High School Resume Examples for 2023

If you’re like most high school students, you’re in the tough situation of writing a resume without any work experience.

We’ll explain exactly how to make a high school student resume for your first job, internship, or college that highlights your strengths even if you have no work experience.

Whether you’re applying for summer jobs or need a resume for college, here are some additional resources that you can use depending on your situation:

• Resume examples for teens
• How to write an entry-level cover letter
• The 40 best jobs for teenagers
• How to make a sorority resume
• Internship resume example
• How to write a scholarship resume
• Babysitter resume
• Dog walker resume

To start off, check out the following video where our resident career expert Chloe explains how to write a resume with no experience, step-by-step:

1. Use a simple student resume format

If you’re writing a resume for your first job, then you’re probably not sure where to start. So we’ll break it down for you.

Start by using the standard chronological resume format. This format places your most recent experience at the top of the page (just below your resume’s header section and introduction), and older experience underneath it. Note that this experience doesn’t need to be work experience, and can be things like internships, volunteer work, and class projects.

You should then include the following information on your resume:

• Contact information – your name, email address, and phone number.
• Resume objective – a 3-sentence summary about who you are and why people should hire you.
• Education – your high school and graduation date.
• Work or volunteer experience – this can be anything from mowing your neighbor’s lawn to helping out at the local food bank.
• Projects – worked on a cool project for school or just for fun? Mention it on your resume.
• Extracurricular activities – clubs or sports you do outside of class.
• Languages – any languages you study or speak (if you speak more than one).
• Hobbies – any interests you have outside of school.

2. Write an outstanding high school student resume objective

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

Expert Tip

However, if you’ve achieved a lot as a student so far in your life, you could try generating a professional resume summary.

Before you write your resume objective, read the job ad to see what qualifications the employer is looking for. Then, write a 2–3 sentence paragraph that highlights your:

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

Employers appreciate seeing a resume introduction because it lets them know that you’re passionate about getting a job and whether or not you’re qualified.

Here are two student resume summary examples that emphasize the applicant’s strengths:

Here’s why this resume objective works: in the first sentence of this example, the student establishes several key skills, and includes their GPA to demonstrate a capacity for high achievement.

The second sentence clearly explains where the student wants to work, and the third sentence tells the hiring manager what skills they have to bring to the position.

Here’s why this resume objective works: In the opening and closing sentences, the candidate clearly expresses how they hope to contribute to the company, and in the second sentence they highlight their relevant experience and skills.

3. Highlight your volunteer experience and extracurricular activities

There’s no need to panic if you’re writing a resume with no experience. You can simply replace the work experience section of your resume with a section describing details like your:

• main extracurricular activities
• examples of volunteer work
• contracting and freelance gigs

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

If you still have gaps in your resume, you can expand on the extracurricular activities you’ve been involved in. Include noteworthy information, like leadership roles you held, or major projects you led and organized, like this:

You should also include your hobbies and interests on your resume if they showcase some sort of soft skill such as teamwork skills or leadership skills.

Your interests are especially important to mention if they’re related to the position in some way. For example, reading is a good hobby to put on a library page resume because it shows you enjoy being around books.

Resume Insight

If you have received any academic or job-related awards you can list them in a special section or under your education section.

4. Include relevant coursework on your high school student resume

If you don’t have many volunteer or extracurricular activities to put on your high school resume, that’s okay.

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

Including your school coursework shows that you have some relevant unpaid experience and that you can handle projects efficiently.

Here’s an example of how to include relevant coursework in your own resume:

If you’re unsure what classes relate to different jobs, here are some ideas:

5. Focus on your transferable skills

If you’re wondering what to put for skills on a high school resume, we’ve got you covered with our lists below.

While you may not have many examples of hard skills for your resume because they often take years of experience or education to learn, you may still have some and not realize it. For instance, you’ve probably developed skills through your life that are valuable to a variety of different jobs, like typing and other various computer skills.

Plus you’ve likely built a range of soft skills during your time as a high school student (and in life in general), and these skills are highly transferable and valuable for all kinds of work.

Transferable soft skills

Soft skills are the personal qualities that determine how you interact with others, such as basic communication skills or your ability to collaborate. These skills are very useful because they’re hard to teach and help you excel naturally in pretty much any environment.

Here are some soft skills to highlight on your resume:

However, soft skills aren’t the type of skills you can just list in the skills section of your resume. After all, what does it really mean to have strong communication skills?

To convey your top transferable skills to employers, you’ll need to provide real-life examples of how you’ve applied them in your experience section and resume’s introduction.

Notice all of the soft skills (in bold) mentioned in this resume objective example:

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 in your introduction like this can help hiring managers see that you’re a good fit for the position and want to work with them specifically.

Try to pick out skills relevant to the position you’re applying for, and then include examples of how you demonstrated them in your experience section.

Transferable hard skills

Here are some additional skills to include in your high school student resume that you’ve likely picked up through school or your social life:

Expert Tip

And remember: a well-balanced skills section can make your resume stand out amongst other job applicants and help you land an interview for a high-paying teen job. So why not spend a little extra time to write a great one?

6. Use descriptive action verbs

When you’re writing a resume, you need to articulate what makes you a valuable and qualified candidate in as concise and engaging a way as possible.

To make the best impression possible, omit bland and passive phrases like “was responsible for” or “was tasked with” – they don’t tell employers anything meaningful about your performance. Opt instead for vibrant action verbs that describe how you did things and what you accomplished.

As a general rule, start each bullet point of your experience section with an 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 for your high school resume:

Resume Insight

If you’re writing about a particular experience you’re still participating in, use present tense. For all previous experiences, use past tense.

Frequently asked questions about high school resumes

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

What is a high school diploma called on a resume?

A high school diploma is 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
2023

How long should a high school resume be?

A high school resume should be no longer than one page. If it doesn’t fill a whole page and looks sparse, try to find ways to spread it out evenly and make good use of white space.

Choosing a pre-designed resume template can make it easier to create a well-organized resume.

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
2022

If you have any relevant coursework or honors you want to show off, you can include those as well. Here’s an adjusted example:

Arapahoe Ridge High School
Boulder, CO
High School Diploma
2022
GPA: 3.8/4.0

Relevant Coursework: AP English Language and Composition, Creative Writing