How to Create a High School Resume

High school students generally attempt to create resumes in two scenarios — either they are looking for a evenings-and-weekends job, or they are looking to attach the resume to their college application.  Regardless, traditional resume templates is unable to fulfill the requirements of high school students as these do not effectively highlight their school activities, interests, clubs, athletics and other teen specific accomplishments. The one-size-fits-all approach of most automated resume builders and templates are unable to satisfy the needs of high school resumes.   

Therefore, an well crafted high school resume should be structured thus:

  • A strong objective focused on ability to take instructions, punctuality etc
  • The high school name and grade should be mentioned next
  • If GPA is above 3, include it.
  • If a honor student, mention that. List honors such as national honor society, national merit society etc.  
  • List all clubs (within high school or outside the school) that the high school student is a member of. If he or she hold positions such as club secretary, treasurer, or president, make sure that is highlighted.
  • Athletic achievements, if applicable — be sure to mention athletic tier (such as Varsity, JV etc.), and also whether captain of the team. Strong abilities in this arena displays leadership potential and teamwork.
  • List your hobbies and other interests. Shine the spotlight on the ones that display diligence and skills such as carpentry, car detailing and similar activities.
  • Now comes any jobs you may have worked — do not overlook house painting, yard work, babysitting etc
  • Finally, list all unpaid volunteer work, such as within the community, school or your church.

A well structured high school resume can also be creating using a  high school resume builder, the student can  pick a high school resume template that is eye-catching and is appropriate for his specific needs.  The resume builder then collects information about a student’s accomplishments at school, this is then filled into the resume template picked out by the student from among the various high school student resume templates. The result is an elegant high school resume that is specifically oriented towards teenagers. The system even looks for work experiences that are likely to be found among high school students such as lawn care, pet care or baby-sitting; while not seeking the work experiences that are more likely to be found on adult resumes.

Creating a high school resume is significantly  more challenging than it appears on the surface, students would be well served to seek out  a resume builder that was created specifically for their needs. It will avoid needless heartache and potential errors, and will likely even prioritize their accomplishments for them, there is really little reason not to use one.