving issues for a geographically dispersed workforce and enhancing the telecommuting experience.
- Authored monthly service desk performance reports, offering insights into patterns and areas for improvement, directly contributing to strategic planning.
- Championed the adoption of a knowledge-centered support (KCS) strategy, leading to improved knowledge sharing among the team and a 30% decrease in repeat incidents.
- Served as a primary point of contact for IT support within a busy financial services firm, handling an average of 50 queries per day across various software platforms.
- Instrumental in the roll-out of a new enterprise resource planning system, leading to a 20% increase in process efficiency across all departments.
- Developed and maintained a comprehensive knowledge base, reducing repeat inquiries by 35% and improving resolution times for the service desk team.
- Pioneered the implementation of an AI chatbot, which deflected 25% of tier-one support tickets, allowing human analysts to focus on more complex issues.
- Facilitated in-depth training sessions for new service desk staff, improving the average problem-solving accuracy rate from 70% to 90%.
- Orchestrated a successful migration of the service desk ticketing system to a cloud-based solution, enhancing mobile access for the support team and reducing system downtime by 40%.
- Administered daily system checks and IT support tasks for a large telecom company, guaranteeing a 99.9% system uptime and prompt issue resolution.
- Designed custom scripts to automate repetitive service desk tasks, slashing manual workload by 30% and freeing up staff for strategic IT projects.
- Played a pivotal role in a company-wide cybersecurity awareness campaign that led to a 60% reduction in employee-related security breaches.
- Managed service desk operations for a popular e-commerce platform, ensuring support for over 200 software applications and a 24/7 uptime requirement.
- Championed a service desk initiative that focused on enhancing customer satisfaction, which saw a steady improvement from 75% to 93% over a two-year period.
- Led a cross-functional project team in the integration of a new CRM system, which streamlined customer interaction workflows and data management.
- Provided essential first-line support for over 500 end-users at a leading marketing firm, including the management of access permissions and software licensing.
- Collaborated with the IT infrastructure team on a network overhaul project that improved network performance and scalability in preparation for company expansion.
- Delivered monthly service desk performance reports to senior management, highlighting ongoing issues and providing actionable recommendations for improvements.
- Resolved technical issues for a diverse clientele in a dynamic start-up environment, achieving an average first-call resolution rate of 85%.
- Initiated a partnership with software vendors to provide timely patches and updates, minimizing potential security vulnerabilities across the company's IT landscape.
- Participated in a collaborative effort to standardize the company’s IT support procedures, contributing to a 20% increase in service desk efficiency.
- Addressed and resolved an average of 70 technical queries per day in a fast-paced retail environment, maintaining high levels of customer service and support.
- Coordinated with external vendors to ensure timely hardware replacements under warranty, reducing equipment downtime by 50%.
- Implemented a peer review process within the service desk team, which led to a continuous improvement culture and a 15% decrease in escalated tickets.
- Acted as the first point of escalation for complex service desk tickets at a multinational pharmaceutical company, successfully resolving issues affecting critical business processes.
- Spearheaded the transition to a new IT ticketing system, which improved ticket tracking accuracy and reduced average resolution time by 30%.
- Engaged regularly with the user community through surveys and feedback sessions, using the insights gained to inform continuous service improvement strategies.
Lacking professional expertise: how to write your CV to highlight your best talents
Don't count on your lucky stars when you're applying for a role, where you happen to have less (or almost none) professional experience. Recruiters sometimes do hire inexperienced candidates if they're able to present their unique value from the get-go. So, instead of opting for the traditional, CV experience section:
- List any applicable expertise you happen to have - no matter if it's a part-time job, internship, or volunteer work. This would hint to recruiters that your profile is relevant;
- Focus your CV on your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your whole life and work experience. In effect, you'll be spotlighting your value as a candidate;
- Separate more space for your applicable academic background and certificates to show you have the technical know-how;
- Ensure that within your objective, you've defined why you'll like the job and how you'll be the perfect match for it. Always ensure you've tailored your CV to individual applications.
Looking for more good examples for your first job? We'll show you how other candidates, with less professional experience, have created their job-winning CVs.
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If applicable, briefly mention a situation where things didn’t go as planned and what you learned from it, demonstrating your ability to learn and adapt.
The CV skills' divide: between hard and soft skills
Of course, you may have read the job requirements plenty of times now, but it's key to note that there is a difference between technical and personal skills. Both are equally relevant to your job application. When writing about your skill set, ensure you've copy-pasted the precise skill from the job requirement. This would not only help you ensure you have the correct spelling, but also pass any Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessments.
- Hard skills show your technological capabilities. Or whether you'll be a good technical fit to the organisation. Ensure you've spotlighted your hard skills in various sections of your CV (e.g. skills section, projects, experience) by including the technology and what you've attained;
- Soft skills pinpoint your personality and people or communication skills, hinting at if you'll easily accomodate into the team or organisation. Quantify your soft skills in your CV achievements, strengths, summary/objective, and experience sections. Always support your soft skills with how they've helped you grow as a professional.
Top skills for your service desk analyst CV:
IT Support & Troubleshooting
ITSM Tools Proficiency (e.g., ServiceNow, JIRA)
Knowledge of Networking Principles
Understanding of Operating Systems (e.g., Windows, macOS, Linux)
Active Directory Administration
Ticket Management Systems
Knowledge of Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Remote Desktop Support
Microsoft Office Suite Proficiency
Basic Scripting & Automation (e.g., PowerShell, Bash)
Problem-Solving Ability
Strong Communication Skills
Customer Service Orientation
Patience
Active Listening
Adaptability
Teamwork
Attention to Detail
Time Management
Empathy
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Focus on describing skills in the context of the outcomes they’ve helped you achieve, linking them directly to tangible results or successes in your career.
Your university degree and certificates: an integral part of your service desk analyst CV
Let's take you back to your uni days and decide what information will be relevant for your service desk analyst CV. Once more, when discussing your higher education, select only information that is pertinent to the job (e.g. degrees and projects in the same industry, etc.). Ultimately, you should:
- List only your higher education degrees, alongside start and graduation dates, and the university name;
- Include that you obtained a first degree for diplomas that are relevant to the role, and you believe will impress recruiters;
- Showcase relevant coursework, projects, or publications, if you happen to have less experience or will need to fill in gaps in your professional history.
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If there's a noticeable gap in your skillset for the role you're applying for, mention any steps you're taking to acquire these skills, such as online courses or self-study.
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Key takeaways
Your successful job application depends on how you well you have aligned your service desk analyst CV to the job description and portrayed your best skills and traits. Make sure to:
- Select your CV format, so that it ensures your experience is easy to read and understand;
- Include your professional contact details and a link to your portfolio, so that recruiters can easily get in touch with you and preview your work;
- Write a CV summary if you happen to have more relevant professional experience. Meanwhile, use the objective to showcase your career dreams and ambitions;
- In your CV experience section bullets, back up your individual skills and responsibilities with tangible achievements;
- Have a healthy balance between hard and soft skills to answer the job requirements and hint at your unique professional value.
