What IT support and help desk staff do
New Zealand's careers service says help desk and support technicians give technical support to computer users. The UK's National Careers Service IT support profile lists tasks such as:
- responding to requests for IT help
- recording issues on a tracking system
- finding and fixing faults, or passing them to the right team
- installing new systems and upgrading old ones
- updating online help pages for staff
- setting up user accounts and security
- showing people how to use new software
The US profile for computer user support specialists lists help desk technician as a job title. It adds reading manuals and running checks on computers to solve problems.
Skills employers look for
The National Careers Service lists skills that an interview can test:
- knowledge of operating systems, hardware and software
- analytical thinking
- customer service skills
- being thorough and paying attention to detail
- using your judgement and making decisions
- clear spoken communication
New Zealand's profile says you need to be methodical, solve problems and communicate well. The UK government's framework for end user computing engineers lists incident management, problem management and user focus.
The interviews you may face
Each employer runs its own process. You may face some of these:
- A phone call, which also shows how you sound on the phone. See our phone screen guide.
- Troubleshooting questions, such as what you would check if someone can't connect.
- A practical test, such as setting up an account or finding a fault on a test computer.
- A role play, where the interviewer plays a stressed user who has lost work.
- A behavioural interview about past problems and busy days. Read our guide to behavioural answers.
Questions that test each skill
These are themes, with sample wording. Real questions vary by employer.
- Troubleshooting: "A user says their computer is slow. What do you check first?"
- Customer service: "How do you help someone who is upset about losing work?"
- Priorities: "Ten tickets are open. How do you decide the order?"
- Security: "Someone calls asking for a password reset. How do you check it's really them?"
- Escalation: "When do you pass a problem to another team?"
- Explaining: "Explain a technical fix to someone who isn't technical."
Answer "tell me about a time" questions with STAR: the situation, your task, the actions you took and the result. For troubleshooting, say each step in order: what you'd ask, check, try and record.
What to prepare
- Note the systems the ad names, such as operating systems, email or device tools.
- Practise a simple fault-finding routine out loud: ask, check, test, fix, record.
- Prepare STAR stories about a hard fault, an upset user, a busy queue and a fix you wrote up.
- Only list certificates you hold. If you're studying for one, say so and give the date.
- Prepare questions about the ticket system and how the team shares what it learns.
An example answer about a new problem
Here is a made-up answer for a made-up person. Use it to see the shape of a strong answer, then tell your own true story.
Made-up example
Sam, a help desk technician applying for a more senior support role
Question
Situation
Task
Action
- I checked the print queue and saw jobs were stuck for that building's printers only.
- I found a security update had installed overnight on the print server.
- I searched the supplier's support notes and found the update broke one printer driver.
- I rolled back the driver on one test printer, confirmed it worked, then did the rest.
- I logged the fix in our help notes and told the network team about the update.
Result
Sam works step by step, tests on one printer first and writes up the fix for others. The result has numbers.
Questions
Do I need IT certificates to get a help desk job?
Not always, so check the ad. New Zealand's profile lists experience, a relevant qualification and knowledge of software and hardware as things you may need.
What if I don't know the answer to a technical question?
Say so, then explain how you would find out, such as checking logs, notes or a colleague. Guessing can do more harm than admitting a gap.
What does an IT support technician earn?
In the US, O*NET lists a 2025 median wage of $61,860 a year for computer user support specialists. Pay varies by country and level.
Sources
Written by Seal the Offer from these pages, last checked on . Rules change, so check the employer's own page and the job ad before you apply.