System Administrators are masters of maintaining seamless technology operations. As a System Administrator, your resume must reflect your expertise in keeping technology systems up and running, just as you keep an organization's technology infrastructure running smoothly. To show you what this looks like in practice, we'll examine 1 System Administrator resumes to uncover the skills and experience that set the best apart and help you create a standout resume of your own.
You can use the examples above as a starting point to help you brainstorm tasks, accomplishments for your work experience section.
Emphasize your technical skills:
System administrators need to have in-depth knowledge of the systems they work with. Highlight your expertise in relevant operating systems, databases, and networking tools.
Showcase your experience with system maintenance and troubleshooting:
System administrators are responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting IT systems. Highlight your experience in maintaining, upgrading, and securing systems, as well as your ability to quickly resolve issues that arise.
Highlight your communication skills:
System administrators often work with multiple stakeholders, including other technical teams and business leaders. Emphasize your ability to communicate technical information to non-technical stakeholders and collaborate with different teams.
Here are the essential sections that should exist in a system administrator resume:
Additionally, if you're eager to make an impression and gain an edge over other system administrator candidates, you may want to consider adding in these sections:
Let's start with resume headlines.
System Administrator with 4 Years' Experience in Database Management & Network Security
Seasoned System Administrator Providing Administration & Support for High-Level Systems
The good headlines clearly list the System Administrator's experience level, their specialized skills and experience with database management and network security, and what their abilities are.
4 Year System Administrator Who Does Stuff With Systems
System Admin Who Handles Everything, Anytime
The bad headlines do not provide any information about the System Administrator's experience, skills, or abilities. A potential employer would not be able to differentiate between a System Administrator who has been working for 4 years and one who has been in the profession for only a few months or one without any prior experience. The bad headlines also lack professional language and could confuse the employer.
A resume summary is a vital component of a System Administrator's resume, providing a brief overview of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments in managing and maintaining computer systems and networks. It's an opportunity to highlight the most relevant information of your career and demonstrate how your experiences and skills align with the role you are applying for.
To write an exceptional resume summary for a System Administrator, the following tips can be useful:
Why these are strong:
Why these are weak:
Results-driven System Administrator eager to leverage 4+ years of educational experience and expertise in data analytics, cloud infrastructure, virtualization, and system troubleshooting to take on challenging projects at XYZ Corporation.
Dedicated and highly qualified System Administrator with 4+ years of experience in computer system troubleshooting, developing customer software solutions, and managing cloud-based applications seeks to contribute expertise to XYZ Corporation.
Why these are strong:
Enthusiastic System Administrator searching for a position with room for growth in the field.
Recent college graduate eager to use newly acquired System Administration skills in a professional setting.
Why these are weak:
Planned and executed an upgrade of the company's server infrastructure resulting in 50% increase in system speed and reliability, reducing system downtime by 25%.
Successfully managed and resolved an incident where the system experienced a security breach, minimizing the impact and ensuring business continuity with no loss of data.
Created and implemented an effective backup and disaster recovery plan, enabling the business to quickly recover from any unforeseen event and reducing system downtime by 30%.
Proactively identified system vulnerabilities and implemented an effective patch management process, reducing the likelihood of system downtime and security breaches by 40%.
Successfully managed and resolved a critical system outage, ensuring the availability and continuity of key systems and applications, resulting in minimal business disruption.
Improved system monitoring and reporting, resulting in 30% reduction in system downtime, while providing better visibility and insights to the management team.
Why these are strong:
Managed a company's IT infrastructure without documenting processes or creating manuals.
Responded reactively to issues rather than proactively managing systems to prevent problems.
Failed to provide effective technical support, resulting in negative feedback from employees.
Weak Work Experience 2
Worked on a project without properly communicating with stakeholders, resulting in confusion and mistakes.
Failed to prioritize tasks, leading to missed deadlines and project delays.
Did not stay up-to-date on emerging technologies, hindering the company's ability to implement new solutions.
Why these are weak:
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am excited to apply for the System Administrator position at [Company]. With over [Number] years of experience in the field, I am confident that my skills and expertise will enable me to make a valuable contribution to your team.
In my previous roles, I have demonstrated the ability to streamline processes and automate tasks, leading to significant improvements in workload expenditure and resource productivity. I am highly skilled in managing user accounts, access controls, and passwords, leading to a reduction in administrative overhead by 25%. Furthermore, I have successfully implemented backup and disaster recovery plans that ensured data integrity without compromising organizational performance.
As a System Administrator, I am highly proficient in analyzing system logs to identify potential issues, resulting in a 10% reduction in IT technical support tickets. I have also installed network hardware such as routers, switches, and wireless access points, ensuring a reliable network infrastructure that optimizes system speeds by 13%.
Additionally, I have a proven track record of maintaining user accounts in Active Directory and developing technical documentation that supports all system and network activities, leading to a 50% improvement in user comprehension. I am a strategic thinker who can provide effective recommendations and solutions that improve overall efficiency and effectiveness of systems and processes.
I am confident that my expertise in managing server and storage resources will be an asset to your team. In my most recent position, I supported 1,200 users with a 99% availability rate.
Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to discussing how I can contribute to your organization.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
A cover letter is an invaluable tool for any System Administrator looking to stand out from the competition. It provides an opportunity to showcase your communication skills, highlight your relevant experience, and demonstrate your enthusiasm for the position.
While a resume provides a summary of your skills and experience, a cover letter allows you to personalize your application and connect with the hiring manager on a deeper level. It's an opportunity to tell your story, explain why you're passionate about system administration, and show how you can add value to the organization.
Here are some of the key reasons for pairing your System Administrator resume with a cover letter:
We understand that writing a cover letter may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Remember that the cover letter is an extension of your resume, so you can use the same format and content as your resume. It's also a chance to address any gaps or questions that the hiring manager may have after reading your resume.
Tips for aligning your cover letter with your resume:
The ideal length of a System Administrators resume is 1-2 pages. Anything longer than two pages risks losing the reader’s attention, while anything shorter could leave out important information. To keep the resume concise and clear, focus on providing only the most relevant and up-to-date information that speaks to the needs of the job. Highlight your greatest achievements and skill-sets, making sure to include in-depth details.
When formatting a System Administrator resume, it is important to focus on demonstrating technical and networking abilities as well as any leadership skills or industry certifications. Additionally, use clear and structured layouts with effective sections, such as a summary, highlight section, professional experience, educational background, and skills. Furthermore, be sure to use language and keywords that correspond to actual job postings to emphasize your qualifications and make the resume easier for employers to review. Finally, include contact information such as telephone number and email address.
System Administrators should make sure to include the following hard skills in their resumes: 1. Networking: System Administrators are often responsible for setting up, configuring and maintaining networks, so including skills like troubleshooting, managing IP addressing and routing protocols, and configuring routers, firewalls and switches is highly desirable. 2. Security: System Administrators should also list their experience with security protocols, encryption algorithms and systems/network security. 3. Operating Systems: Employers also love to see experience working with various operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows Server, Linux, and UNIX. 4. Scripting: Knowing various scripting languages, such as Bash and PowerShell, is advantageous for System Administrators. 5. Cloud-Based Technologies: As the world continues to transition to the cloud, being able to work on migrating systems, servers and applications to cloud-based platforms is essential. 6. Database Administration: Knowing how to manage and maintain databases is a great skill to include on your resume.
To craft an effective resume as a System Administrator with no experience, start by highlighting your relevant education and technical skills. Include any courses you have completed, degrees you have obtained, technical certifications you have achieved, or specialized knowledge you have gained. Be sure to include key skills you have acquired such as software and hardware installation, maintenance and configuration management, server security, system monitoring and troubleshooting, and so on. Keep it organized and present your skills, education and accomplishments in a professional, straightforward and positive manner. Finally, let the hiring manager know what makes you the right person for the job by confidently expressing your commitment to, and enthusiasm for the role.
