System Administrator resume example
By Bhagirath Sheela, founder of JobCatch ·
System administrators keep servers, users and core services running. Employers look for the operating systems you manage, how many servers and users, the tools for backup, patching and monitoring, and automation that reduced manual work.
What recruiters look for
- Linux and Windows Server administration
- Active Directory, email, backups and patching
- Virtualisation (VMware, Hyper-V) and some cloud
- Scripting to automate routine work
Section order
With experience
- Summary
- Skills
- Certifications
- Experience
- Education
As a fresher
- Summary
- Certifications
- Skills
- Education
- Projects or lab work
- Internships
Summary examples
Fresher
System administrator with a BCA, Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), and an internship managing user accounts and backups for a college network.
Experienced
System administrator with five years managing 250 Linux and Windows servers for a manufacturing company. Automated patching with Ansible and cut monthly patch time from three days to four hours.
Skills, spelled the way postings spell them
An applicant tracking system matches the words in the job posting, and it does not reliably treat two spellings as one skill. The left column is the form most postings use; the right, other spellings people type. Use the posting's own spelling for each application, and list only what you can discuss in an interview.
| Skill | Also written as |
|---|---|
| Linux | Unix, Ubuntu, RHEL |
| Shell scripting | Bash, Shell, Bash scripting |
| Python | Python 3 |
| AWS | Amazon Web Services |
| Microsoft Azure | Azure |
| Docker | Containerisation, Containerization |
| Ansible | — |
| Git | Version control, GitHub, Bitbucket |
| Documentation | Technical writing, Record keeping |
| Customer service | Customer support, Customer handling |
Also worth listing if you have them: Windows Server and Active Directory, VMware vSphere, Backup and recovery, Patch management.
Bullet examples
Each bullet says what you did and what changed because of it. Change the numbers to your own; a recruiter will ask about every one.
- Manage 250 Linux and Windows servers and Active Directory for 1,800 users across six plants.
- Automated patching with Ansible; the monthly cycle fell from three days to four hours.
- Rebuilt backups with off-site copies and tested restores; recovered a failed file server in 40 minutes.
- Moved 60 virtual machines from ageing hardware to a new VMware cluster with no unplanned downtime.
- Wrote runbooks for 30 routine tasks, so the night shift can handle them without escalation.
For freshers: projects and internships
- Internship: managed user accounts, backups and printers for a college network of 600 users.
- Set up a home server running Linux, Docker and automated backups.
- Passed Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA).
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing tasks ("user creation, password reset") instead of scale and improvements.
- No automation. Scripts and configuration management are what move a sysadmin up.
- Leaving out backups and recovery. A restore you have actually done is a strong bullet.
What an ATS reads from this sample
An applicant tracking system turns the PDF into plain text before anyone reads it. This is that text for the sample above, extracted by the same code as "What the ATS reads" in the app. Everything is in reading order, under the right heading, with the name and email intact — which is what a single-column template is for.
Sunil Patil System Administrator [email protected] | +91 98765 43210 | Nashik, Maharashtra | linkedin.com/in/sunilpatil Summary System administrator with five years managing 250 Linux and Windows servers for a manufacturing company. Automated patching with Ansible and cut monthly patch time from three days to four hours. Experience System Administrator, Kirtiman Engineering Apr 2021 – Present Manage 250 Linux and Windows servers and Active Directory for 1,800 users across six plants. Automated patching with Ansible; the monthly cycle fell from three days to four hours. Rebuilt backups with off-site copies and tested restores; recovered a failed file server in 40 minutes. IT Support Engineer, Bluegate Technologies Jun 2019 – Mar 2021 Moved 60 virtual machines from ageing hardware to a new VMware cluster with no unplanned downtime. Wrote runbooks for 30 routine tasks, so the night shift can handle them without escalation. Skills Linux · Shell scripting · Python · AWS · Microsoft Azure · Docker · Ansible · Git · Documentation · Customer service · Windows Server and Active Directory · VMware vSphere · Backup and recovery · Patch management Education BCA, Computer Applications 2016 – 2019 Savitribai Phule Pune University · 74% Projects Patch automation Ansible playbooks that patch 250 servers in four hours. Certifications Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA), 2020 Languages English · Hindi
Interview questions to prepare
The app's interview prep for this sample and a plain System Administrator posting. It works from the resume and the posting only, and tells you how to prepare, never what to say.
Questions every interview has
- Tell me about yourself. Two minutes: what you do now (System Administrator at Kirtiman Engineering), one result you are proud of, and why this role is next.
- Why do you want this job? Read their website and one recent piece of news before the call. Name something specific.
- Why are you leaving your current job? Say what you are moving towards. Do not criticise your employer.
- What is your notice period, and what salary are you expecting? Decide your number before the interview, so you are not deciding it on the call.
About the skills the job asks for
- Tell me about a time you used Python. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Shell scripting. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used AWS. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Microsoft Azure. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Docker. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Linux. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
About what the resume claims
- You wrote: "Manage 250 Linux and Windows servers and Active Directory for 1,800 users across six plants." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Automated patching with Ansible; the monthly cycle fell from three days to four hours." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Rebuilt backups with off-site copies and tested restores; recovered a failed file server in 40 minutes." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
Questions to ask them
- What would a good first three months in this role look like?
- Who would I work with most closely?
- What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?
Templates that suit this role
All of these are single-column and read cleanly by an applicant tracking system. Classic is free, with no watermark.
Questions
Is system administration still a good career?
Yes, and it is a common path into DevOps and cloud roles. Adding scripting, Ansible and one cloud platform makes the move easier.
Which certification helps a system administrator?
RHCSA for Linux and Microsoft's Windows Server or Azure administrator certifications are the most recognised in Indian postings.
Next: the System Administrator cover letter the app drafts from this resume, and how to show Linux, Python, AWS on a resume.
More cloud & security resume examples: DevOps Engineer · Cloud Engineer · Cybersecurity Analyst · Network Engineer