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Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills
- By Darril Gibson
- Published Nov 6, 2014 by Pearson IT Certification.
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eBook
- Your Price: $81.59
- List Price: $95.99
- Includes EPUB and PDF
- About eBook Formats
This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:
EPUB
The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.
PDF
The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.
This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.
About
Features
- Thoroughly explains modern help desk support roles and all essential skill sets
- Fully covers technical, security, and troubleshooting skills -- as well as crucial communications, writing, training, business, and personal skills
- Highly effective teaching, via proven pedagogical features: clear objectives and summaries, multiple choice review questions, exercises, projects, case studies, and more
Description
- Copyright 2015
- Dimensions: 8" x 10"
- Pages: 456
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-7897-5240-9
- ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5240-6
All of today’s help desk support skills, in one easy-to-understand book
The perfect beginner’s guide: No help desk or support experience necessary
Covers both “soft” personal skills and “hard” technical skills
Explains the changing role of help desk professionals in the modern support center
Today, everyone depends on technology–and practically everyone needs help to use it well. Organizations deliver that assistance through help desks. This guide brings together all the knowledge you need to succeed in any help desk or technical support role, prepare for promotion, and succeed with the support-related parts of other IT jobs. Leading technology instructor Darril Gibson tours the modern help desk, explains what modern support professionals really do, and fully covers both of the skill sets you’ll need: technical and personal. In clear and simple language, he discusses everything from troubleshooting specific problems to working with difficult users. You’ll even learn how to manage a help desk, so it works better and delivers more value.
Coverage includes:
• How the modern help desk has evolved
• Understanding your users’ needs, goals, and attitudes
• Walking through the typical help desk call
• Communicating well: listening actively and asking better questions
• Improving interactions and handling difficult situations
• Developing positive attitudes, and “owning” the problem
• Managing your time and stress
• Supporting computers, networks, smartphones, and tablets
• Finding the technical product knowledge you need
• Protecting the security of your users, information, and devices
• Defining, diagnosing, and solving problems, step by step
• Writing it up: from incident reports to documentation
• Working in teams to meet the goals of the business
• Using ITIL to improve the services you provide
• Calculating help desk costs, benefits, value, and performance
• Taking control of your support career
Powerful features make it easier to learn about help desk careers!
• Clear introductions describe the big ideas and show how they fit with what you’ve already learned
• Specific chapter objectives tell you exactly what you need to learn
• Key Terms lists help you identify important terms and a complete Glossary helps you understand them
• Author’s Notes and On The Side features help you go deeper into the topic if you want to
• Chapter Review tools and activities help you make sure you’ve learned the material
Exclusive Mind Mapping activities!
• Organize important ideas visually–in your mind, in your words
• Learn more, remember more
• Understand how different ideas fit together
Sample Content
Online Sample Chapter
Introduction to Help Desk Support Roles
Sample Pages
Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 1 and Index)
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................1
Organization of the Text ......................................................................................................................................1
Key Pedagogical Features .................................................................................................................................2
A Brief Word on Mind Mapping .......................................................................................................................3
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Help Desk Support Roles ..............................................................................6
Chapter Outline .......................................................................................................................................................7
Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................................7
Key Terms ...................................................................................................................................................................7
Understanding the Support Center ...............................................................................................................8
A Little History .................................................................................................................................................8
The Evolution of the Support Center ......................................................................................................9
Understanding an Incident and Incident Management .................................................................10
The Role of the Support Center .............................................................................................................10
IT Tiers within an Organization ...............................................................................................................12
The Role of the Help Desk Professional ...................................................................................................14
First Line of Support for Users ...............................................................................................................14
Assessing Problems and Identifying Solutions ................................................................................14
Recognizing Required Skillsets ..............................................................................................................15
Understanding Users ..........................................................................................................................................19
User Categories ............................................................................................................................................19
Services Provided to Users ......................................................................................................................21
Typical Incident Process ...................................................................................................................................23
Steps in a Typical Incident Process ......................................................................................................23
Tracking Incidents ........................................................................................................................................31
Taking Ownership of Incidents ................................................................................................................33
Chapter Review Activities ................................................................................................................................35
Answer These Questions ..........................................................................................................................35
Answers and Explanations ..............................................................................................................................38
Define the Key Terms ..................................................................................................................................40
List the Words Inside Acronyms .............................................................................................................40
Create Mind Maps .......................................................................................................................................41
Define Other Terms ......................................................................................................................................41
Case Studies ..................................................................................................................................................41
CHAPTER 2 Communication Skills .....................................................................................................................42
Chapter Outline .....................................................................................................................................................43
Objectives .................................................................................................................................................................43
Key Terms .................................................................................................................................................................43
Elements of Communication ..........................................................................................................................44
Verbal versus Non-Verbal Skills ..............................................................................................................45
Effective Questioning Skills ......................................................................................................................50
Active Listening Skills .................................................................................................................................52
Methods to Improve Customer Interactions ......................................................................................54
Recognizing Communication Barriers .......................................................................................................59
Filters ................................................................................................................................................................60
Previous Contact ..........................................................................................................................................62
Cultural Sensitivity .......................................................................................................................................63
Comparing Different Communication Methods ....................................................................................64
In-Person .........................................................................................................................................................64
Telephone ........................................................................................................................................................64
Text-Only Communications ......................................................................................................................65
Handling Difficult Situations............................................................................................................................66
Expect the Best ............................................................................................................................................67
Common Situations .....................................................................................................................................68
Handling Conflict ..........................................................................................................................................70
Defusing Incidents .......................................................................................................................................71
When to Escalate .........................................................................................................................................71
Chapter Review Activities ................................................................................................................................73
Answer These Questions ..........................................................................................................................73
Answers and Explanations ..............................................................................................................................76
Define the Key Terms ..................................................................................................................................78
List the Words Inside Acronyms .............................................................................................................78
Create Mind Maps .......................................................................................................................................78
Case Studies ..................................................................................................................................................79
CHAPTER 3 Personal Skills ...................................................................................................................................80
Chapter Outline .....................................................................................................................................................81
Objectives .................................................................................................................................................................81
Key Terms .................................................................................................................................................................81
Recognizing the Value of Attitude ................................................................................................................82
Positive Attitude ............................................................................................................................................82
Attitude versus Aptitude ............................................................................................................................84
Service Attitude .............................................................................................................................................86
Problem Ownership .....................................................................................................................................87
Managing Stress ...................................................................................................................................................88
Distress vs. Eustress ...................................................................................................................................89
Stress and Adrenaline ................................................................................................................................90
General Adaptation Syndrome ................................................................................................................91
Effects of Distress ........................................................................................................................................92
Recognizing Burnout ..................................................................................................................................93
Identifying Stressors ...................................................................................................................................97
Managing Stress ...........................................................................................................................................98
Managing Your Time ...........................................................................................................................................99
Document, Document, Document ......................................................................................................100
Manage Priorities ......................................................................................................................................100
Give Yourself More Time ........................................................................................................................102
Managing Your Career ....................................................................................................................................102
Career Paths ...............................................................................................................................................103
Certifications ...............................................................................................................................................104
Chapter Review Activities .............................................................................................................................107
Answer These Questions .......................................................................................................................107
Answers and Explanations ...........................................................................................................................110
Define the Key Terms ...............................................................................................................................112
Create Mind Maps ....................................................................................................................................112
Case Studies ...............................................................................................................................................112
CHAPTER 4 Technical Skills ...............................................................................................................................114
Chapter Outline ..................................................................................................................................................115
Objectives ..............................................................................................................................................................115
Key Terms ..............................................................................................................................................................115
Working with Personal Computers ...........................................................................................................116
Reviewing PC Hardware .........................................................................................................................116
Understanding Firmware ........................................................................................................................127
Understanding PC Operating Systems ............................................................................................129
Supporting Software Applications ......................................................................................................131
Working with Networks ..................................................................................................................................131
Introducing Protocols ..............................................................................................................................132
Understanding Common Network Components ..........................................................................133
Working with Mobile Devices ......................................................................................................................141
Comparing Operating Systems ...........................................................................................................142
Comparing App Stores ...........................................................................................................................143
Configuring Email ......................................................................................................................................143
Implementing Security on Mobile Devices ......................................................................................144
Comparing Landscape Modes to Portrait Modes ........................................................................145
Understanding the Product ..........................................................................................................................146
Getting Certified ........................................................................................................................................146
Continuous Learning ................................................................................................................................149
Chapter Review Activities .............................................................................................................................150
Answer These Questions .......................................................................................................................150
Answers and Explanations ...........................................................................................................................153
Define the Key Terms ...............................................................................................................................155
List the Words Inside Acronyms ..........................................................................................................155
Create Mind Maps ....................................................................................................................................156
Define Other Terms ...................................................................................................................................156
Case Studies ...............................................................................................................................................156
CHAPTER 5 Security Skills .................................................................................................................................158
Chapter Outline ..................................................................................................................................................159
Objectives ..............................................................................................................................................................159
Key Terms ..............................................................................................................................................................159
Protecting IT Resources ................................................................................................................................160
Introducing the Security Triad ..............................................................................................................161
Protecting Confidentiality .......................................................................................................................161
Protecting Integrity ...................................................................................................................................163
Protecting Availability ..............................................................................................................................164
Understanding Malware .................................................................................................................................165
Replicating Malware .................................................................................................................................169
Recognizing Malware Symptoms .......................................................................................................171
Protecting Against Malware ..................................................................................................................172
Removing Malware ...................................................................................................................................173
Managing Risk ....................................................................................................................................................173
Recognizing Threats ................................................................................................................................176
Identifying Vulnerabilities ........................................................................................................................184
Implementing Security Controls ..........................................................................................................185
Chapter Review Activities .............................................................................................................................187
Answer These Questions .......................................................................................................................187
Answers and Explanations ...........................................................................................................................190
Define the Key Terms ...............................................................................................................................192
List the Words Inside Acronyms ..........................................................................................................192
Create Mind Maps ....................................................................................................................................193
Define Other Terms ...................................................................................................................................193
Case Studies ...............................................................................................................................................193
CHAPTER 6 Troubleshooting Skills ................................................................................................................194
Chapter Outline ..................................................................................................................................................195
Objectives ..............................................................................................................................................................195
Key Terms .....................................................................................................................