IT Resume Example: What Hiring Managers Actually Look For (2026)
"Your title tells me what you did. I want to know what you accomplished." Full IT resume example with the certs, skills, and bullets that get callbacks.
IT hiring managers see the same resume over and over: a list of technologies touched and duties performed. "Managed Active Directory." "Provided helpdesk support." "Maintained network infrastructure." These describe a role, not a person. They tell the hiring manager you had a job. They don't tell them you were good at it.
“RESUMES LIST ACCOMPLISHMENTS NOT DUTIES. Your title tells me what you did. I want to know what you accomplished. Did you improve uptime from three nines to five? Did you save the company money?”
IT roles are projected to grow 15% through 2032 (BLS, all computer occupations). The field is broad: help desk, sysadmin, network engineer, cloud engineer, infosec, DBA. But regardless of specialty, the resume rules are the same. Show what you built, fixed, improved, or saved. Attach numbers.
IT Resume Example
Mid-level systems administrator. Adjust for your specialty and experience level.
Marcus Williams
marcus.williams@gmail.com | (972) 555-0216 | linkedin.com/in/marcuswilliams-it | Dallas, TX
Summary
Systems Administrator with 5 years of experience managing Windows/Linux infrastructure for a 500-user enterprise environment. Improved system uptime from 99.5% to 99.95% and reduced ticket resolution time by 40%. Experienced in Azure, VMware, Active Directory, and SCCM. CompTIA Security+ and Azure Administrator certified.
Experience
Systems Administrator
2022 - Present
FinanceCore (financial services, 500 users)
- •Manage hybrid infrastructure: 40 on-prem servers (Windows Server 2019/2022, Ubuntu) + Azure cloud environment serving 500 users across 3 offices
- •Improved system uptime from 99.5% to 99.95% by implementing proactive monitoring (PRTG) and automated patching (WSUS + Ansible)
- •Migrated 500 mailboxes from on-prem Exchange to Microsoft 365, completing project 1 week ahead of schedule with zero data loss
- •Reduced average ticket resolution time from 4.2 hours to 2.5 hours (40% reduction) by creating 30+ knowledge base articles and implementing tiered escalation procedures
- •Designed and deployed Azure Site Recovery for disaster recovery, reducing RTO from 24 hours to 2 hours
IT Support Specialist
2020 - 2022
TechServ MSP
- •Provided Tier 1-2 support for 15 client companies (2,000+ total users), resolving 25+ tickets daily across hardware, software, and networking issues
- •Maintained 97% customer satisfaction rating (tracked via ConnectWise) across 6,000+ resolved tickets
- •Built automated onboarding script (PowerShell) for new user provisioning in Active Directory, reducing setup time from 45 minutes to 8 minutes per user
- •Managed backup systems (Veeam) for 15 clients, achieving 100% successful recovery rate during 3 disaster recovery tests
Education
B.S. in Information Technology | University of North Texas | 2020
Certifications
CompTIA Security+ · Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) · CompTIA A+ · CompTIA Network+ · ITIL 4 Foundation
Skills
Windows Server (2016/2019/2022) | Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS) | Azure (VMs, AD, Site Recovery) | VMware vSphere | Active Directory & Group Policy | Microsoft 365 Administration | PowerShell | Bash | SCCM/Intune | Veeam Backup | PRTG | ConnectWise | Ansible | Networking (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN, VLAN)
What Makes This IT Resume Work
- Environment size stated upfront: "500-user enterprise," "15 client companies, 2,000+ users." This tells the hiring manager your scale. Managing 50 users vs 5,000 users is a different job.
- Uptime improvement quantified: 99.5% to 99.95%. IT managers understand what that means in real downtime hours. It's specific and impressive.
- MSP experience valued at a premium. One IT hiring manager on Reddit treats MSP years at a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio because MSPs expose you to more environments, more problems, and more pressure than corporate IT.
- Certifications in a dedicated section. CompTIA, Azure, ITIL. These are non-negotiable ATS keywords. If the posting says "Security+ required" and it's not on your resume, you're filtered out.
- Scripting shown with impact: PowerShell script that cut user setup from 45 to 8 minutes. Automation is the dividing line between support techs and engineers.
“Not all of our best hires had the most impressive resumes. But they communicated clearly, were resourceful, and were genuinely curious and always looking to learn.”
Skills for an IT Resume
IT job descriptions are keyword-heavy. Name every technology you've worked with. ATS is matching "VMware vSphere" and "VMware" as different terms.
| Category | Skills to List (be specific) |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Windows Server (name versions), Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL), macOS |
| Cloud | Azure (VMs, AD, Intune, Site Recovery), AWS (EC2, S3, IAM), GCP |
| Networking | TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN, VLAN, firewall config, Cisco IOS, Meraki |
| Virtualization | VMware vSphere/ESXi, Hyper-V, Proxmox |
| Scripting/Automation | PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ansible, Terraform |
| Directory Services | Active Directory, Group Policy, Azure AD/Entra ID, LDAP |
| Monitoring | PRTG, Nagios, Zabbix, Datadog, Splunk |
| Backup/DR | Veeam, Commvault, Azure Site Recovery, Acronis |
| Ticketing/ITSM | ServiceNow, ConnectWise, Jira Service Management, Freshservice |
| Endpoint Management | SCCM/MECM, Intune, Jamf, PDQ Deploy |
Don't write "networking" as a skill. Write "TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN, VLAN, Cisco IOS." The first tells the recruiter you know networking exists. The second tells them what you can actually configure.
General skills guide: skills to put on a resume.
IT Certifications: Which Ones Matter
Certs matter more in IT than in most fields. A 23-year IT veteran who's hired dozens of people said it clearly: certs tell me "you're willing to commit the time, cost, and effort to enhance your career." They won't get you hired alone, but they differentiate you from similar candidates.
| Level | Certifications | Why They Matter |
|---|---|---|
| Entry (Help Desk / Support) | CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, ITIL 4 Foundation | Gets you past HR filters. Shows foundational knowledge. |
| Mid (Sysadmin / Network) | CompTIA Security+, Azure Administrator (AZ-104), AWS Solutions Architect Associate, CCNA | Required by many job postings. Security+ is mandatory for DoD/government IT. |
| Senior (Engineer / Architect) | Azure Solutions Architect, AWS Certified DevOps, CISSP, CISM | Differentiator at senior level. Shows depth beyond experience. |
List every active cert. Include the full name and abbreviation: "Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)." ATS might search for "AZ-104" or "Azure Administrator" separately.
IT Resume Bullet Points: Before and After
| Before (Duty) | After (Achievement) |
|---|---|
| Managed Active Directory | Managed Active Directory environment for 500 users across 3 OUs, implementing Group Policy changes that reduced security incidents by 35% |
| Provided helpdesk support | Resolved 25+ tickets daily (Tier 1-2) across 15 client environments, maintaining 97% customer satisfaction rating over 6,000+ tickets |
| Maintained server infrastructure | Managed 40-server hybrid environment (Windows/Linux/Azure), improving uptime from 99.5% to 99.95% through proactive monitoring and automated patching |
| Set up new employee computers | Built PowerShell automation for user provisioning (AD account, email, app deployment), reducing onboarding time from 45 minutes to 8 minutes per user |
| Managed backups | Administered Veeam backup for 15 clients (50TB total), achieving 100% successful recovery rate across 3 DR tests |
| Worked with cloud services | Designed and deployed Azure Site Recovery for 40 VMs, reducing disaster recovery RTO from 24 hours to 2 hours |
Every "after" version names the scale, the tool, and the outcome. "Managed Active Directory" tells me nothing. "500 users, 3 OUs, 35% fewer security incidents" tells me everything.
Full guide on achievement bullets: resume bullet points.
Homelab on Your Resume: When and How
Multiple IT hiring managers on Reddit recommend homelabs for junior candidates. If you run one, mention it. It shows initiative and hands-on skills that most candidates at your level don't have.
Format it as a project entry:
Homelab Example
Personal Homelab | Proxmox, pfSense, Docker, Pi-hole | 2023 - Present - Built and maintain virtualized home network with 8 VMs (Windows Server, Ubuntu, CentOS) - Deployed containerized services (Plex, Nextcloud, monitoring stack) using Docker Compose - Implemented pfSense firewall with VLANs, VPN, and IDS/IPS for network segmentation - Used as testing environment for cert study labs (Security+, Azure)
A homelab won't replace professional experience. But when the other candidate at your level has only classroom work and you have a functioning virtualized network with monitoring and segmentation, that gap is real.
FAQ
Should I include MSP experience?
How many certifications should I list?
Should I include a homelab?
IT resume one page or two?
Match your IT resume to any job description. Mirrai's Job Matcher shows you which technologies and keywords the ATS is scanning for so you don't miss a match.
