IT
Network administrator CV: example and template
This example is for network administrators at companies, hospitals, public offices, schools and telecom operators, for network engineers at integrators and for technicians who start on the helpdesk and want to move into networking.
The employer wants to know which network you maintain, on which hardware, which protocols you know, how you monitor and secure the infrastructure and which certificates you hold. We show you how to describe this on your CV in specific terms.
How to write a network administrator CV
Professional summary
Write which network you maintain: how many sites, users and devices, on which hardware. Add the protocols and technologies you know best and your certificates, because IT recruiters often filter CVs by name. If you are also responsible for security or monitoring, mention it in your summary.
IT technician after 2 years on the helpdesk, preparing for the CCNA. I configured switches and access points in an office for 80 people and kept the cabling documentation. I am looking for work as a junior network administrator.
Experience: duties and achievements
Describe the size of the network, the hardware, protocols and the projects you have led. Show numbers, for example network availability, the number of devices or time to fix an outage. Add rollouts and migrations, because they show you can plan a change without downtime.
Weaker: Network administration.
Better: Maintaining the network at 4 sites: about 120 switches, 60 access points and 4 firewalls.
Weaker: Configuring devices.
Better: Configuring VLANs, OSPF routing and VPN tunnels between sites.
Weaker: Monitoring.
Better: Monitoring in Zabbix and responding to outages, 99.9% network availability in 2025.
Skills worth listing
List hardware vendors, protocols and monitoring and security tools. In your soft skills show calm during outages and accuracy in documentation, because in a network one configuration mistake can stop the whole company.
Professional skills
- Switching and routing
- VLAN and VPN
- Wi-Fi
- Firewalls
- Monitoring
- Structured cabling
Personal skills
- Calm during outages
- Accuracy
- Independence
- Communication with users
- Planning changes
Certificates
List vendor certificates, for example Cisco CCNA or CCNP, Fortinet NSE or MikroTik MTCNA, with the year. An SEP electrical qualification is useful when working with racks and power, so it is worth adding too.
Network administrator CV with no experience
Describe technical school or studies, placements, a home lab and projects, for example a network at a school or a friend's company. Give the hardware and protocols you have configured.
Start on the helpdesk or as a technician and prepare for the CCNA. Write on your CV when you plan to take the exam.
Tailoring your CV to the job offer
A manufacturing company looks for multi-site network maintenance and Wi-Fi in halls, an integrator for client rollouts and vendor certificates, and a backbone operator for dynamic routing. Move to the top what the job ad is about.
Questions and answers
What should a network administrator put on a CV?
The size of the network, hardware, protocols, monitoring, security, rollouts, certificates, education and English.
Does a network administrator need a CCNA?
Not always, but the CCNA is one of the most often required certificates and helps you pass the first filter.
Can you become a network administrator with no experience?
Yes, usually through the helpdesk or work as a technician. On your CV show a lab, placements and preparation for a certificate.
Should you name hardware vendors?
Yes, job ads often name specific brands, for example Cisco, Fortinet or MikroTik.