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Computer User Support Specialist resume example

A resume for a Computer User Support Specialist needs to show the work itself: provide technical assistance to computer users. Day to day that means work like this: oversee the daily performance of computer systems; set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Computer Support Specialist
  • Computer Tech
  • Computer Technician
  • IS Tech
  • Information Systems Technician
  • IT Specialist
  • Information Technology Specialist
  • Desktop Support Technician
  • Desktop Support Tech
  • Help Desk Analyst
  • Help Desk Tech
  • Help Desk Technician
  • IT Support Specialist
  • Information Technology Support Specialist
  • IT Tech
  • Information Technology Technician
  • Technical Support Specialist
  • Application CSR

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Computer Tech (Computer Technician)
  • Desktop Support Technician (Desktop Support Tech)
  • Help Desk Tech (Help Desk Technician)
  • IS Tech (Information Systems Technician)
  • IT Specialist (Information Technology Specialist)
  • IT Support Specialist (Information Technology Support Specialist)
  • IT Tech (Information Technology Technician)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Oversee the daily performance of computer systems.
  • Set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software.
  • Read technical manuals, confer with users, or conduct computer diagnostics to investigate and resolve problems or to provide technical assistance and support.
  • Answer user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve problems.
  • Install and perform minor repairs to hardware, software, or peripheral equipment, following design or installation specifications.
  • Confer with staff, users, and management to establish requirements for new systems or modifications.
  • Enter commands and observe system functioning to verify correct operations and detect errors.
  • Maintain records of daily data communication transactions, problems and remedial actions taken, or installation activities.
  • Refer major hardware or software problems or defective products to vendors or technicians for service.
  • Prepare evaluations of software or hardware, and recommend improvements or upgrades.
  • Develop training materials and procedures, or train users in the proper use of hardware or software.
  • Inspect equipment and read order sheets to prepare for delivery to users.

16 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Oversee the daily performance of computer systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Read technical manuals, confer with users, or conduct computer diagnostics to investigate and resolve problems or to provide technical assistance and support, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Answer user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve problems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • 3M Post-it App
  • Active directory software
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe ActionScript
  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Adobe Distiller
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Advanced business application programming ABAP
  • AJAX
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Amazon Web Services AWS software

264 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Computer tool kits
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital tapes
  • Mainframe computers
  • MS-DOS-bootable disks
  • Multi-line telephone systems
  • Network analyzers
  • Notebook computers
  • Power meters
  • Punchdown tools
  • Redundant array of independent disks RAID systems
  • Reflectometers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • troubleshooting
  • ticketing
  • Active Directory
  • hardware support
  • customer service
  • imaging
  • Apple iOS
  • Firewall
  • Linux
  • Microsoft Active Directory

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Speaking
  4. 04Critical Thinking
  5. 05Complex Problem Solving
  6. 06Writing
  7. 07Judgment and Decision Making
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Learning Strategies
  10. 10Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Computers and Electronics
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Telecommunications
  • English Language
  • Education and Training
  • Mechanical
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 47%Bachelor's Degree
  • 32%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 14%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Computer User Support Specialist do?
Provide technical assistance to computer users. Day to day that includes work like oversee the daily performance of computer systems and Set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software.
What skills should a Computer User Support Specialist put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Computer User Support Specialist list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, Active directory software, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe ActionScript, and Adobe Creative Cloud software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Computer User Support Specialist work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Computer Support Specialist, Computer Tech, Computer Technician, and IS Tech. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Computer User Support Specialist need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Computer User Support Specialist role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.