High School Student Resume Examples & Writing Guide

You’re a high school student who wants to land your first full-time job or internship. Show the managers how valuable you are with this great resume for high school students.

You read Catch-22 in English class last year—now you’re living it. Why?

You’re writing a high school student resume to land your first job or internship—but don’t have any experience to show. Luckily, you’re about to learn how to make a resume for high school students so good, they’ll think you’re the valedictorian.

In this guide, you'll see:

• High school resume examples that will help you land your first job.
• A high school resume template that suits your needs.
• A full breakdown of how to write a resume for high school students that gets interviews.
• Best skills to add to your high school student resume.

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Have you already graduated from high school? Go here:

By studying over 500,000 resumes crafted with our builder, we found that*:

- On average, students report having 41.13 months of work experience.
- The most commonly added skills by students are: Learning Assessments, Microsoft Office Suite, Performance Improvement, and Teamworking.
- Students usually finish building their resume in just 26.3 minutes.
- The most popular resume templates for students are Cascade, Diamond, and Concept.
* The data comes from the last 12 months (August 2023-August 2024).

First, let's take a look at three resume examples for high schoolers with varying degrees of work experience.

High School Resume Examples

As a high schooler, you might already have plenty of entry-level work experience. Conversely, you might be looking for your first job ever. Each of these types of resumes requires a slightly different approach. Below are three resume samples to help you visualize your end goal: a complete job application for a high school student with no experience, part-time experience, or plenty of work history.

#1 High School Resume Example With No Proper Work Experience

Jill Kikorski

High School Senior

Personal Info

Objective

Enthusiastic high school senior with a passion for politics. Seeking to leverage top scores in Social Science (102%) and volunteering experience at a nonprofit voter awareness organization to deliver on all major KPIs as an intern at the Cuyahoga County Government Office.

Education

Cuyahoga Heights High School,

Garfield Heights, OH

Expected Graduation: 2024

GPA: 3.75

Relevant Coursework: AP US History, Intro to Government, AP European History

• Vice president of the student council
• Member of the debate & political science clubs

Experience

Student Delegate

Model United Nations

June 2021–November 2023

• Represented two countries for numerous UN committees with pre-set topics for debate.
• Researched the background of the countries and prepared notes on possible solutions to the problems faced.
• Provided strong leadership and guidance to the team, resulting in a top-3 delegation finish.
• Achieved a 95% committee resolution rate.

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer

Garfield Heights, OH

March 2022 - Current

• Delivered speeches to increase voter awareness
• Collected donations for voter education campaigns
• Distributed informational flyers at local events to promote civic engagement

Skills

• Strong research and analytical skills
• Effective written and verbal communication
• Public speaking and debate
• Problem-solving
• Negotiation
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Time Management

Languages

• Spanish - bilingual

Certifications

• Microsoft Office Specialist Expert, Microsoft, January 2019

#2 High School Resume Sample With Part-Time Experience

Jill Kikorski

High School Senior

Personal Info

Objective

Enthusiastic high school senior passionate about delivering exceptional customer service in a fast-paced environment. Achieved a 98% on-time delivery rate, exceeding company standards as a delivery driver. Seeking a cook position at Grillfield to contribute my grilling expertise and dedication to quality food preparation.

Education

Cuyahoga Heights High School,

Garfield Heights, OH

Expected Graduation: 2024

• Vice president of the student council
• Member of the cooking club

Experience

Pizza Delivery Driver

PizzaMia, Garfield Heights, OH

• Ensured timely and accurate delivery of pizzas to customers, maintaining high customer satisfaction.
• Implemented efficient route planning, resulting in a 15% reduction in delivery times.
• Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills to address customer concerns and ensure a positive experience.
• Achieved a 98% on-time delivery rate, exceeding company standards.

Volunteer Experience

Grillmaster

Annual Charity Fair, Garfield Heights, OH

September 2021 & 2022

• Led a team of volunteers in preparing and grilling food items for the charity fair.
• Raised $2,000 in charitable donations through engaging food promotions and sales.
• Received recognition for outstanding leadership and culinary skills from event organizers.

Skills

• Culinary Arts
• Customer Service
• Route Planning
• Car & Motorcycle Driving
• Problem-Solving
• Time Management
• Effective Written and Verbal Communication
• Negotiation
• Microsoft Office Suite

Languages

• Spanish - bilingual

Certifications

• Microsoft Office Specialist Expert, Microsoft, January 2019

#3 Experienced High Schooler Resume Example

Jill Kikorski

High School Senior

Personal Info

Summary

Efficient high school senior with a passion for culinary arts and 2+ years of success working in fast-paced environments. Collaborated with the kitchen team to implement a time-efficient system for grilling, reducing downtime between meal services by 30%. Participated in creating new menu items, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction. Aiming to bring my strong communication skills and culinary achievements to enhance the dining experience at Wurstfield.

Education

Cuyahoga Heights High School,

Garfield Heights, OH

Expected Graduation: 2024

Work Experience

Cook

Grill & Doner, Garfield Heights, OH

• Participated in creating new menu items, resulting in a 20% increase in customer satisfaction.
• Collaborated with the kitchen team to implement a time-efficient system for grilling, reducing downtime between meal services by 30%.
• Received recognition for maintaining a consistently clean and organized kitchen workspace.
• Demonstrated exceptional teamwork by consistently achieving a 99% accuracy rate in preparing orders, contributing to a positive and efficient kitchen atmosphere.

Pizza Delivery Driver

PizzaMia, Garfield Heights, OH

January 2021–June 2022

• Ensured timely and accurate delivery of pizzas to customers, maintaining high customer satisfaction.
• Implemented efficient route planning, resulting in a 15% reduction in delivery times.
• Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills to address customer concerns and ensure a positive experience.
• Achieved a 98% on-time delivery rate, exceeding company standards.

Volunteer Experience

Grillmaster

Annual Charity Fair, Garfield Heights, OH

September 2021 & 2022

• Led a team of volunteers in preparing and grilling food items for the charity fair.
• Raised $2,000 in charitable donations through engaging food promotions and sales.
• Received recognition for outstanding leadership and culinary skills from event organizers.

Skills

• Culinary Arts
• Grilling
• Food Safety
• Customer Service
• Route Planning
• Problem-Solving
• Time Management
• Effective Written and Verbal Communication

Now, let’s get started on your high school student resume!

1. Choose the Best High School Student Resume Format

Think of writing your resume for a high school student like a take-home test. The standards for getting an A+ are high.

You need to do your research, use powerful language, and customize your resume for the job you want to land. It won’t be easy—The recruiters will give your resume only a 7-second glance to decide whether you pass or not.

To pass the eye test, make sure your resume isn’t cluttered. Here’s how to make your high school resume format crystal clear:

• Pick a simple resume template. A high school resume template shouldn’t be overdesigned.
• Go with the reverse-chronological resume format, as it is preferred by most recruiters.
• Choose readable resume fonts like Cambria or Times New Roman in 10-12 pt. You want to appear professional and show you’ve done this before.
• Embrace white space by using 1-inch margins and consistent spacing throughout the document.
• Limit your resume length to one page.
• Separate your resume sections. Go with: the resume header, resume profile, education, experience (if you have any), skills, and “additional.”
• Unless instructed otherwise, save your resume as a PDF, rather than DOC. Converting it to PDF ensures your layout works on all software and devices.

Expert Hint: Keep your contact information in the resume header concise. Give your name, professional email address, phone number, optimized LinkedIn URL, and a link to any other of your relevant websites, blogs, or social media profiles. You can also add a catchy resume headline for some extra flair.

2. Write a Catching Resume Objective for a High School Student Resume

Pop quiz! What’s the best way to make your high school student resume stand out?

A pitch-perfect high school resume objective. It’s a short paragraph at the top of your resume that explains what skills will make you a good fit and what you’re hoping to achieve for the company.

1. A catchy resume adjective (determined, efficient, enthusiastic).
2. Current title (high school senior, high school student).
3. One or two accomplishments.
4. One sentence explaining what you’re seeking to achieve for the company.

Look at these two high school resume objective examples for reference:

High School Student Resume Objective—Example

Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

5. Add Important Skills to Your High School Student Resume

Remember the job ad? It’s full of skills your future employer expects you to have. They act as resume keywords for their ATS scans.

An ATS is a software system that recruiters use to weed out applicants whose resumes don’t match the position they are applying to. If you don’t have the right keywords for the position, you’ll likely land in the reject pile automatically. This means you need an ATS-friendly resume.

So, match your skill list with the keywords you find in the job ad. Here are some common examples of skills for a high school student resume:

Skills for a High School Student Resume

• Writing Skills
• Technical Skills
• Marketing Skills
• Management Skills
• Communication Skills
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Project Management Skills
• Analytical Skills
• Workplace Safety
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Time Management Skills
• Active Listening Skills
• OHS Rules & Regulations
• Computer Skills
• Decision-Making Skills
• Creative Thinking Skills
• Administrative Skills
• Leadership Skills

Fair warning, though:

Don’t overload your application with a long list of skills for a resume. No recruiter wants a resume that’s as long as the list of irregular verbs. Pick 5–10 skills, and you’re golden. Also, if possible, try to prioritize hard skills over soft skills. For example, if you’re applying for a receptionist position, use resume keywords like MS Office or your typing speed.

And one more thing. A rather large concern for companies and teen employees is work safety. So, this skill is a rather ubiquitous one and can easily increase the value of your resume.

6. Load Your High School Student Resume With Extra Sections

Every high school student has the same resume sections we explained above. Want to stand out? Add one or two bonus sections to get recruiters to notice you. Choose from:

• Certifications
• Volunteer Experience
• Known Languages
• Hobbies & Interests
• Completed Courses
• Publications
• Memberships

Adding 1–3 of them is how you can upgrade your resume as a high school student.

Look at this great example of extra sections:

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

For a high school student resume that passes with flying colors, remember to:

• Use the provided high school student resume template. It’s got everything you need.
• Showcase your achievements with a captivating objective. Highlight them further in the later resume sections.
• Detail your educational background. Don’t forget to add relevant awards and classes you took, along with the school name, city, state, and the expected graduation date.
• Highlight your skills. Refer to the job ad and add relevant hard and soft abilities.
• Write a high school cover letter. A cover letter with no experience is extremely effective at boosting your chances of landing your first job.

And if you’re looking for related guides, check out any of these:

• College Application Resume
• College Graduate Resume
• College Student Resume
• Graduate School Resume
• Internship Resume
• No Experience Resume
• Scholarship Resume
• Student Resume
• Teen Resume

Do you have questions on how to write a great high school student resume with no experience? Not sure how to present your high school education on a resume? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply.

Mariusz is a career expert with a background in quality control & economics. With work experience in FinTech and a passion for self-development, Mariusz brings a unique perspective to his role. He’s dedicated to providing the most effective advice on resume and cover letter writing techniques to help his readers secure the jobs of their dreams.

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