IT Support Specialist resume skills. The words recruiters search for.
The 19 skills, tools and credentials that come up in IT support specialist job posts, sorted by type, and how to put them in bullets a recruiter believes.
By Nazir Elmurodov, Founder, LaunchCV · Updated
/ The list
Keywords by type. Use only the ones that are true for you.
Hard skills · 9
- Technical support (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Troubleshooting (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Windows (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- macOS (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Ticketing systems (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Networking (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- TCP/IP (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- VPN (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Device imaging (used in Tyler's sample resume)
Tools & software · 6
- Microsoft 365 (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Active Directory (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Microsoft Entra ID (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- Microsoft Intune (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- ServiceNow (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- PowerShell (used in Tyler's sample resume)
Licenses & certifications · 3
- CompTIA A+ (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- CompTIA Network+ (used in Tyler's sample resume)
- ITIL (used in Tyler's sample resume)
Soft skills · 1
- Customer service (used in Tyler's sample resume)
19 of 19 appear in Tyler's sample resume. See where
/ How to use them
Put keywords in bullets, not just in a skills list.
A skills list tells the software you have a skill. A bullet shows a recruiter what you did with it.
Windows, macOS, Microsoft 365
Weak: Skills: Windows, macOS, Microsoft 365
Strong: Support 450 employees across 3 offices on Windows 11, macOS and Microsoft 365, resolving 92% of Tier 2 tickets without escalation
Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, PowerShell
Weak: Skills: Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, PowerShell
Strong: Manage users, groups and licenses in Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID; automated new-hire account setup with PowerShell, cutting prep from 2 hours to 20 minutes
Microsoft Intune
Weak: Skills: Microsoft Intune
Strong: Enroll and patch 500+ laptops and phones in Microsoft Intune, raising patch compliance from 78% to 97%
Troubleshooting, TCP/IP, VPN
Weak: Skills: Troubleshooting, TCP/IP, VPN
Strong: Replaced switches and Wi-Fi access points in 2 branch offices over weekends, troubleshooting VPN and TCP/IP issues with no lost workdays
Strong bullets come from Tyler's sample resume and our IT support specialist bullet examples. Names and figures are illustrative.
/ Use them honestly
Keywords get you found. Proof gets you hired.
Mirror the job post's wording for skills you really have. If an IT support specialist post asks for Technical support and you've used it, say Technical support, in the post's spelling, and show where.
Mirror the job post's wording
If an IT support specialist post says "Troubleshooting", write "Troubleshooting", not a near-synonym — as long as it's accurate. Recruiters search for the post's exact term.
Only claim what you can back up
Expect to be asked about every term you list. If you couldn't spend two minutes on Technical support — what you did and what changed — leave it out.
Show it in a bullet
A skills list says you know macOS. A bullet like the one under IT Support Specialist in the example above shows what you did with it.
No stuffing, no hidden text
Repeating a word or hiding keywords in white text doesn't make you a better match. A person reads the resume in the end.
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/ Questions
IT Support Specialist keywords, answered.
Something else? support@launch-cv.com
How many keywords should an IT support specialist resume have?
There's no magic number. Tyler's sample resume uses all 19 terms on this page, because each one fit that job. Cover what your post asks for that you can back up, each where it fits; repeating a keyword doesn't help.
Should I copy keywords exactly from the job post?
Use the post's wording for skills you really have. If an IT support specialist post says "Technical support", write "Technical support" rather than a synonym, so a recruiter searching for that term finds you. Don't add skills you don't have just because the post lists them.
Where should keywords go on my resume?
In your summary, a short skills section and, above all, the bullets under each job, where you show what you did with the skill. In Tyler's sample, Technical support, Troubleshooting and Windows are in the summary and macOS shows up in a bullet under IT Support Specialist. Plain text in the body of the page is easiest for applicant tracking systems to read.
Which tools should I list on an IT support specialist resume?
The ones you've used and the post mentions. Common ones in IT support specialist posts include Microsoft 365, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Intune and ServiceNow. Name the tool in the bullet where you used it, not only in the skills list.
How should I list CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ on my resume?
Spell them the way the job post does, and include both the abbreviation and the full name if you have room. Put licenses and certifications in their own section or next to your education, and only list ones that are current.
Keywords for related roles
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