High school student resume example

What recruiters look for

• Availability: the hours and days you can work. Managers scheduling around school need to know.
• Reliability: any job, sport or activity you have stuck with shows you will show up.
• People skills: customer service, refereeing, tutoring, babysitting. Anything where you dealt with the public.
• Responsibility: handling money, training others, leading a team or a club.
• Good grades or effort at school: a strong GPA or honor roll suggests you will learn the job quickly.

Writing the summary

Two or three sentences: your grade, one or two strengths with proof, and the kind of job and hours you want. Keep it simple and honest; managers are not expecting polished career language from a teenager.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

• Babysat for 3 families on a regular schedule, caring for 5 children aged 2 to 9.
• Mowed and maintained 8 neighborhood lawns each summer, managing my own schedule and payments.
• Tutored 4 middle school students in math once a week; all raised their grades by at least one letter.
• Sold $1,200 in tickets as the student council’s fundraising lead for the spring dance.
• Worked 15 hours a week at a fast-food restaurant while keeping a 3.6 GPA.
• Volunteered 50 hours at an animal shelter, walking dogs and cleaning kennels.
• Ran the concession stand at 10 home football games, handling cash and restocking.
• Completed a 4-week summer coding camp and built a simple website for my family’s bakery.
• Helped organize a school clothing drive that collected 400 items for a family shelter.

Skills to list

Certifications and licenses worth listing

• First aid and CPR: useful for camps, pools, childcare and many other first jobs.
• Food handler card: some states and restaurants require it for food jobs; it is quick and cheap.
• Lifeguard certification: opens well-paid summer jobs at pools and camps.
• Activity certifications (referee, coaching, babysitting courses): small but real proof of responsibility.

Length and format

One page, always. Education goes first with your expected graduation year, then any jobs, then activities and volunteering. A two-column layout fits short sections like certifications and languages neatly beside the main content.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the page nearly empty. Clubs, sports, babysitting and volunteering all count.
• An unprofessional email address. Make a simple one with your name.
• Listing “hard worker” and “team player” without examples. Show them with an activity or job.
• Forgetting to say when you can work.
• Typos. Ask a teacher or parent to read it once before you send it.