How To Write A High School Resume (and Why): A Step-by-Step Guide + Tips, Templates, and More

Got a high school resume to write? Not sure where to start? This post will guide you through the process. We'll chat about why a high school resume is a big deal and how to make one that makes a good impression, plus why it’s worth it to have one on hand. We'll also explain how to tailor resumes and why, and you'll discover how easy it is to find handy templates that can make writing your resume even easier.

Hey there, future world-changers! Let's get you ready to write a high school resume.

But first, you might be thinking, Wait, I'm in high school. Is a resume necessary? Is it worth my time?

The answer is, well.. yes… or at least there are lots of good reasons to have one!

Keep reading to learn why having a resume really is worthwhile — even as a highschooler — plus how to write yours, what to include, and resume examples, templates, and pro tips to make your resume sparkle!

Understanding the Value of a High-Quality Resume

Resumes are often helpful or required for things like applying for a job, internship, a cool volunteer gig, and for some college applications too. In the professional world, resumes open doors (so to speak) — they’re often how you make a first impression on a prospective employer — and remember, first impressions are lasting ones.

This makes understanding resumes, what goes in them, and how to polish them essential.

A resume summarizes and highlights your skills, experiences, and achievements. You can also tailor your resume for different job opportunities — putting a stronger emphasis on the most relevant skills, education, or experiences.

1. Practice Makes Perfect

By getting started with resume building in high school, you’ll be better at it when you’re older and the process gets a bit more complex — and more consequential for your life goals!

2. Self-Discovery

Here’s another reason writing your resume in high school is valuable: it really gets you thinking about your so-called marketable skills.

“What if I don’t have any marketable skills?” you ask… Everyone has some useful skills or ways to contribute to those around them. The good news is that the very task of writing your resume may help you discover skills you hadn't thought of!

3. Seizing Opportunities

You never know when an opportunity may come up unexpectedly, another reason it's worth having a resume ready to go. Maybe a family friend has a weekend job opening, or a cool internship opportunity gets posted on the college and career page of your school’s website. Will you be ready to stand out as a top applicant? Having a resume ready to go will make it much easier to seize opportunities when they arise!

4. Keeping Track

Building and periodically updating your resume in high school is a great way to keep track of new skills and accomplishments: academic enrichment, volunteer work, internships, school clubs, participation on a team or music ensemble, online classes, even hobbies, and don’t forget awards, prizes, trophies…

When Do You Need a Resume in High School?

Now you know that writing a resume, even in high school, has many benefits — even if you never use it! But it's important to understand how often you're likely to need your resume (or wish you had one).

Most people think about using a resume when looking for employment, but it can be used for other purposes too.

So when might highschoolers need a resume?...

• Applying for after-school or summer jobs
• Applying for an internship or mentoring program
• Applying for a pre-college academic enrichment program
• Submitting scholarship applications
• Competing for an academic prize or academic competition
• Finding volunteer work for community service
• For university applications, if required, or for building a personal history and profile to have on hand for future applications
• To share with someone who has a formal interest in learning more about your background (your skills, education, work experience)

Resumes for University Admissions: What To Know

Some colleges require a resume when you apply, but many don't, or it may be optional. If you do need to include one, or you opt to, keep it concise, error-free, and professional rather than trying to list all your extracurriculars — your resume won't include (or repeat) everything in your application!

Most experts recommend keeping your resume to one page if possible and two pages max!

As you can see, even in high school a resume can have lots of useful purposes. And if you don’t use it — it’s still a helpful exercise and a convenient way to keep track of your various skills and accomplishments for when you do need one!

What To Include in a High School Resume

Now, let's talk about what goes into a high school resume. Here's a quick rundown:

1. Personal information: This includes your full name, contact details, and a professional email address.
2. Education: List your high school and any relevant coursework, including courses you take during the summer or online for academic enrichment.
3. Work experience: Include any part-time jobs, internships, or volunteer work.
4. Most prominent extracurricular activities: Highlight your involvement in clubs, sports, or community service, but keep it brief, so your resume does not exceed two pages maximum.
5. Skills and abilities: Showcase your talents, whether they're in coding, photography, or playing the viola!
6. Awards and honors: Don't be shy — brag about your achievements (or at least don't hide them)!

What's Included: A Snapshot & Sample Layout

Tips for Writing a High-Quality High School Resume

Creating a high school resume might seem daunting, but don't worry — I've got some top-notch tips to help you out.

Formatting is key: Choose a clean, easy-to-read layout. Try using bullet points and concise words and phrases (as opposed to sentences). This formatting will give your resume a fresh appearance and make it easier to skim.

Layout: Make the most important information more visible: if you have awards or certifications that are impressive, list them higher up, not last. Organize different kinds of content (skills, education, etc.) with suitable headers.

Be specific: When writing each section, provide enough detail to give a clear picture of your experiences and skills. For example, instead of saying "participated in a debate club," you could say "served as an interim team leader, helping our team get to a regional-level competition."

Proofread, proofread, proofread: Typos and grammatical errors will make a bad impression. Make sure to check your resume very carefully for any mistakes before sending it out (and have a friend or trusted adult look it over too)!

Tips To Make Your Resume Stand Out

Want to take your resume to the next level? Here are some tips to make your high school resume stand out:

Highlight unique experiences or achievements. Did you start a charity drive? Win a national science fair? Be sure to include these.

Use action verbs and quantifiable achievements. Instead of saying "helped with a fundraiser," say "coordinated a fundraiser that raised $5,000 for local charities."

Keep it professional. Stick to a simple design and avoid using slang or informal language.

Using Resume Templates

When you’re deciding how to structure and format your high school resume, taking a look at ready-made resume templates (models) is a fast and easy way to get some ideas and see what kind of layout and formatting you find most appealing.

How To Find Templates

Familiar word processing software providers, such as Microsoft (MSWord) and Adobe (Adobe Acrobat), give you access to free templates, or templates you can purchase. Working on a Chromebook? Even the Template Gallery in Google Docs has a handful of free resume templates you can check out.

You can also search in your own word processing software for templates, or do an image search online with the keywords “high school resume templates” and quickly generate a wide variety of visual examples — a great source of quick inspiration!

Examples of High School Resume Templates

Selecting and Using Digital Resume Templates (pros & cons)

Even if you decide not to use a premade template, you may want to view some for inspiration before setting off on composing your own resume.

If you do decide to use a template, that may speed up the process — or may not. The fact is that templates may not always live up to your expectations.

Updating & Tailoring Your Resume

While your resume should be polished and carefully proofread, it’s important to keep in mind this is a process you’ll need to do again and again. That’s right, your resume is really a living document, so to speak.

Updating Your Resume

As you gain a new skill, get involved in new extracurriculars or work a summer job, you’ll need to update your resume as you go.

Tailoring Your Resume

When you're applying to a specific internship, job, or school, it's a good idea to tweak your resume, highlighting the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the opportunity at hand.

Here are a few ways you can tailor your resume:

• Adjust the wording to match the language used in the job or school description
• Change the order of sections to highlight your most relevant experiences first
• Modify the formatting to draw attention to key points

As a high school student, your resume might not have a ton of different sections yet, so you might not need to do a lot of customizing. But as you gain more skills and experiences, you'll want to start tweaking your resume more to make sure you're really showcasing the stuff that makes you a great fit for whatever you're applying for.

Managing New Versions and Files

As you evolve, so will your resume, with new updates to what’s in it.

Then, as you tailor your resume from time to time, you’ll also need to decide if you’re simply tailoring the most recent version each time or saving different versions as you go. The more versions you save, the more files you need to label and keep track of.

Standard vs. Tailored Versions: Since many people will tailor their resume for different uses and situations, designating one version as a “standard” version to work from when tailoring is needed, can be a way to think about staying organized.

File Management: Keeping your resume files in a single folder is a good practice, then you’ll find any and all versions more quickly and easily. Using dates in file names may also be helpful. And, when you tailor your resume, say for a job at the pet store, you can put the keyword petstore in the file name of the tailored version for ease of identification later on, such as [myname_resume_jan2024_petstore].

Final Thoughts

If this sounds like a lot, don’t worry — we’re getting into expert level at this point — so give yourself a high five for making it this far!

Remember, as a high schooler you probably won’t be updating or tailoring your resume too often. But, isn’t it great you’re learning all this now? When your career life picks up steam, you’ll be ready, managing your resumes like a pro!

Let's all agree that creating a high-quality high school resume isn't the easiest task, but taking the time to create a resume that helps you stand out, is professional in appearance, and error free, is going to pay off.

Not only can it help you land internships and enrichment opportunities, but it's also a great way to showcase your skills and achievements. So, start working on your resume today — you might end up impressing yourself (and getting to know yourself better while you’re at it)!

If you want help with your high school resume  — and even more, if you need a resume and other application materials reviewed by an expert, why not take advantage of a free feedback session? A Crimson expert will be keen to answer your questions — about resumes or anything else related to university admissions, your college journey, and how we help students make strategic application decisions or stand out as top applicants.

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Join our free webinars on US university applications
• Free eBooks and guides to help with the college application process