Help desk jobs usually refer to the trouble tickets lodged by an end user. This trouble ticket stores all the information regarding the problem that the client may have encountered. The natural life cycle of these jobs includes creation, modification, resolution and closure. The lodged tickets are either assigned to a helpdesk skill group or a technician.

Following are some of the important terms that are used for help desk jobs.

1. Primary Client ID - it refers to the end user who have lodged a trouble ticket.
2. Issue - the problem that the client has encountered.
3. Incident Type - defining the type of the issue and broadly categorizing the same.
4. Contact Type - the cause or the possible causes of the issue.
5. Priority - it refers to the level of urgency of the issue.
6. The Action Log - it includes the description of the remedial actions taken to resolve the problem.

The workflow of help desk jobs may include the following steps, but are not limited to them. The below mentioned life cycle for such jobs is just an overview to get you an idea regarding that. There are mainly four steps.

1. The first step is where the job is logged.
2. A helpdesk technician is now assigned that job. The staff member who has been assigned the task needs to take proper action regarding the same.
3. After the action is taken and the work is done, there are plenty of actions that need to be performed. For example, the helpdesk jobs may need to be acknowledged with date and timestamp. If the technician who was assigned the job could not take proper action because of any reason, the tasks may be re-assigned to another technician with relevant skills. Depending upon the type of action taken for the task, the status of the job is changed. The technicians are also supposed to add general notes to that job, describing the kind of action taken and the overall progress.
4. Once a resolution is found for the job, it is closed. The helpdesk jobs may also be re-opened on request if the end user is not satisfied with the result.

There are several additional utilities that can be used to help with these jobs so that proper action could be taken and the job could be resolved within the minimum turnaround time. For example, it will always be a great idea to set a job reminder to ensure timely action. If the system allows you to find similar kinds of jobs, it will certainly make things much easier. What is more, adding at the base "Find knowledge articles with the same issue" can also be a valuable utility.