Short answer
- A strong high school resume is usually one page long. It starts with your name and contact details, then a short objective or summary, your education, and the experience that best fits the job, whether paid work, volunteer work, school projects, clubs, or sports. Put your strongest, most relevant evidence near the top, use short bullets that start with action verbs and describe what you actually did, and tailor the wording to each job posting. You do not need a long work history. You need clear, honest evidence that you can show up, follow instructions, work with other people, and finish tasks.
If you are in high school and need a resume for a first job, an internship, or a volunteer role, you may feel stuck at the first line. You may have no paid job to list yet, but you do have evidence: classes, projects, clubs, sports, volunteer work, and informal work such as babysitting or yard work. This article gives four complete, fictional examples for different situations and shows how to adapt each one. All names, schools, employers, dates, and numbers in the examples are invented illustrations. Replace every detail with your own true information.
What a High School Resume Is For
A resume is a short summary that helps a reader decide, quickly, whether your background fits an opening. CareerOneStop, the career site sponsored by the US Department of Labor, describes it in those terms: it describes your skills, experience, training, and education, and employers use it to see whether your background fits a job opening. Its youth guidance adds a filter: include only the experiences that make you a good candidate for that job. A resume is not an autobiography. Every line should answer one question: does this help the reader see that I can do this job, or a job like it?
That filter explains why the same student needs different versions for different jobs. A grocery store resume should lead with reliability, customer contact, and cash handling. A library resume should lead with organization and helping people find things. A tutoring resume should lead with coursework and explaining ideas clearly. The facts do not change. The order and wording do, because the reader’s question changes.
A resume is also not a promise about an outcome. No example or template in this article guarantees an interview or a job. It can present your evidence clearly and honestly. It cannot make experience you do not have appear. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance states the standard plainly: be truthful, and state your skills and abilities accurately. An invented detail weakens the whole document, because the reader cannot tell which parts to trust.
The Sections That Belong on a High School Resume
CareerOneStop’s youth guidance lists contact information, a summary, work experience, education, and volunteering and activities. Its general guidance gives the typical order as contact information, an optional summary or highlights section, education and training, and work history. For a high school student, education usually belongs near the top, because it is often your strongest complete record. Drop any section that would be empty for you.
Contact information: your full name, a phone number, a professional email address based on your name, and your city and state. Do not add your full street address, date of birth, or any identity number. Those details are not needed for a first screening.
Objective or summary: one to three sentences naming the role you seek and your two or three most relevant strengths. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance describes the summary as your three or four top accomplishments or skills. Be specific. “High school junior seeking a part time retail job, with experience handling cash at school fundraisers and volunteering weekly at a food pantry” tells the reader the role, the evidence, and what to look for below. “Hardworking student seeking any job” tells the reader nothing.
Education: school name, city and state, and expected graduation date. Add relevant coursework only when it connects to the job. Add your grade point average only if you choose to and it strengthens your application. There is no single cutoff in the CareerOneStop guidance used for this article, so do not treat any number on a template site as a rule. Never round an average up, and never list a course you have not taken.
Experience, broadly understood: paid jobs, plus the activities that show the same skills when paid jobs are not yet part of your record. Use honest headings: Work Experience, Volunteer Experience, and Activities or Projects. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance groups volunteering and activities as evidence of responsibility, commitment, or skills, including sports, clubs, and languages spoken. The reader cares whether you showed up regularly, took responsibility, and produced a result others could rely on, not only whether you were paid.
Skills: a short list of skills you can demonstrate, each backed by a bullet elsewhere on the page. A skill with no evidence behind it reads as a wish list. Awards and certifications: name, organization, and year, kept short. Label anything in progress as in progress, with an expected date, never as completed. References: do not put them on the resume. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance notes that most employers will ask for three references when you apply or at an interview, and that you should get permission from each reference in advance. Prepare a separate one page reference sheet and give it only when asked. Teachers, coaches, volunteer supervisors, and former work supervisors are natural choices. Family members and close friends usually are not.
Choosing a Format
CareerOneStop describes three common styles: chronological, functional, and combination. A chronological resume lists experiences in reverse date order, most recent first, and CareerOneStop notes that most employers prefer to receive a chronological resume. A functional resume groups skills into categories rather than leading with dates and employers. A combination resume leads with skill groups or highlights, then gives a dated history.
Use a chronological layout when you have at least one or two dated experiences to list in order. Use a combination layout when your strongest evidence is spread across school, volunteering, and activities: lead with highlights, then give the dated experience that proves each one. That is the structure of the volunteer led and sports led examples below.
Use a purely functional layout with care. CareerOneStop’s comparison notes that it can suit a person with no previous employment, but warns that it is viewed with suspicion by employers because it gives less information about specific employers and dates. A combination layout avoids that weakness while keeping the skill led opening.
How to Write Bullets That Say Something
A section fails when it only names a role. “Volunteer, Food Pantry” does not tell the reader what you did, how often, or what changed because you were there. Start each bullet with an action verb, say what you did, and add scope or frequency when you know it honestly: “Sorted and packed donated food during monthly pantry shifts.” Do not invent a number to make a bullet look stronger. If you do not know the number, describe the frequency and the standard you followed. Use the present tense for current work and the past tense for ended work. Keep each bullet to one or two lines, and avoid repeating “helped” in every bullet, because it hides what you actually did.
Example 1: A First Job Resume With No Paid Work Yet
This is the most common high school situation. The example puts education first, then a section called Relevant Experience that honestly groups informal work and activities. Every detail is fictional.
Maya Rivers, Riverside, Ohio | (555) 123 4567 | [email protected]
Objective: High school junior seeking a part time retail associate position. Experience handling cash at school fundraisers, greeting visitors at school events, and keeping shared spaces organized. Available weekday afternoons and Saturdays.
Education: Riverside High School, Riverside, Ohio. Expected graduation: June 2027. Relevant coursework: Business Foundations, Computer Applications, Public Speaking. Grade point average: 3.6 on a 4.0 scale.
Relevant Experience: Babysitting, Private Families, Riverside, Ohio, September 2024 to present. Supervised two children, ages 6 and 9, three afternoons per week, including homework help and meal preparation. Communicated pickup and schedule changes with parents by phone and text. School Fundraiser Volunteer, Riverside High School, October 2024 and March 2025. Counted cash and recorded sales at the ticket table during two evening events. Greeted visitors, answered questions about event times, and directed families to seating. Balanced the cash box with a teacher supervisor at the close of each event.
Skills: Cash handling; clear communication with customers and families; punctuality; Google Docs and Sheets. Awards: Honor Roll, Riverside High School, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.
Why it works: the objective names the job and points to evidence below. Babysitting is not presented as a company job, yet its duties translate for a retail manager: supervision, communication, safety routines. The fundraiser bullets supply the cash evidence the objective promised. To adapt it for fast food, move greeting and cash bullets first. For a grocery job, lead with sorting and organizing. For a theater job, lead with greeting visitors and handling tickets. In each case, rename the objective, reorder bullets, and delete bullets that no longer serve the job.
Example 2: A Volunteer Experience Led Resume
Some students have a long volunteer record and little paid work. Lead with it, not apologetically. This example targets a library assistant or community center helper role and uses a combination layout: highlights first, then dated experience. Every detail in this example is fictional.
Jordan Lee, Lakeview, Michigan | (555) 987 6543 | [email protected]
Highlights: Weekly volunteer experience helping visitors and organizing materials at a public library; shelving, labeling, and checking materials against lists; explaining simple instructions to children and adults.
Volunteer Experience: Library Volunteer, Lakeview Public Library, January 2024 to present. Shelved returned books by call number during weekly two hour shifts. Helped visitors locate children’s books and explained catalog searches on library computers. Assisted with Saturday story time, setting out chairs and preparing craft supplies. Food Pantry Volunteer, Lakeview Community Pantry, June 2024 to August 2024. Sorted donated food by category and expiration date. Packed boxes following a printed packing list. Greeted families at intake and directed them to the correct line.
Education: Lakeview High School, Lakeview, Michigan. Expected graduation: June 2026. Relevant coursework: English, Introduction to Information Technology. Skills: Attention to detail; clear communication; following written checklists; basic catalog computer use. Certifications: First Aid training, in progress, expected completion December 2026.
Why it works: the highlights answer the hiring question before any dates, and the bullets then prove each highlight. The first aid line is honestly labeled in progress, not claimed as completed. To adapt it for a care setting, lead with greeting families and following procedures. For retail, lead with greeting visitors and handling materials against a list. For tutoring, lead with explaining searches and helping children, and add any school tutoring as its own dated entry. Keep dates and organizations visible: a volunteer resume that hides dates carries the functional format’s weakness.
Example 3: An Academic Focus Resume
This example suits a student whose strongest evidence is schoolwork, aimed at an internship, a research helper role, a tutoring job, or a summer academic program. It leads with education and a project, because the project is the closest thing to a work sample, and it describes the student’s own contribution, not the team’s result in general. Every detail in this example is fictional.
Priya Chen, Brookfield, Illinois | (555) 246 8101 | [email protected]
Objective: High school senior seeking a part time tutoring position in mathematics. Experience explaining algebra to younger students and completing a sustained science project with documented results.
Education: Brookfield High School, Brookfield, Illinois. Expected graduation: June 2026. Relevant coursework: Algebra II, Honors Chemistry, Statistics, Computer Science. Grade point average: 3.8 on a 4.0 scale.
Academic Project: Water Quality Project, Honors Chemistry, September 2025 to December 2025. Collected water samples from a local stream on four scheduled dates, following the teacher’s sampling procedure. Recorded measurements in a shared spreadsheet and checked each entry against the original field notes. Presented findings in a ten minute class talk with charts.
Tutoring: Peer Tutor, Mathematics, Brookfield High School, October 2024 to present. Tutored two ninth grade students in algebra for one hour per week during study hall. Explained homework step by step and reviewed errors before tests. Reported attendance and topics to the supervising teacher each week.
Skills: Explaining mathematics in plain language; recording and checking data; Google Sheets and Slides. Awards: Science Fair, Second Place, School Level, 2025.
Why it works: tutoring shows regularity, a defined group, and accountability to a teacher, which turns a claim into evidence. To adapt it for a lab helper role, move the project first and expand the sampling bullets. For data entry, lead with recording and checking entries against source notes. For an academic camp role, lead with tutoring and add any experience supervising younger children as a separate entry. Never claim a team result as yours alone.
Example 4: A Sports and Activities Led Resume
Team life translates into job evidence when described as duties: kept a schedule, followed a plan, supported teammates, handled equipment, and reported problems. This example targets a recreation center job, a youth sports helper role, or a retail job where teamwork and reliability matter. Every detail in this example is fictional.
Drew Callahan, Cedar Falls, Iowa | (555) 369 2580 | [email protected]
Objective: High school senior seeking a part time recreation assistant position. Experience as a soccer team captain, youth practice helper, and school event volunteer, with regular weekend availability.
Education: Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Expected graduation: June 2026. Relevant coursework: Health and Physical Education, Leadership Seminar.
Activities and Leadership: Varsity Soccer Team Captain, August 2023 to present. Led warm ups for a 20 player squad at three practices per week during the season. Communicated schedule changes from the coach to teammates by group message. Youth Soccer Practice Helper, Cedar Falls Youth League, April 2024 to October 2024. Set out cones and equipment before Saturday practices for players ages 8 to 10. Supervised small group drills under the head coach and reported attendance and any injury concern the same day.
Work Experience: Lawn Care Helper, Private Customers, June 2024 to August 2024. Mowed lawns for four regular customers on a weekly schedule. Confirmed appointment times by phone the day before each visit.
Skills: Teamwork under time pressure; punctual attendance; setting up equipment and keeping shared spaces tidy; basic first aid awareness from team safety briefings.
Why it works: it does not claim that playing soccer is a job. It shows leading, communicating, supervising under a coach, and reporting safety concerns. The short lawn care entry adds paid work with customers and repeat appointments. Note the skills wording: awareness from briefings, not a certification, which would need a provider and a completed course. To adapt it for retail, lead with greeting visitors and keeping spaces tidy. For coaching, lead with the youth helper entry. For stocking, lead with equipment setup and a weekly schedule. Keep numbers to things you can state honestly; replace any guess with a frequency or routine.
Adapting Any Example in Five Steps
First, read the posting and underline the three or four requirements that repeat. Second, write a one sentence objective naming this job and your matching evidence. Third, reorder sections and bullets so matching evidence comes first. Fourth, rewrite the top bullets in the posting’s vocabulary without changing the facts: “Greeted visitors” becomes “Greeted customers” for retail and stays “Greeted visitors” for a library, because the fact is the same and the audience word differs. Fifth, delete anything that does not serve this job. CareerOneStop’s general guidance gives the same principle: show that you meet the minimum qualifications, put them near the top, and use terms that match the job posting.
Keep a master resume as well as tailored versions. CareerOneStop describes a master resume as a private document listing every job, internship, volunteer position, training course, certification, and award you have ever had, from which tailored resumes are drawn. The master version can be several pages. The version you send should be one page. Add each new experience to the master first, with full dates, so you never have to reconstruct it later.
Formatting, Proofreading, and What to Leave Out
Use one readable font, clear headings, and white space. Use bullets, not paragraphs, for experience, and put dates in the same place in every entry. Avoid colored backgrounds, graphics, and text boxes, because application systems may misread them. CareerOneStop’s general guidance warns against sending a resume as a scanned image, because such a file will not be recognized by application systems. Send the format the posting asks for, or a standard Word or PDF file with selectable text if none is specified.
Aim for one page. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance states that rule directly for young job seekers, while its general guidance allows one to two pages for job seekers in general. If a tailored draft runs long, cut activities that do not connect to the job, then repeated bullets, then older entries. Do not shrink type until the page is hard to read.
Proofread as a separate step. CareerOneStop’s general guidance is to always have your resume reviewed by others for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and fit to the job description, and its youth guidance says to ask at least one other good speller to review it. Read it aloud, check every name, date, phone number, and email address character by character, and match verb tense to dates. Ask your reviewer: “Can you tell, from this page alone, what job I am applying for and what evidence supports it?” If not, reorder, do not add words.
Leave out your full street address, date of birth, identity numbers, references, salary history, a photograph, and personal details that do not connect to the job, unless a posting explicitly asks for an item. Leave out any job, course, award, or certification you have not completed, and leave out negative explanations about grades or ended roles, which belong in an interview if raised, not on the page. Watch for common mistakes: a generic objective, a skills list with no proof, a title instead of duties, inconsistent dates and tenses, an error in contact details, an objective naming a different job, and template wording describing experience you do not have. Delete any bullet you cannot explain in your own words in an interview.
Finally, check any writing tool output, including an artificial intelligence tool, before sending it. CareerOneStop’s guidance on using such tools says a tool can suggest accomplishment wording, suggest skills, and compare your resume with a posting, but you must edit the draft, use language you would be likely to use, include only true information about you, and avoid a generic result. A tool can suggest phrasing. It cannot know which suggestions are true about you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a high school resume be?
Aim for one page. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance states that rule directly for young job seekers. Its general guidance allows one to two pages in general, but a high school student rarely needs a second page, which usually means too many activities or repeated bullets. Keep a longer master resume privately and send a tailored one page version per job.
What do I put on a high school resume if I have never had a job?
Put education first, then volunteer work, school projects, clubs, sports, and informal work such as babysitting, tutoring, or yard work, each with honest dates and duties. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance groups volunteering and activities as evidence of responsibility, commitment, and skills. Label each entry by what it actually was, and never present unpaid work as paid employment.
Should a high school resume have an objective or a summary?
Either can work. An objective names the job you seek and suits a student with little paid experience. A summary lists three or four top accomplishments or skills, as CareerOneStop’s youth guidance describes it, and suits a student with strong accomplishments to name. Keep it to one to three sentences, name the target role, and make sure the rest of the resume proves it.
Do I need to include my grade point average?
No. There is no single rule in the CareerOneStop guidance used for this article that requires it. Include it only if it strengthens your application and you can state it accurately, including your school’s scale. Never round it up or list a course you have not taken.
Should I list references on my high school resume?
No. Prepare a separate one page reference sheet and give it only when asked. CareerOneStop’s youth guidance notes that most employers will ask for three references when you apply or at an interview, and that you should get permission from each reference in advance. Teachers, coaches, and volunteer supervisors are suitable choices. Family members and close friends usually are not.
Is a functional resume a good choice for a student with no work history?
It can organize varied experience, but CareerOneStop’s comparison warns that it is viewed with suspicion by employers because it gives less information about specific employers and dates. For most students, a combination layout is safer: lead with highlights or skills, then give dated experience underneath, so the reader sees both the skill and where and when you used it.
How do I tailor a resume for each job without rewriting it?
Keep a master resume and create a tailored one page version per job: note the posting’s repeated requirements, rewrite the objective, reorder bullets so matching evidence comes first, rewrite top bullets in the posting’s words without changing facts, and delete what does not serve the job. CareerOneStop’s general guidance gives the same principle: show minimum qualifications near the top, using terms that match the posting.
Will a good resume guarantee me a job?
No. A resume presents evidence clearly so a reader can judge fit for an opening. It does not guarantee an interview, a job, or any other outcome, and no example in this article makes that promise. What it can do is make your real strengths easy to find, easy to believe, and easy to discuss in an interview.
Sources & references
- CareerOneStop (sponsored by the US Department of Labor), "Resumes" youth guidance, GetMyFuture: a resume describes skills, experience, training, and education; include only experiences that make you a good candidate; summary as three or four top accomplishments or skills; volunteering and activities as evidence of responsibility, commitment, or skills; be truthful, brief, error free, and professional, and limit the resume to one page; references guidance, including permission in advance and three references when asked.
- CareerOneStop (sponsored by the US Department of Labor), "Resumes" general guidance: show minimum qualifications near the top, use terms matching the job posting, keep the resume to one to two pages with clean formatting and white space, typical order of contact information, optional summary or skills, education and training, and work history; always have the resume reviewed by others; guidance on using artificial intelligence tools skillfully, including editing the draft, using your own language, including only true information, and avoiding generic wording; do not send a resume as a scanned image.
- CareerOneStop (sponsored by the US Department of Labor), "Resume styles": three common styles, chronological, functional, and combination; most employers prefer a chronological resume in reverse date order; functional resumes group skills into categories but are viewed with suspicion because they give less information about employers and dates; combination resumes incorporate features of both formats; targeted resumes can use any format and are developed for each job.
- CareerOneStop (sponsored by the US Department of Labor), "Your master resume": a master resume is a private document listing every job, internship, volunteer position, training course, certification, and award you have ever had, from which tailored resumes are drawn; the master version can be several pages long.
