ATS keywords for a systems administrator resume
Many employers keep applications in an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), where recruiters search and sort them by the skills the role needs. Use these terms where they honestly describe your experience, so your resume is easy to find and easy to read:
Key skills to highlight
- ▸Administering servers and directory services
- ▸Managing cloud and virtual infrastructure
- ▸Backup, recovery and patching
- ▸Scripting and automation
- ▸Monitoring and incident response
Credentials Australian employers screen for
- ▸Relevant certifications (Microsoft, Azure, VMware, CompTIA)
- ▸Degree or diploma in IT, or equivalent experience
- ▸Proficiency across server, cloud and networking stacks
- ▸Right to work in Australia
Common mistakes to avoid
- ▸Listing platforms without the scale or the improvements delivered.
- ▸No outcomes, uptime, recovery, migrations completed.
- ▸Generic terms instead of the exact stack in the job ad.
- ▸A generic resume rather than matching the infrastructure.
Systems Administrator CV example: before and after
One experience entry, written twice. The numbers are illustrative, the structure is what matters.
Before
Systems Administrator, 2018 to present. Responsible for the maintenance of the organisation's servers and network. Perform backups, apply updates, manage user accounts and resolve escalated issues. Experience with Windows, VMware and Office 365.
The platforms appear with no estate size, no migrations and no uptime or recovery outcomes, so the ATS cannot confirm the exact stack the ad names and the infrastructure manager has no idea whether this administrator ran ten servers or two hundred.
After
Systems Administrator | Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) | VMware VCP-DCV (cert no. XXXXXX) | CompTIA Network+
Mid sized not for profit organisation, three person infrastructure team supporting 600 staff across five sites | October 2018 to present | Full time with on call rotation
- ▸Administer an estate of 85 Windows Server virtual machines on VMware vSphere across two clusters, plus Active Directory and Group Policy for 600 users in a hybrid Microsoft Entra ID environment.
- ▸Delivered the Microsoft 365 migration for 600 mailboxes and 12TB of file data to Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, cut over across three weekends with no unplanned downtime for users.
- ▸Own backup and disaster recovery in Veeam with offsite replication, quarterly restore testing and a documented DR plan that brought tested recovery time for tier 1 systems down from 12 hours to under 4.
- ▸PowerShell scripting for onboarding, offboarding and reporting, replacing a manual account creation process and saving the team roughly 6 hours a week.
- ▸Patch management through WSUS and Intune on a monthly cycle, with monitoring and alerting in PRTG supporting 99.9 per cent availability on core services and networking (TCP/IP, DNS and DHCP) troubleshooting across the five sites.
Same servers, sized and evidenced. The rewrite gives the estate a number, names the exact stack from the ad, and turns maintenance into delivered outcomes: a completed migration, a halved recovery time and a measured uptime figure.
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Frequently asked questions
Which technologies should a systems administrator list?
Name the exact stack the role calls for, commonly Windows Server, Active Directory, Azure or Microsoft 365, and virtualisation. ATS matches on the specific names.
How do I show impact as a sysadmin?
Tie work to outcomes: uptime maintained, migrations delivered, recovery times improved, or environments scaled. For example, 'Migrated 200 users to Microsoft 365 with zero downtime'.
Do I need certifications?
They help with screening, Microsoft, Azure and VMware are common, but demonstrated experience running real environments is equally valued. Lead with both where you can.
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