How To Write a High School Student Resume

If you’re a high school student searching for a job, having a well-crafted resume can help you find potential opportunities. But you may be unsure where to start, especially if you’ve never written your resume. How do you present your education when it’s still underway? And how do you get interviews with little or no work experience?

These concerns shouldn’t keep you from writing a great resume for high school jobs. Chances are, even at a young age, you have experiences you can translate into strong resume content. The trick is focusing on the relevant skills like foreign languages, writing, or leading groups you’ve gained through work, educational, and volunteer experiences. Read on for tips and examples that will help focus your high school resume.

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1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your qualifications

In a brief paragraph, your profile summary should describe your top three to five qualifications for your target high school job. You may think this resume section isn’t necessary for young job seekers and entry-level positions. Yet, at every career level, the profile section improves your resume by focusing the hiring manager’s attention on whatever makes you a great fit.

If you’ve worked before, you may want to base your profile points on that job experience. But you could also base them on your high school experience or other activities. It just depends on what’s relevant to the role you’re pursuing. For instance, maybe you have volunteer experience that overlaps strongly with your target job duties. Or you’ve excelled in an AP class at school that relates to your goal. Maybe you have advanced skills in a foreign language and would like to use those in a work setting. Whatever your top qualifications, feature them in the profile, and you’ll ensure your resume makes a great first impression.

Profile Example 1


High school student with recent volunteer work at a veterinary clinic. Naturally curious and motivated to learn about new health care procedures and equipment. Passionate about supporting the health and well-being of all types of animals.

Profile Example 2


High school student with recent formal experience helping care for toddlers. Dedicated to providing children with fun, educational indoor and outdoor activities. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.

2. Add a pertinent experience section

Your resume’s experience section should center on your relevant duties, skills, and highlights. By focusing on your relevant background (whether in or outside high school), you can give hiring managers a clear view of how you fit their needs.

You don’t need directly related work experience (or any experience) to draft a solid high school resume. But you must brainstorm how you’ve applied yourself in other ways and write how those experiences helped prepare you for the job you’re seeking. This may sound tricky, but you can use details about your high school activities, volunteering, or any other area of your life so far.

Below is a list of experience areas you might develop for your high school resume:

  • Community service
  • High school athletics
  • High school clubs and societies
  • Hobbies and interests
  • Internships
  • Leadership experience
  • Personal accomplishments
  • Research experience
  • Summer camps or coursework
  • Travel or study abroad experience
  • Volunteer experience
  • Work experience

For each of the above areas you have experience in, take 10 minutes or so to brainstorm answers to these questions:

1. What were your primary roles, duties, or focus areas?
2. What are you most proud of about this experience?
3. What general skill areas did you develop (e.g., teamwork, efficiency, customer service)?

Next, determine which of your answers overlap with the key skills required for the job you’re now pursuing. Include on your resume anything that overlaps and leave out anything that doesn’t. With this approach, you can show the most relevant aspects of your life and give hiring managers a better sense of the skills you offer. For instance, say you’re applying to be a pizza delivery driver. In citing any high school sports on your resume for this job, you could focus on the relevant skills you gained, such as teamwork or adaptability.

Work Experience Example


Assistant, Paw Plus Pet Shop, Tampa, FL | June 2021 to September 2021

  • Gained a strong foundation in customer service, helping visitors find their desired products
  • Stocked shelves and maintained inventory
  • Worked the cash register and helped other retail associates as needed

Volunteer Experience Example


Sacramento Veterinary Clinic, Sacramento, CA | August 2021 to present

  • Assist veterinarians and staff with various daily tasks such as animal feeding, walking, and cage cleaning
  • Facilitate phone, mail, and email communications with pet owners
  • File and maintain information on over 150 clients and their pets
  • Help maintain an adequate inventory of pet medications
  • Refill paper towels and other exam room essentials as needed

High School Athletics Experience Example


Member, Volleyball Team | August 2021 to present

  • Won “Most Valuable Player” for Spring 2022 season
  • Demonstrated strong teamwork and adaptability in a high-pressure setting

3. Include your high school education and certifications

You may wonder how (or whether) to give education details when you’re still working toward your diploma. It’s actually pretty simple – see below for a template you can use to accurately show your in-progress high school education and a template for any certifications you’d like to add as well. Note that optional template areas appear in [brackets].

Education

Template

  • Candidate: Diploma, High School Name, City, ST | expected graduation date
  • [academic awards or distinctions]

Example

  • Candidate: Diploma, Texas Preparatory School, Austin, TX | expected June 2023
  • 3.9 GPA and perfect attendance record to date

Certification

Template

  • Certification Name or Title, [Awarding Organization] | [Year]

Example

  • Service Excellence Certificate, VCU Advanced Solutions | 2023

4. List key skills and proficiencies

Include a “key skills” section to help further focus your resume on your relevant background. For many high schoolers (especially those with limited work experience), this section should include “soft skills” like problem-solving and collaboration. But also feel free to add specific software programs you’ve used, or other technical skills you’ll need in your target job. Below are some common key skills for high school resumes:

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Adobe Creative Suite Creative problem-solving
Customer service and relations Data gathering and entry
Efficiency improvement Filing and documentation
Independent research Inventory monitoring
Microsoft Office Suite Office administration
Point-of-Sale (POS) systems Product sales and merchandising
Reading, writing and editing Task prioritization
Team collaboration Time management

How To Pick the Best High School Student Resume Template

A clear and straightforward resume template is usually best for high school students. Opt for a visual design that lets the hiring manager quickly review your most relevant information. Use a simple resume font, and avoid any template that has an overly colorful or elaborate design.

High School Student Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

  • Example #1
  • Example #2
  • Example #3

Michelle Hamilton
(111) 123-4567 | [email protected] | Sacramento, CA 94248 | www.linkedin.com/example

Profile

High school student with recent volunteer work at a veterinary clinic. Naturally curious and motivated to learn about new health care procedures and equipment. Passionate about supporting the health and well-being of all types of animals.

Key Skills

  • Data gathering and entry
  • Filing and documentation
  • Microsoft Word, Excel
  • Task prioritization
  • Team collaboration
  • Veterinary procedures and equipment

Volunteer Experience

Sacramento Veterinary Clinic, Sacramento, CA | August 2021 to Present

  • Assist veterinarians and staff with various daily tasks such as animal feeding, walking, and cage cleaning
  • Facilitate phone, mail, and email communications with pet owners
  • File and maintain information on over 150 clients and their pets
  • Help maintain an adequate inventory of pet medications
  • Refill paper towels and other exam room essentials as needed

Education

Candidate: College Prep Diploma, Sacramento High School, Sacramento, CA | expected June 2024

High School Honors & Activities

Member, Debate Team | August 2022 to Present

  • Collaborate closely on a 10-person team to form and organize compelling debate arguments

Attendee, National Honors Society Conference | May 2022

Frequently Asked Questions: High School Student Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for high school student resumes?-

One of the best ways to enhance your resume is by using a good mix of action verbs in your experience section. The following verbs list will help you brainstorm and capture the various ways you’ve applied yourself so far:

Action Verbs
Achieved Assisted
Boosted Carried out
Completed Contributed to
Created Decreased
Developed Earned
Enhanced Established
Exceeded Garnered
Generated Improved
Increased Integrated
Introduced Managed
Mitigated Overcame
Prevented Produced
Proposed Recommended
Reinforced Streamlined
Strengthened Surpassed
Won  
How do you align your high school student resume with a job posting?-

As of 2021, more than 36% (or 6 million) of U.S. teens held jobs for at least part of the summer season. This was the highest rate of summer employment for teenagers since 2008.

You can get more interviews for high school jobs if you tailor your resume to each application. Look at the job post text and highlight words or phrases that are repeated, emphasized, or otherwise seem important. Compare these highlighted phrases against the language you’re using in your resume, particularly the profile and key skills sections. Then, look for ways to align your resume language with the job post (while not copying phrases or misrepresenting your background).

For example, if the employer is looking for someone collaborative, you can name that aspect of your experience with a profile line as simple as “Thrive in team-oriented work settings.” Or say the organization has many non-English speaking customers. You could highlight your foreign language skills both in your profile and as a separate section farther down the document. With adjustments like these, you can make your resume more relevant to each new opportunity.

What is the best high school student resume format?-

In nearly all cases, use a Combination (or Hybrid) resume because it’s easiest for hiring managers to learn about your relevant skills and experience. It’s also simplest for you to modify based on your job goals.

With the Combination format, you highlight your most relevant skills and experience in your experience section(s) and an intro section. (This combination of experience and intro content is where the format gets its name.) Your resume intro should usually include a profile summary and key skills section, but you may also include an awards or career highlights section.

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Expert Advice
Include a cover letter with your resume

To increase your chances of an interview, write a strong cover letter. The key to an effective letter is customizing it based on each job opening. Read our high school cover letter guide to learn how. For other related examples, see our student and internship cover letter guides.

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Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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