As a service desk manager, articulating your unique blend of technical expertise and leadership skills on a resume can be a daunting challenge. Our comprehensive guide is tailored to help you highlight your achievements and management capabilities effectively, ensuring your resume stands out to potential employers.
- Utilize real-life examples to refine your service desk manager resume;
- Effectively write the experience section of your service desk manager resume, even if you have minimal or no professional experience;
- Incorporate the industry's top 10 essential skills throughout your resume;
- Include your education and certifications to highlight your specific expertise.
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The ultimate formula for your service desk manager resume format
Our best advice on how to style your service desk manager resume is this - first, take the time to study the job advert requirements.
The resume format you select should ultimately help you better align how your experience matches the specific role.
There are four crucial elements you need to thus take into consideration:
- How you present your experience. If you happen to have plenty of relevant expertise, select the reverse-chronological resume format to organize your experience by dates, starting with the latest.
- Don't go over the top with writing your resume. Instead, stick with a maximum of two-page format to feature what matters most about your profile.
- Headers aren't just for "decoration". The header of your resume helps recruiters allocate your contact details, portfolio, and so much more.
- The PDF format rules. It's the most common practice to submit your service desk manager resume as a PDF so that your resume doesn't lose its layout. However, make sure the read the job well - in some instances, they might require a doc file.
Each market has its own resume standards – a Canadian resume layout may differ, for example.
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Mention specific courses or projects that are pertinent to the job you're applying for.
Don't forget to include these six sections on your service desk manager resume:
- Header and summary for your contact details and to highlight your alignment with the service desk manager job you're applying for
- Experience section to get into specific technologies you're apt at using and personal skills to deliver successful results
- Skills section to further highlight how your profile matches the job requirements
- Education section to provide your academic background
- Achievements to mention any career highlights that may be impressive, or that you might have missed so far in other resume sections
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Demonstrated experience in managing service desk or IT support teams
- Strong track record in improving service desk operations and customer satisfaction metrics
- Proficiency in IT Service Management (ITSM) tools and platforms, such as ServiceNow or Remedy
- Expertise in implementing and adhering to ITIL best practices within a service desk environment
- Ability to develop and analyze performance reports and implement strategies for service optimization
Quick guide to your service desk manager resume experience section
After deciding on the format of your resume, it's time to organize your experience within the dedicated section.
It's common for service desk manager professionals to be confused in this part of the process, as they may have too much or little expertise.
Follow the general rules of thumb to be successful when writing this part of your resume:
- The perfect number of bullets you should have under each experience item is no more than six;
- Select not merely your responsibilities, but the most noteworthy achievements for each role that match the job requirements;
- List any certificates or technical expertise you've gained on the job and how they've helped you progress as a professional;
- Carefully select the power verbs to go along with each bullet to avoid generic ones like "managed" and instead substitute those with the actuality of your particular responsibility;
- Integrate valuable keywords from the job advert in the form of achievements under each role you list.
If you're on the search for further advice on how to write your service desk manager experience section, get some ideas from real-world professional resumes:
- Managed a team of 25 service desk agents, providing IT support for over 10,000 corporate users, achieving a 95% satisfaction rate.
- Implemented an ITIL-based framework that improved incident resolution times by 30%, significantly enhancing system uptime and reliability.
- Spearheaded the transition to a remote support model in response to the pandemic, ensuring seamless IT operations during a critical period.
- Developed and executed a strategic plan for the expansion of service desk operations, including the integration of a new ticketing system, successfully reducing average ticket closure time by 20%.
- Led a cultural change initiative aimed at improving team morale and customer service delivery, which saw a 15% increase in employee retention.
- Actively monitored key performance indicators and provided weekly reports to senior management, driving data-driven decisions to optimize service desk performance.
- Coordinated 24/7 support operations across multiple time zones, ensuring continuous availability of critical systems for global users.
- Introduced an advanced problem management strategy that decreased recurrent incidents by 40% within a year.
- Negotiated and managed vendor contracts for support tools and services, resulting in a 25% cost reduction while maintaining service quality.
- Oversaw the successful merger of two service desk teams from different companies, integrating processes and staff without disruption to service levels.
- Launched a comprehensive training program that increased first-call resolution rates from 65% to 85%, significantly enhancing customer experience.
- Conducted regular performance reviews and implemented a rewards system that resulted in a 30% improvement in staff productivity.
- Designed and rolled out a self-service portal that led to a 50% reduction in routine support requests, freeing up resources for more complex issues.
- Managed the IT support for company-wide OS migration, ensuring training and resources were provided, achieving a smooth transition with minimal downtime.
- Implemented regular customer feedback loops to identify areas for service improvement, which led to an iterative enhancement of the IT support process.
- Transformed the service desk into a customer-centric operation, which saw a 20% improvement in customer feedback scores over 18 months.
- Pioneered the use of AI-based ticketing and support systems, which led to a 35% decrease in average response times and a 45% decrease in human error.
- Managed a successful departmental audit that identified process inefficiencies, ultimately streamlining workflows and improving resource allocation.
- Initiated and directed a knowledge management project that resulted in a 40% increase in support staff efficiency by providing faster access to troubleshooting resources.
- Oversaw a successful IT security compliance project, ensuring all service desk activities were aligned with the latest industry standards.
- Championed a cross-department collaboration initiative that enhanced the service desk's ability to handle complex cross-functional support inquiries.
- Led a major incident management team through a critical system outage, effectively coordinating restoration efforts that minimized downtime and business impact.
- Boosted support team agility by incorporating Scrum methodologies, resulting in a 50% improvement in change management processes and deployment speeds.
- Authored and enforced service level agreements (SLAs) with internal and external stakeholders, maintaining an adherence rate of 98% throughout tenure.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Include the size of the team you managed, showing your leadership and organizational skills.
- List the number of service desk tickets resolved monthly, demonstrating your team's efficiency and effectiveness.
- Detail the percentage reduction of ticket resolution time under your management, showcasing process improvement ability.
- State the customer satisfaction scores before and after process changes, indicating your commitment to customer service.
- Mention the amount of training hours you have provided for staff, highlighting your dedication to team development.
- Quantify the budget managed for service desk operations, emphasizing financial stewardship competence.
- Report on the number of projects completed, revealing your project management skills and successful delivery.
- Specify any increase in service levels or uptime percentage, reflecting your focus on maintaining high service quality.
Action verbs for your service desk manager resume
What if you don't have any experience?
There are two very common scenarios about candidates with less experience. They are either:
- Fresh out of college in search of a service desk manager role
- Transferring over from a completely different field
Both of these types of candidates still have a shot at landing their first job in the industry.
All they need to do about the experience section of their service desk manager resume is:
- Consider their strengths - would the outcomes of their previous roles or niche skill sets impress recruiters? Feature those towards the top of your resume
- Exclude any and all irrelevant experience items - remember that at the end of the day, you're telling a story that aims to align with the ideal candidate for the service desk manager job
- Win recruiters over with personality - perhaps your ambition, dreams, and diligence would make you the perfect fit for the service desk manager role. Dedicate resume space to detail your personality traits by showcasing how they've helped you succeed in past roles
- Tailor your experience to specific job requirements - ensure your service desk manager resume answers the advert in the best way possible.
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List your educational qualifications and certifications in reverse chronological order.
Service desk manager resume skills: the essential hard skills and soft skills checklist
Ultimately, your service desk manager resume should hint to recruiters that you possess an array of talents that are indispensable to the role.
For example, listing the technologies and software you're apt at using (or your hard skills) and how you apply them in your day-to-day responsibilities would ensure you meet the technical requirements of the role.
But is this enough to ensure that you make a good impression on recruiters?
Go a step further by detailing the soft skills or personality traits you've attained thanks to your work and life experience.
The best way to balance hard skills and soft skills on your service desk manager resume is by:
- Highlighting up to three of your most noteworthy career accomplishments in a separate section.
- Listing at least one hard skill and one soft skill you've used to solve a particular challenge or problem.
- Feature niche skills and technologies that would help you stand out amongst candidates.
- Think back on the social impact your efforts have had towards improving the work environment - were you able to always maintain a professional ethic, while enhancing the team culture? Write about your contribution to the role, department, or organization itself as a metric of success.
The skills section of your resume provides you with plenty of opportunities to detail your technical and personal traits.
All you have to do is select the talents that best fit your application and expertise. Make note of some of the most prominent hard and soft skills across the industry from our list:
Top skills for your service desk manager resume:
ITIL Framework
ServiceNow
Zendesk
Jira
Microsoft Office Suite
Remote Desktop Tools
Networking Fundamentals
Active Directory
VoIP Systems
Ticketing Systems
Team Leadership
Communication
Problem-Solving
Customer Service
Time Management
Conflict Resolution
Adaptability
Critical Thinking
Empathy
Training and Development
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If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
Listing your education and certifications on your service desk manager resume
Don't underestimate the importance of your resume education section . As it may hint at various skills (and experience) that are relevant to the job. When writing your education section:
- Include only higher education degrees with information about the institution and start/end dates
- If you're in the process of obtaining your degree, include your expected graduation date
- Consider leaving off degrees that aren't relevant to the job or industry
- Write a description of your education if it presents you with an opportunity to further showcase your achievements in a more research-focused environment
When describing your certifications on your resume, always consider their relevancy to the role. Use the same format to describe them as you would for your education. If you're wondering what the best certificates out there are for service desk manager roles, check out the list below.
The top 5 certifications for your service desk manager resume:
- ITIL Service Operation (SO) - AXELOS
- Help Desk Institute Service Center Manager (HDI-SCM) - HDI
- Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) - Microsoft
- Certified service desk manager (CSDM) - Service Desk Institute (SDI)
- Project Management Professional (PMP) - Project Management Institute (PMI)
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If you're in the process of obtaining your certificate or degree, list the expected date you're supposed to graduate or be certified.
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Adding a summary or objective to your service desk manager resume
One of the most crucial elements of your professional presentation is your resume's top one-third. This most often includes:
- Either a resume summary - your career highlights at a glance. Select the summary if you have plenty of relevant experience (and achievements), you'd like recruiters to remember about your application.
- Or, a resume objective - to showcase your determination for growth. The perfect choice for candidates with less experience, who are looking to grow their career in the field.
If you want to go above and beyond with your service desk manager resume summary or resume objective, make sure to answer precisely why recruiters need to hire you. What is the additional value you'd provide to the company or organization? Now here are examples from real-life service desk manager professionals, whose resumes have helped them land their dream jobs:
Resume summaries for a service desk manager job
- With over 8 years of dedicated service management in the fast-paced tech industry, my expertise lies in streamlining operations, elevating customer satisfaction rates by 30%, and effectively leading robust teams. Mastery of ITIL frameworks and advanced problem-solving skills stands at the forefront of my professional ethos.
- A consummate professional possessing a decade's worth of experience in client-facing roles within the hospitality sector, now seeking to translate that extensive customer service mastery into a service desk managerial capacity, backed by acute understanding of CRM systems and a passion for technological solutions.
- Having transformed user experience through the implementation of strategic service desk protocols, during 5 years helming a dynamic IT team, my focus encompasses reducing response times by 25% and integrating AI-driven support mechanisms, demonstrating my commitment to operational excellence and technological innovation.
- A seasoned educator ready to pivot my 7-year track record of curriculum development and stakeholder management into managing service desk operations, bringing strong communication skills and a sharp analytical acumen to elevate user support services within a technology-driven environment.
- Looking to harness my enthusiasm for customer relations and technology, I aim to delve into the world of service desk management. I'm prepared to bring my quick learning abilities, keen troubleshooting insights, and a fresh perspective to deliver high-quality support and drive service excellence.
- Eager to embark on a career in service desk management, I am committed to developing deep proficiency in IT support services. Leveraging my honed communication skills and recent certification in IT fundamentals, I am poised to cultivate a user-centric support environment and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement.
Four more sections for your service desk manager resume
Your service desk manager resume can be supplemented with other sections to highlight both your personality and efforts in the industry. Use the ones you deem most relevant to your experience (and the role):
- Awards - to celebrate your success;
- Interests - to detail what you're passionate about outside of work (e.g. music, literature, etc.);
- Publications - to show your footprint in the wider community;
- Projects - to pinpoint noteworthy achievements, potentially even outside of work.
Key takeaways
- The format and layout of your service desk manager resume should reflect on both your career and what matters most to the job you're applying for;
- Use the resume summary and objective to hint at your most prominent accomplishments;
- Always be specific about your experience and consider what value each bullet you curate adds to your service desk manager application;
- Consider how your academic background and technical capabilities could further showcase your alignment to the role;
- Your soft skills should contribute to your overall service desk manager profile - aligning your personality with skills and results.
