High School Student
Cover Letter Example

If you’re a teen with little or no work experience, finding a job might seem challenging. However, a well-written cover letter is the perfect way to convince employers that you’re worth hiring and land some of the best jobs for teenagers.

A great cover letter for a part time job highlights your work ethic, passion, and the valuable skills you acquired from other real-life experiences, such as school courses, extracurricular activities, or volunteer work.

Here are a few tips for crafting the perfect high school student cover letter:

1. Highlight skills you gained as a high school student

Use your cover letter to showcase any relevant skills that show employers you’re a great fit for the job.

Despite limited work experience, there are a variety of skills that many high school students have that are still valuable to employers.

Here are some hard and soft skills you’ve likely picked up as a high school student that you can talk about in your cover letter:

Skills to highlight on a high school student cover letter

Be sure to provide real-life examples of your accomplishments to demonstrate your skills, like this applicant did in their cover letter:

2. Open with a strong introduction

Understanding how to write an attention-grabbing cover letter introduction is especially important if you’re writing a cover letter with no experience.

Because you don’t have much work experience to highlight, crafting a strong introduction is the best way to give employers a better sense of your passion, and how you can contribute to their organization.

Here are tips on how to write an impactful intro paragraph:

• Show your enthusiasm for the company or role.
• Lead with an impressive achievement that highlights skills that are essential to the job.
• Research the company to show initiative, but be strategic with how you incorporate this information in your cover letter. You can position your talents in alignment with their long-term goals, or bring up any recent news and connect it back to why you’re interested in working for the company.

Here’s a good example:

This student draws attention to her experience as a high school newspaper editor to illustrate why she’s a good candidate for the position.

3. Show your passion for the industry

Employers want to hire someone who’s going to be genuinely excited to be there. People who are passionate about their jobs are more likely to have a positive attitude, stronger work ethic, and enhanced productivity.

Here are some ways that you can show your passion on a cover letter:

1. Show your enthusiasm for the role with a professional but personable tone.
2. Don’t just say you’re interested in the job, explain why you’re interested.
3. Connect a personal passion to the job to prove you’re committed to making an impact.

Here’s an example written by a candidate applying for a tutoring position:

This applicant comes across as enthusiastic about the job and the opportunity to support students’ academic growth.