I'm in Portugal, currently employed as an IT technician at an industrial manufacturing group — I support production lines, their networks and their control systems. I'm trying to move into a more conventional IT Support / Service Desk / Junior SysAdmin role, either remote within the EU or hybrid within commuting distance.

Over the last five weeks I've sent around 50 applications across IT support and junior security roles. Twelve rejections, one real interview — and that interview came from an ad I applied to before I got organised about any of this. Three separate employers have told me in writing that the blocker is lack of professional experience.

CV is below, anonymised. I'd rather have blunt feedback than polite feedback.

What I'm trying to work out:

1. Does the industrial/OT background read as relevant to a service desk hiring manager, or as noise? It's genuine hands-on troubleshooting under production pressure, but it isn't ticket-queue work and I don't know whether that translates on paper.

2. The "Studied" line in the skills section — I put Windows Server, Active Directory and a few others there because I know them from coursework and labs, not from a job. Is being explicit about that helping me, or drawing attention to a gap I'd be better off not highlighting?

3. The restaurant management years (2014–2019) — I kept them because five years of staff, inventory and unhappy customers seemed relevant to a support role. Keep or cut?

4. Two pages at this level — too long?

Portuguese market, so some conventions here differ from the US. Structural and content feedback is what I'm after most.

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IT SUPPORT TECHNICIAN

Industrial IT · Networking · Technical Support — 5+ years

CompTIA Security+ • ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) • Cisco Networking Academy

[contact details removed] • Northern Portugal • Remote (EU) or Hybrid (regional)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

IT support technician with 5+ years of hands-on experience keeping production systems, networks, and equipment running. Currently supports 8 production lines and their associated network, control, and automation systems at an industrial manufacturing group, and previously served as the technical escalation point colleagues routed customer problems to at a water-treatment equipment company. Works to a structured, root-cause method rather than trial and error — under time pressure, in live environments where guessing is expensive — and documents findings so recurring faults are recognised faster next time. Trained across networking and endpoint fundamentals through Cisco Networking Academy, and certified in CompTIA Security+ and ISC2 CC, which means security-aware support by default: recognising phishing, handling access and permissions sensibly, and knowing when something needs escalating rather than closing. Portuguese C2, English C1, Spanish B2.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Support & Diagnostics: Incident Triage & Escalation, Root-Cause Troubleshooting, Hardware Diagnostics & Component Replacement, Equipment Commissioning, End-User & Customer Support, Technical Documentation & Reporting

• Networking: TCP/IP, IPv4, DNS, DHCP, VLAN, Ethernet, Industrial Ethernet, SSH, SMB, HTTP/HTTPS, VPN, Cisco IOS, Network Troubleshooting

• Operating Systems: Windows 10/11, Linux, Ubuntu, Windows Command Prompt, Event Viewer, Microsoft 365 (user level), Office

• Scripting & Databases: PowerShell, Python, Bash, SQL, SQL Server, PHP, JavaScript

• Security: Access Control, Authentication, Endpoint Security, Network Security, Phishing Analysis, Incident Response, Log Analysis, MITRE ATT&CK, Wireshark, Nmap, Splunk

• Industrial / OT: PLC Programming, Siemens TIA Portal, SCADA, ICS, Modbus TCP, Industrial Automation, KUKA, ABB Robotics, Electrical Control Systems

• Studied (coursework and lab practice, not workplace experience): Windows Server, Active Directory, NTFS Permissions, Sysinternals, Kali Linux — via Cisco Networking Academy, CompTIA Security+, and TryHackMe labs

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Information Technology Technician — Industrial IT, Automation & Technical Support

Industrial Manufacturing Group (3 business units) | Jan 2026 – Present

• Support 8 production lines and 16 pick-and-place robots with their associated network, PLC, and control systems, responding to connectivity failures, automation faults, and reliability issues in a live environment where downtime is measured in lost output.

• Diagnose problems using a structured, root-cause method rather than trial and error, working under time pressure with production waiting, and document findings so recurring faults are recognised faster next time.

• Designed, built, and programmed a custom PLC monitoring board — including all electrical wiring and component integration — to independently measure gas and water consumption against utility billing; the investigation uncovered a significant billing discrepancy.

• Installed an industrial machine that arrived with no documentation, independently reverse-engineering the PLC program, wiring, and missing components to bring it into full operation.

• Currently designing the electrical schematic for a new PLC control panel being built from the ground up to add a production path.

• Technologies: Windows, Linux, Networking, Industrial Ethernet, Modbus TCP, PLC Systems, Robotics Systems, SCADA, TIA Portal, Electrical Control Systems, Office.

Technical Department Technician

Water-Treatment Equipment Company | Jun 2025 – Nov 2025

• Served as the technical escalation point for customer-support calls — the person other staff routed problems to when the standard script ran out, translating technical findings into explanations customers could act on.

• Diagnosed and repaired electrical and mechanical equipment faults, replacing components to restore functionality and minimise customer downtime.

• Worked directly with both end customers and internal support colleagues, handling frustrated users and unclear fault descriptions as a routine part of the role.

Robotics, Automation and Industrial Control Technician

Industrial Engineering Research Institute | Oct 2021 – May 2025

• Installed, commissioned, and maintained complex technical systems in a research environment, acting as the hands-on technical contact for researchers and partner companies who depended on that equipment.

• Installed and commissioned 2 industrial robot systems (ABB and KUKA) and 2 PLC systems, one feeding live production parameters to an Industry 4.0 monitoring dashboard.

• Completed manufacturer training to operate advanced equipment safely, including a metal powder-bed laser fusion system and two mechanical-testing systems.

• Produced technical reports and documentation supporting ongoing Master's and PhD research studies.

• Technologies: Windows, Linux, PLC Commissioning, Industry 4.0 Dashboards, Robotics Systems, KUKA, ABB, CAD Software, Arduino, Office.

Restaurant Manager

Independent Restaurant | 2014 – 2019

• Managed daily operations for a customer-facing business over five years: staff coordination and scheduling, inventory, supplier relationships, and direct customer service in a high-pressure environment.

• Responsible for CCTV systems and billing software, and for resolving customer problems on the spot without escalation.

• Included here for the same reasons it mattered there: prioritising competing demands, staying calm with unhappy people, and owning a problem until it is closed.

Programming Intern — Health Sector Startup

Sep – Dec 2014

• Software programming and database updates using SQL and PHP.

CERTIFICATIONS & TRAINING

• 2026 — CompTIA Security+

• 2026 — Certified in Cybersecurity (CC), ISC2

• 2026 — Cisco Networking Academy: IT Customer Support Basics; Networking Basics; Networking Devices & Initial Configuration; Endpoint Security; Network Defense; Introduction to Cybersecurity; Cyber Threat Management; Junior Cybersecurity Analyst Career Path

• 2026 — Fortinet NSE 1–3 Cybersecurity

• In progress — Microsoft 365 Fundamentals (MS-900)

CONTINUOUS LEARNING

• TryHackMe — top 2% global rank, 140+ rooms completed, 90+ day streak. Sustained hands-on practice in log analysis, endpoint and network monitoring, and phishing investigation.

• Security investigation write-ups published publicly on a personal GitHub repository, each documenting full methodology — evidence gathering, analysis, root-cause findings — rather than just conclusions. [link removed for this post]

EDUCATION

• 2019–2021 — Technological Specialization Course in Robotics, Automation and Industrial Control — national vocational training institute

• 2013–2014 — Technological Specialization Course in Programming and Web Applications — private university

LANGUAGES

• Portuguese C2 · English C1 · Spanish B2