When you have no formal support experience, a small practice portfolio is one of the strongest things you can show. It proves you can write a clear reply, handle a call and keep proper records before anyone has to take a chance on you. Training programmes and employers both respond well to concrete samples, and putting one together also prepares you for written tests and role plays.
What to include
Aim for a small, polished collection rather than a big messy one:
- Two or three email replies: for example a refund request, a delayed order and a complaint. Show the customer's message and your reply.
- Two chat conversations: using the acknowledge, check, update pattern, including one where the customer is upset.
- One recorded practice call, two to four minutes long, following the five stage call structure. Record it with a friend playing the customer, with their permission.
- Three to five mock tickets, from a free help desk trial or a spreadsheet, each with a clear summary, priority, tags, notes and final status.
- One help article with a clear title and numbered steps.
- One short reflection, a paragraph on what you learned and what you would do differently.
Optional extras: a public social media reply and its private follow up, an escalation note, or your typing test results.