High School Student Resume
Ready to hit the job market? Maybe you are about to look for your very first casual or part time role. Or perhaps you’ve just finished high school and you’re getting ready to hit the work force.
Whatever the work type you are seeking, it’s time to put together a high school student resume that lands you more interviews and secures you a job to begin your working career.
Everyone knows that, as a high school student, you won’t have a lot of commercial work experience. In fact, you might not have any work experience at all. That’s OK.
I have read and reviewed thousands and thousands of resumes over my recruitment career. And I am here to help you create a succinct and professional resume to land your first job.
By the end of this article, you will know what to put in your resume, including hints and tips for creating content when you don’t have any work experience at all.
Let’s get started.
Sections of a High School Student Resume
Your resume should be divided into sections and be around 1 page in length.
Here are the key sections I recommend you include to create a professional impression with prospective employers:
Contact Details
You need to include your contact details on your resume. The key contact details you should include are your full name and a contact phone number. That contact number could be a mobile phone number if you don’t have a landline or rarely use a landline.
You no longer need to add your home address or any other personal details such as your date of birth. It is best practice not to include a photograph of yourself on your resume.
Profile Summary
It can be helpful to create a couple of sentences that describe you at the top of your resume under the heading Profile Summary. For example you might write something like:
Highly motivated and friendly student with strong written and verbal communication skills. I am a driven problem solver able to work as part of team to create positive outcomes no matter the task. Using proven time management techniques, I am able to effectively complete projects independently and confidently.
Education, Courses and Awards
List the school where you are currently studying and the year you are in. Also include any qualifications you have if they are relevant for the role you are applying for.
For example, let’s say you are applying for a casual position as your local pool or recreation centre and you have undertaken a short First Aid course as part of your schooling. Consider including that on your resume under the Education and Courses section of your resume.
If you have been acknowledged for excellence in any aspect of your life, it is worth listing those achievements in this section also. Perhaps hold off on listing that you were the Grade 4 Spelling Bee champion but definitely list your academic, social services or sporting achievements here.
Key Skills and Attributes
Consider including a section that outlines your key skills and attributes. With little commercial work experience, it can be difficult to think of content for this section of your resume. Here are some ideas:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Exceptional time management and task prioritisation skills
- Supportive team member
- Driven to learn and grow by taking on new challenges
- Active listener who is able to take direction and instruction
Experience
You have a couple of choices for this section of your high school student resume. If you prior work experience, list it in this section. One layout you might consider is as follows:
Crew Trainer | McDonalds | August 2019 – present
- Customer service and support
- Training of over 20 customer service team members in serving, restaurant maintenance and creating an exceptional customer experience
Babysitter | Various families | January 2017 – August 2019
If you don’t have any formal work experience but you do have some experience working as a volunteer, this is the section for that information. For example:
Volunteer – Meals Delivery Service | Manningham Church | May 2017 – May 2018
- Worked as part of a team of 5 people to deliver meals to the vulnerable in our local community
- Packed and delivered meal packs following strict food safety and hygiene guidelines and regulations
References
It is common practice to write “References available on request” or similar wording under the References section of your resume.
Consider who you will provide should you be shortlisted for a job interview. If you have no commercial work experience as yet, you can list what are known as character references. Relevant people to provide character references include:
- A trusted family friend you have known for many years
- Sports or club coaches
- Teachers and School Principals
- Tutors
If you do have formal work experience make sure you nominate referees from your workplace who can talk to your experience, attitude and capabilities.
Always make sure you ask your referees if you can provide their name and details before you provide those to any prospective employer.
This is a common courtesy many people forget. It can leave your referees feeling caught off guard if the employer calls them, when you haven’t given them a prior heads up.
High school student resume style
There is no set structure for what a high school student resume. Common sense should prevail. I always prefer seeing a fairly conservative resume format.
That is, a one page resume with a professional font and “look and feel” is a preference over a highly colourful resume with fancy fonts and images.
However, let’s say you are applying for a casual role at an Art Studio, Gallery or in a digital marketing agency. A more creative resume format might be appropriate for a role like this.
There are many free tools available to you online to create a professional looking resume. Check out tools like Canva which has a section devoted to resume templates that will take you right to the top of the interview pile.
Finding inspiration for your high school student resume
We are living in a highly digital and connected world. That’s great news when you are creating your high school student resume.
Simply use your search engine of choice to search “high school student resume” and you will be able to access a significant range of examples you can draw inspiration from.
Before you submit your high school student resume
It’s no secret that when you submit your high school student resume, there will be many other job applicants submitting their resume as well. That means you have to do everything you can to ensure that your resume stands out from the rest.
Before you send your resume to any prospective employers, you should:
- Double check that the phone number or email address you have included is correct
- Check for spelling and grammar mistakes in your resume
- Ensure you have used the same format throughout your resume so it reads consistently
- Check your social media accounts to ensure that none of them contain content and photographs that will reflect poorly on you
Crossing my fingers for you!
Wishing you all the very best of luck as you head out to join the work force. You are about to embark on a very rewarding phase of your life. And the extra money in your pocket will be liberating too.
Now go and get yourself a job.