Having a resume that highlights your unique strengths and skillsets and makes you stand out among the crowd of candidates is essential when applying for jobs, internships, and college. Your resume is a one-page document that should explain why you are a good fit for the role and organization you are applying for. It is crucial that you have a strong resume since it will be the first thing an employer evaluates during the job hiring process.
For high school students, it can feel challenging to determine what to feature in your resume, especially when you don’t have formal work experience. There are plenty of ways to highlight your skills and abilities to employers through your involvement in school and extra-curricular activities.
We’ve listed out all the key parts every high school student should include in their resume.
1. Contact information
On the top of your resume, write your full name and include contact information. You should always list an email and phone number. Use a personal email address that is professional. While traditionally it has been expected to provide a mailing address, it is no longer necessary. You can also include your LinkedIn profile or personal website URL in this space.
2. Objective
An object is a short statement on what makes you qualified for the job. It is about one to three sentences that give a summary of your skills and goals.
3. Education
While your high school education is typically not to be listed on a resume, current high school students or recent graduates can include their high school education. Alongside your school’s name, you can include your GPA, academic honors, and relevant coursework.
4. Work Experience
List part-time jobs, summer jobs, or even gig work like babysitting or dog walking. In this section, include the name of the employer, the time you worked at the company, and bullet point descriptions of your responsibilities. Use action verbs when describing your job responsibilities and tailor the descriptions to the job you are applying for.
5. Extra-Curricular Activities
If you don’t have work experience, you probably have other activities that demonstrate your skillset. You can highlight clubs and after-school activities like working for the school newspaper, being a part of the ASB leadership, art club, etc. If you play sports, volunteer, or have any notable hobbies, you can include those as well. This can be a great way to show your involvement in the community and highlight leadership skills outside of school.
6. Skills
List out your soft and hard skills. Soft skills are also referred to as personal skills or interpersonal skills. Examples include communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, etc. Hard skills are technical abilities, such as speaking another language, video editing, computer skills, machinery usage, etc.
7. Certificates
Include relevant certificates highlighting your accomplishments or additional educational courses you have completed. List the certificate title, the organization that awarded the certification, the date issued, and a brief description.
Final Tips
Once you have created your resume, have a friend, family member, or teacher look it over. An extra set of eyes can help ensure your resume is free of spelling and grammatical errors and clearly explains what makes you a strong candidate.
We’ve created a resume example of a high school student applying to work at a restaurant. You can also use this as your resume template. Make a copy of the file on Google Docs to edit and create your own resume. Access our JA Resource: Resume Example & Template here.
