5+ High School Resume Examples & Templates

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Our Expert:

Nathan Soto

High school resume template

Use this text-based resume template as a guide when writing your own resume.

More high school resume examples

Want more resume examples? Check out these two additional high school resumes:

High school resume for a first job

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Why this example works

• The experience listed indicates the student is responsible and reliable
• The skills section includes common transferable skills, such as Microsoft Word and Excel and language skills
• The applicant has tailored the resume objective by naming the restaurant directly

High school resume with no work experience

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Why this example works

• The applicant includes an extracurricular activities section to fill out the page and avoid large blank spaces
• The honors and awards section highlights strong academic achievements
• The skills section highlights common hard skills employers look for

How to write a resume for a high school student

Most high school students find it challenging to write a resume without any work experience.

Here’s exactly how to create a high school student resume for your first job, internship, or college — one highlights your strengths even if you’ve never worked before.

To start, watch the video where our career expert Chloe explains how to write a resume with no experience, step by step:

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Our Expert:

Chloe Chioy

1. Use a simple student resume format

If you’re writing a resume for your first job, begin with the standard chronological resume format. In this format, your most recent experience appears first (right under your resume’s header section and introduction), followed by older experience underneath that.

The experience you list doesn’t need to be paid work. You can include internships, volunteer work, and class projects, or any activities that show responsibility and skill.

Here’s everything you should include on your high school resume:

• Contact information – your name, email address, and phone number
• Resume objective – a 3-sentence summary explaining who you are and why people should hire you
• Education – your high school name and expected graduation date
• Work or volunteer experience – anything from mowing lawns to helping at a food bank
• Projects – major assignments you’ve completed in or out of school
• Extracurricular activities – clubs or sports you do outside of class
• Languages – any languages you study or speak
• Hobbies – interests you have outside of school that show personality or initiative

Aim for a one-page resume. Academic authorities like the University of Missouri and UC Berkeley recommend prioritizing your relevant experience and keeping your qualifications to a single page unless the position truly warrants more detail.

2. Write an outstanding resume objective

A resume objective is one type of introduction you can use to summarize who you are to employers. This intro works especially well for high school students or anyone with little job experience because it emphasizes your future career goals and passion (rather than your current accomplishments).

Before writing your resume objective, read the job listing to understand what the employer wants. Then write 2–3 sentences that highlight:

• your relevant skills
• your related career goals
• what you can contribute to the company or organization

A well-written resume objective boosts your resume by showing employers both your enthusiasm for the job and the qualifications you bring.

Here are two student resume summary examples that clearly emphasize the applicants’ strengths:

Here’s why this resume objective works:

The first sentence establishes several key skills, including the student’s GPA.

The second sentence clearly identifies the desired role, and the third sentence explains the value the student can bring to the organization.

Here’s why this resume objective works:
The opening and closing sentences show how the candidate plans to contribute to the company. The second sentence highlights relevant experience and skills.

More example resume objectives for high school students

A good resume objective gives employers a quick snapshot of your skills, qualifications, and career goals. Use these examples as inspiration:

3. Highlight your volunteer experience and extracurriculars

If you’re writing a resume with no experience, replace the work experience section of your resume with one that shows your:

• main extracurricular activities
• volunteer work experience
• contracting and freelance gigs

Here’s an example of how to include volunteer work on a high school resume:

If you still have extra space on your resume, expand on your extracurriculars. Include leadership roles or major projects you organized, like this:

Don’t assume that paid work experience is inherently more valuable than volunteer experience. In fact, depending on what job you’re applying to, creating a separate resume section specifically to list your relevant volunteer experience can strengthen your application.

Ohio University’s Peace Corp resume example follows this approach. By emphasizing the applicant’s track record volunteering in their community in a dedicated section, the resume identifies them as a strong candidate for any organization focused on humanitarian efforts.

As a high school student, you can also include hobbies and interests on your resume, especially if they demonstrate soft skills like teamwork or leadership skills.

Your interests are even more valuable if they’re connected to the job you’re applying for. For example, listing reading is a good addition for a library worker role because it shows you enjoy working with books.

4. Include relevant coursework on your high school student resume

If you don’t have volunteer or extracurricular activities to list on your high school resume, that’s perfectly fine.

Instead, highlight what you do have by adding coursework related to the job you’re applying for in your resume’s education section.

Including relevant school coursework shows that you have exposure to the subject area, and are motivated to complete projects.

Here’s an example of how to include coursework on your resume:

If you’re unsure which classes relate to different jobs, here are some common examples:

5. Focus on your transferable skills

If you’re unsure what skills to put on a high school resume, we’ve got you covered.

You probably have more hard skills than you realize. For instance, you’ve probably developed valuable computer skills like typing, using word processors, and even coding.

And you certainly have soft skills that you’ve developed in high school that are valuable in almost every job.

Transferable soft skills

Soft skills are how you interact with others or your ability to collaborate. Employers value these skills because they help you adapt and excel in many professional environments.

In a BNG 2023 survey of 1015 employees, communication skills were ranked as the most important soft skill for new recruits. In Resume Genius’ own 2023 survey, we also found communication to be the most important workplace skill, alongside leadership, customer service, organizational, and analytical skills.

Here are some soft skills to highlight on your resume:

However, simply listing soft skills in the skills section of your resume isn’t enough. Employers want to see that you can use them.

Instead of just mentioning soft skills, provide real-life examples of how you’ve applied them in your experience section or resume objective.

Here’s an example resume objective with soft skills highlighted:

Driven and compassionate student with a 3.8/4.0 GPA and excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. Seeking to apply my tutoring and mentorship skills to the Youth Development summer internship at your company. Possess proven communication skills and passion for advocacy that will support your organization’s cause.

Including skills like this shows hiring managers that you’re a good fit for the position and you want to work with them specifically.

Choose skills that match the job you’re applying for, then include examples of how you used them in your experience section.

Transferable hard skills

Here are additional hard skills you may already have that are worth including on your high school resume, many of which you’ve likely picked up through school or your social life:

6. Use descriptive action verbs

When you’re writing a resume, you need to clearly and concisely show what makes you a valuable and qualified candidate.

To make the strongest impression, avoid passive phrases like “was responsible for” or “was tasked with” — these phrases don’t tell employers anything about your performance.

Instead, use action verbs to describe what you did and what you accomplished.

As a general rule, start each bullet point in your experience section with a strong action verb, like this:

• Organized and maintained library resources, including cataloging new books, shelving materials, and ensuring a neat and accessible library environment

Here are some useful action verbs you can use on your high school resume:

Additional resume resources for high school students

Whether you’re applying for summer jobs, internships, or college, here are some more resources to help you:

• Resume examples for teens
• Internship resume examples & writing guide
• How to write a scholarship resume
• Babysitter resume
• Dog walker resume
• How to write an entry-level cover letter
• Best jobs for teenagers
• How to make a sorority resume

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to some of the most common questions about writing a high school resume.

1. What do you put in a resume for high school?

Because most high school students have limited work experience, it’s important to include other meaningful experience like volunteer work, extracurricular activities (such as band or sports), and major school projects.

You can also include hobbies and interests, especially if they relate to the target job. Remember though that hobbies are usually removed once you gain more work experience.

2. What is a high school diploma called on a resume?

A high school diploma is simply called a high school diploma or a GED on a resume.

You should include your high school diploma on your resume if you’re a recent graduate. Here’s an example:

Hill Valley High School
Hill Valley, KS
High School Diploma
20XX

3. How long should a high school resume be?

A high school resume should be no longer than one page. If your resume doesn’t fill a whole page, use clean formatting and spacing to make it look well-organized.

Choosing a pre-designed resume template can also help you create an effective layout.

4. What should I put under education on a resume in high school?

You should put your high school diploma under the education section of a resume in high school. Here’s an example:

Arapahoe Ridge High School
Boulder, CO
High School Diploma
20XX

If you have relevant coursework or honors, include those as well:

Arapahoe Ridge High School
Boulder, CO
High School Diploma
20XX
GPA: 3.8/4.0

Relevant Coursework: AP English Language and Composition, Creative Writing

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