The Ultimate Guide to Crafting a Perfect High School Resume

A high school student resume creates an image telling the reader who the student is in real life. The reasons why a high school student requires a resume are numerous and we will look into each one of them separately in this post. Meanwhile, browse our resume template pages for more options.

Writing a perfect resume could be a tough job for students, especially for those who have never done this before. At a point in time students might feel that solving a math problem is easy than writing a resume because it's a completely new thing. Not only new but out of their learning syllabus because none of them had done it before. Hence, if you are feeling the same then you got a company.

Not only high school students but even grown ups think resume writing is a complex process. There's a technique called summarising which can shrink a lot of personal and professional information on a single page. Another real life problem is how to begin writing a resume even if you know how to summarise information.

It seems like a tough deal though but don't panic, we are here to help you out!

High School Student Resume Guide: You Will Read the Following

• Why high school students need a resume?
• Structure of a high school student resume
• High school student resume example
• Tips to write a high school resume

So let's get started.

Why High School Students Need a Resume?

The question may confuse you because a job seeker requires a resume, not a student. However, this is not true. In contrast, having a resume since high school can benefit a student. Here are the reasons why a high school student resume is needed.

Part-time Jobs

A job no matter part-time or full time requires a resume. Period. Hence, if you are a student and want to support yourself with managing fees and stationary then a part time job is good for you but you still need a resume.

Scholarship Applications

A scholarship is a financial help and life line for students who are planning to study abroad or pursuing higher studies. To get this help a student must follow the scholarship application process and a resume is an integral part of the process.

Internship or Apprenticeship

An internship or apprenticeship is a paid or an unpaid training program to get work experience. Students apply for internships/apprenticeship after completing certain level of education. But the application process for an internship/apprenticeship program demands a resume.

College Application

For higher studies or degree programs in colleges and universities you must submit a resume along with the application form.

So these are the instances where a high school student resume becomes critical. Above all, if you start making a resume from the high school itself then you will save a lot of time and energy to make it from the scratch after graduation.

If you don't have a high school resume or haven't yet made it then hang on with us.

Structure of a High School Student Resume

There has to be a proper structure whether you are writing a traditional resume or a high school resume. Structure in your resume decides how details will be arranged, what information will come first, and how to summarise a lot of details in a single page.

Following is the structure of a high school student resume:

• Personal details
• Resume objective statement
• Education
• Extracurricular activities
• Awards & achievements
• Volunteer work experience
• Right skills

Looks like a lot of details? It is but you don't have to mention everything. For example, if you don't have volunteer work experience then you can avoid writing it and that's okay.

To make your high school student resume writing easy we have addressed all the sections in details.

Personal Details

In a traditional resume personal details come under the header. The name itself suggests what you should be writing in personal details. Let's name them for your easy understanding.

Full name, phone number, email address, and location. These are the personal information that you will put in the high school student resume. A professional resume always contains a job title but in high school student resumes it is inessential. Moreover, you don't need to write your full address, mention the city and state name.

Example of Good and Bad Personal Details

Resume Objective Statement

Writing an objective statement in a high school resume is trouble-free. You don't have to put much efforts to convince the one who is reading the resume. The reader knows that you are a student and starting afresh hence, be yourself instead of trying to become someone else.

Narrate an unchallenging resume objective statement. Refer to the example below.

Let say you want to make a resume objective statement even more serene. Here is another wonderful example.

The above examples are uncomplicated. They speak with the reader what you want. You need work and you are asking for it. Just be yourself, don't become.

Education

A student is not an experienced professional and that's why there won't be work experience in a high school resume. When you don't have experience then how will you prove your worth? It is your education history that will come to the rescue.

Academic achievements in a resume are a clear substitute of job experience under circumstances when you don't have one. Therefore, pay a little more attention to the education section and present it as nicely as possible.

Follow the below given layout to write academic qualifications in a high school student resume.

A major reason behind writing subjects and GPA is to bring those elements to the knowledge of hiring managers. Subjects relevant to the field of work can dramatically improve chances of job applicants in a job hunt.

Therefore, always polish the high school education section to draw attention. Spare some time to checkout our resume template options.

Extracurricular Activities

If you have participated in school's extracurricular activities apart from academics then its time to include them in your resume. A student's participation in school clubs or societies reflects his or her personality and it highly attracts the retina of hiring managers. A high school student resume is the perfect place to display such competences.

For your understanding we have depicted examples of extracurricular activities and how you must write them in a school resume.

Awards and Achievements

A small win makes a huge difference and this holds a huge meaning in a student's life. A student who wins a class debate competition is a big achievement even though nobody recognises it. But when these details are included in a high school student resume the table turns.

List all such awards and achievements in bullet points. Format properly and if necessary use bold, italics or underline to highlight them. Write each one of them separately for example, sports, theatre, hiking, trekking, environment, literature, history, science, etc. All these subjects are dominated by students during debate, science fair, inter-school or college competitions and more.

If you have been part of such sports or educational activities and have won awards then put them in your resume.

Volunteer Work Experience

Volunteering experience is equal to work experience as long as a high school resumes are concerned. It is expected that a student won't have a work history and this statement is obvious because he or she is just a student.

If you as a student have been involved in volunteer work then it is important to know the difference between volunteering experience, internship, and apprenticeship. A volunteer work is unpaid but an internship or apprentice work can be both paid or unpaid.

Therefore, being a student if you have performed both paid and unpaid work then distinguish them in a resume.

Right Skills

Skill means expertise or competence that an individual possesses and using which a job seeker excels their career. Every one has skills whether a working professional or a student. It is implied that relevant skills are different between both of them.

A professional has work related skill sets also known as technical or hard skills. For example, repairs, maintenance, operating machinery and tools, or maintaining a cash register. Technical skills can be measured with context to the amount of work done but there are certain skills that can't be measured. For example, responsibility, honesty, punctuality, etc.

What skills students should write in his or her resume skills section?

A student can include language skills, computer skills, interpersonal skills, or soft skills in a high school resume. It depends on the job description either job seekers must write all of them or individual skills.

As of now we recommend mentioning language skills, computer skills, and soft skills in the resume's skills section.

Readable and Easy to Navigate

The two basic characteristics of a high school resume are - First, the readability. The one who is reading must easily understand what is written. Second, is the navigation. Your high school resume must swiftly navigate the reader through the content of the resume.

The reader must not struggle with finding the required information. The correct method is to follow a standard format and structure. For example, if you are writing excellent customer service then it must be either in the skills section or in the work history.

Your resume hardly have time to convince the hiring manager. On top of that, if you keep him or her busy searching your resume from top to bottom the games is over.

High School Student Resume Example

Follow is a resume example of high school student. We have fragmented each resume section for your reference. This will make it easy to understand what we have discussed above.

You can copy and paste the above-mentioned resume layout for yourself or you can take help of our resume builder. Our user-friendly resume builder will create a resume for you in no time. Fill in the details and there you are!

Tips to Write a High School Resume

So far we discussed why high school students need a resume and structure of a high school student resume along with high school resume examples. Further, we also discussed different resume sections with examples explaining how to write them.

Now it's time to finally get some tips to write a high school resume.

• Use resume format that is widely accepted and easy to use. Professional resume formats will keep you ahead of other applicants.
• Details like key qualifications, expected graduation date, relevant coursework, etc. must be clear and in valid formats.
• A sample resume of high school student is written here. Take reference.
• Never write a resume without a proper resume format. Decide the format first then proceed with the writing part.
• Like a proper format first decide the structure of a resume. Structure gives correct flow to the content of the resume.
• There's no problem at all in using a resume template. They are safe, hence use them.
• Eliminate stylish texts, lines, borders, frame, and characters. Also avoid using multiple colours throughout the resume. Use single color concept.
• Take help of resume examples in this post to generate your resume.
• Keep your high school resume limited to one or two pages maximum. Normally, one-page high school resume is more suitable and recommended.
• Bypass the Applicant Tracking System - The applicant tracking systems are friends of employers. They help to sort best applicants from thousands who are job hunting. If you follow this post and the tips given here your resume won't get trapped in the backwaters of these systems.

Create Your First High School Resume with Us

Study accompanied with side hustle rewards an individual. Right now you might be planning to take on an evening job at your nearest cafe or keeping up with college applications for a scholarship. The point is no matter what it is you will need a resume and our high school resume template can walk you through the process. Come aboard, we are waiting for you!