We have been designing ESD protection circuits for MCU exposed pins. Here comes the reset pin protection:

1. The pin is connected with a ESD suppressor at the connector.
2. The pin is connected in serial with a 600Imp ferrite bead and is parallel with a 0.1uF capacitor.
3. The pin is pulled up with a 100kOhm resistor.

Here comes what happened when the reset pin is striked by ESD:

A. The system resets at 3.5kV contact.

B. The MCU is killed at 7.5kV contact.