High School Resume Examples and Templates for 2025
By Soozy G. Miller
Head of Career Advising
Soozy G. Miller
Read More
Head of Career Advising
Last Updated:
July 15, 2025
As a high school student, writing your first resume can be challenging. Without years of professional experience, you may find yourself struggling to fill out content on the page. The key is to leverage your academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities, practical skills, and volunteer initiatives to compensate for a limited work history. In this guide, we’ll provide expert tips and insights to help you craft a high school student resume that reflects your most impressive qualifications and attributes.
Key takeaways:
- Feature academic achievements and extracurriculars: If you’re entering the workforce for the first time, highlight academic courses, projects, and your experience as a member of student organizations.
- Quantify your accomplishments: For high school students with a limited work history, quantify your contributions whenever possible. For example, if you were a sales associate at a retail store, you might feature a customer satisfaction rating.
- Showcase relevant skill sets: Incorporate key skills to ensure compliance with applicant tracking systems (ATS), such as team collaboration, communication, data analysis, and customer service.
High School Resume Resume Examples and Templates [Download in App]
High School Student Resume Example
Why this High School Student Resume is Strong:
This resume clearly and balancedly highlights academic performance and extracurricular leadership. It uses specific examples—like organizing community reading programs and leading a sports team—to show why the company should talk to this person instead of the competition. The layout prioritizes readability and includes a mix of academic and real-world skills.
High School Graduate Resume Example
Why this High School Graduate Resume is Strong:
This example effectively presents real work experience with clear, measurable contributions. It avoids vague phrases and uses outcomes like a 94% customer satisfaction score and accurate financial handling. The resume is structured to show readiness for entry-level professional roles.
High School Resume for a First Job
Why this High School Resume for a First Job is Strong:
This resume is a strong starting point for a student without prior paid work. It smartly draws from volunteer experience and school activities to demonstrate responsibility, initiative, and reliability—three key traits employers look for in young workers.
High School Resume for College
Why this High School Resume for College is Strong:
Designed with college admissions in mind, this resume highlights academic excellence, leadership, and research participation. It presents extracurricular impact through quantifiable outcomes and showcases the student’s ability to balance rigorous academics with meaningful involvement.
High School Resume with No Work Experience
Why this High School Resume with No Work Experience is Strong:
This resume compensates for the lack of formal employment by showcasing academic involvement and peer support roles. It highlights tutoring, debate participation, and volunteer service—all presented with clear outcomes demonstrating reliability and initiative.
High School Resume for Internship
Why this High School Resume for Internship is Strong:
It effectively positions the student for a technical internship by combining classroom experience with practical exposure in IT and robotics. The resume includes relevant software and technical support tasks, aligning with internship expectations.
High School Resume for Retail Job
Why this High School Resume for Retail Job is Strong:
This resume is built to reflect strong customer service potential using real-world retail-adjacent experience. It highlights tasks like operating registers, assisting customers, and organizing merchandise—all relevant to retail positions.
High School Resume for Fast Food Job
Why this High School Resume for Fast Food Job is Strong:
This resume reflects a solid understanding of fast-paced work environments. It includes key tasks like food handling, register use, and safety awareness, while clearly demonstrating the student’s ability to follow procedures and work with a team.
High School Resume for Babysitting
Why this High School Resume for Babysitting is Strong:
This example shows experience and trustworthiness through real babysitting and a childcare background. It highlights age-appropriate supervision, conflict resolution, and clear communication with parents—qualities families value highly.
High School Resume for Volunteer Work
Why this High School Resume for Volunteer Work is Strong:
This resume is strong because it demonstrates a deep commitment to community service through consistent, long-term volunteer work. It uses clear metrics, like the number of families served or parks cleaned, to show real impact and follow-through.
High School Resume for Summer Job
Why this High School Resume for Summer Job is Strong:
It’s structured to show availability, reliability, and physical capability—ideal for seasonal work. The resume highlights event support and groundskeeping tasks and emphasizes punctuality and teamwork, making it a practical match for employers hiring summer help.
High School Resume for Camp Counselor
Why this High School Resume for Camp Counselor is Strong:
This resume effectively connects the student’s passion for working with children to real camp and after-school experience. It highlights leadership, activity planning, and conflict resolution in a way that reflects readiness for a counselor role.
High School Resume for Tutor
Why this High School Resume for Tutor is Strong:
This resume shines by focusing on academic strength and the ability to explain complex topics. It includes specific tutoring outcomes, like improved test scores, and demonstrates clear communication and patience—both key for tutoring roles.
High School Resume for Lifeguard
Why this High School Resume for Lifeguard is Strong:
It combines required certifications with practical experience, monitoring pool activity, and responding to emergencies. The resume clearly emphasizes safety, attention to detail, and responsibility—critical qualities for lifeguard roles.
High School Resume for Internship in Business
Why this High School Resume for an Internship in Business is Strong:
This resume shows a strong interest in business through student leadership and internship experience. It includes financial and presentation tasks that directly relate to real business functions, and it demonstrates initiative through a mock startup pitch.
High School Resume for Construction Job
Why this High School Resume for a Construction Job is Strong:
This resume emphasizes physical ability, safety awareness, and basic tool use—all key for a construction role. It includes real volunteer and part-time experience that shows the student can follow directions and contribute to team projects.
High School Resume for Delivery Assistant
Why this High School Resume for Delivery Assistant is Strong:
It highlights reliability, time management, and physical stamina. The resume includes specific delivery-related tasks and shows that the student can support route efficiency and customer interactions.
High School Resume for Dog Walker
Why this High School Resume for Dog Walker is Strong:
This resume is effective because it shows real, ongoing responsibility for the care of pets. It includes daily routines, behavioral notes, and experience handling multiple dogs, all building trust with prospective clients.
High School Resume for Landscaping
Why this High School Resume for Landscaping is Strong:
This example showcases the student’s ability to do outdoor labor and follow task-based instructions. It highlights seasonal work experience and city beautification service, presenting a clear and practical work ethic.
High School Resume for Entry-Level Office Job
Why this High School Resume for Entry-Level Office Job is Strong:
The resume emphasizes professionalism, organization, and task accuracy—essential for office roles. It includes internship experience and student editing work, proving that the student can handle clerical duties and manage information responsibly.
High School Text-Only Resume Examples and Templates
How To Write a High School Resume
1. Select an ideal layout and design for your high school student resume
Before writing your resume, you need a professional resume template to help you structure your information in a clear and compelling manner. If you’re just starting out, a simple template is the better choice; with a simple format, you can still prioritize your skills, academic experience, volunteerism background, and work history. If you have held a part-time job or any leadership position in school, a traditional template that features your experience in reverse chronological order might be the stronger option.
2. Craft an engaging profile summarizing your high school student qualifications
First impressions make all the difference during the hiring process. To prove your point, feature an engaging opening summary at the top of your resume. State actions to address problems and goals outlined in the job posting. This will differentiate your resume from your peers, who merely state their personality traits and skills.
Strong summary example for a high school student
Natural leader with over 200 hours of community service supporting local food banks, youth mentorship programs, and neighborhood cleanups. Experienced in organizing volunteer teams, coordinating outreach events, and building lasting connections with community members. Committed to creating positive change through service, leadership, and empathy-driven action.
Weak summary example for a high school student
High school student with good grades and interest in gaining work experience. Hoping to learn how to help customers and collaborate with teams.
3. Feature a results-driven professional experience section for your high school resume
The experience section of your resume can be the most challenging for high school students, especially if you’re looking to apply for your first job or internship. The key idea here is to think carefully about the skills, knowledge, and experiences you’ve gained that prove why you deserve the job instead of someone else. Some ideas may be vague and generic, but they can help present the value you can bring to employers.
For instance, if you were a prominent member of a student organization for multiple years, this showcases your sense of commitment. Featuring volunteer experience that is related to the job to which you are applying highlights your focus. These show your focus and potential leadership skills.
Strong experience example for a high school student
Sales Associate | Sunshine Sportswear, Phoenix, AZ | June 2023 – March 2024
- Supported up to 75 customers per shift by answering product questions, locating items, and managing returns
- Maintained accurate drawer counts and processed over 100 transactions daily with zero discrepancies
- Achieved a 94% satisfaction rating from customer feedback surveys over a 3-month review period
Weak experience example for a high school student
Sales Associate | Sunshine Sportswear, Phoenix, AZ | June 2023 – March 2024
- Helped customers when needed
- Used the register and processed returns
- Received positive feedback from managers and customers
4. List your education and academic awards
In addition to listing your high school diploma and expected graduation date, include any academic awards you’ve received. You can also include coursework, provided it supports your candidacy. For example, an AP English course might demonstrate that your writing skills are above average, which would be relevant for a job that requires writing.
Education example for a high school student
Education:
High School Diploma | Expected Graduation: June 2025
North Philadelphia High School | Philadelphia, PA
- Coursework: AP English, Philosophy, Statistics, AP American History
5. Showcase your key skills and attributes as a high school student
At the high school level, you aren’t going to have every qualification the company’s looking for, and that’s okay. Rather than focusing on the skills you’re missing, think about all the ways you have made improvements in various situations while working at companies. Can you somehow prove strong team leadership skills? Do you excel in mathematics and quantitative analysis if the job requires that? Are you a talented writer who can craft engaging and creative content if the job requires that? Highlighting your applicable strengths in the skills section is essential on a high school resume.
| Key skills | |
|---|---|
| Academic research | Analytical thinking |
| Community service | Creative writing |
| Customer service | Data analysis |
| Editing | Event planning |
| Mathematics | Microsoft Office Suite |
| Problem solving | Team collaboration |
| Written communication | |
How To Pick the Best High School Student Resume Template
Choosing the right resume template as a high school student is an important part of making a strong first impression. A simple, incorruptible template can help you organize your experiences clearly, even if you’re just starting to build your resume. Whether you’re highlighting volunteer work, school projects, or part-time jobs, the right layout makes your strengths easy to see. The right template will also help get you through companies’ filtering software.
Frequently Asked Questions: High School Student Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for high school student resumes?
One way to give your high school resume a unique and engaging feel is by starting each bullet point with a powerful action verb and then showing how that action improved the situation. Many younger professionals use passive language such as “helped” or “worked” when describing their achievements. Carefully refining your verbiage demonstrates the diligence you’ll bring to the role. Below, you’ll find a list of verbs you can use to build your professional experience section:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Achieved | Analyzed |
| Collaborated | Communicated |
| Conducted | Coordinated |
| Created | Delivered |
| Identified | Led |
| Managed | Performed |
| Planned | Presented |
| Provided | Researched |
| Wrote | |
How do you align your high school student resume with a job posting?
While it isn’t always easy to take the time to tailor your title, summary, and skills section to each individual job application at the high school level, taking this extra step can drastically improve your chances of securing interviews. Start by reviewing the posting and identifying how your skills match the company’s needs. For instance, say an organization is looking for a sales associate who can work effectively in team-based settings. If you are interested in this job, you could highlight examples of how you collaborated with teams of students to complete academic projects, organize school events, or plan community service initiatives, and demonstrate how you made something better.
What is the best high school student resume format?
Because high school students only have limited experience, choosing a clear, incorruptible resume format that helps clearly demonstrate skills and highlights leadership potential enables you to prioritize your skills, academic projects, and extracurricular activities.