[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GH0PV7gUEg?rel=0&hd=1&w=560&h=346] The Script Cat: Dear Cat. I work on a help desk, and it seems like we're busier than ever. I like the work, and want to be able to move up if I have the chance. Any suggestions? Signed: Dave. Well, Dave, as a matter of fact, I do have some thoughts. So keep watching. I'm Cat Miller, and this is DiceTV. It's true companies expect more from their help desks nowadays - and their more ITIL-influenced cousins, the service desk. So what skills should you master to either make yourself more valuable, or move into a new position? Knowing your way around ITMS software can be a big help when you're trying to help out an entire enterprise. So learn as much as you can about packages like BMC Remedy, HP Service Manager, and IBM Service Management. Next, know your help desk tools inside and out. Some managers say an awful lot of support people just seem to be more comfortable going to a user's desk, when they could have resolved an issue remotely if they were more comfortable with remote-control and support tools. More companies are co-locating their IT help desk and customer service center. It's not that they want the help desk to take customer calls - they just want IT staff right there when technical issues come up. Think of Customer Service as part of your team - and think of yourself as part of customer service. Learn to use ITIL version 3 for incident, problem and change management. Why's this important? Because ITIL provides a common framework, so everyone in an organization can speak the same language. Maintain a Help Desk Service Catalog: This is simply a list of services the help desk provides. It's a great way for IT to market itself, because it shows what it's doing, and helps manage user expectations. Every time you successfully diagnose a problem - make notes. That way, the next time someone fields a similar call, they can see if it's happened before, and what the fix was. Got a question for me? E-mail it to feedback at dice.com. Just put "Ask Cat" in the subject line. That's feedback at dice.com. I'm Cat Miller, this has been DiceTV, and we now return you to your regular desktop.