[Your Name]
Education
[Your High School Name]
Activities and Experience
[Role or Activity Name]
- What you did
- What you accomplished or improved
- What skills you developed
Skills
- Communication
- Teamwork
- [Technical or specific skills]
If you are a high school student trying to build a resume, it can feel like you have nothing to include. No job. No internship. Nothing that seems “impressive.” But here’s the reality: most students start in the same place.
Colleges, employers, and training programs are not expecting you to have years of experience. They want to see how you spend your time, what you are interested in, and whether you take initiative. A strong resume is not about having the most experience. It is about showing effort, growth, and potential.
You can build a strong high school resume by including school activities, volunteer work, personal projects, and skills you have developed. Even informal experiences like babysitting, helping family, or tutoring count. Focus on what you did, what you learned, and the impact you made.
You do not need a formal job to have experience.
You can include:
If you spent time doing something consistently and learned from it, it counts.
You can copy the structure below and fill it in with your own experiences. Start simple and improve it over time. You can see more resume templates and download resume templates from Level All’s How to Write the Perfect High School Resume.
Even strong content can get overlooked if your resume is hard to read.
Stick to:
Font size:
Your resume should be one page. Focus on your strongest and most relevant experiences.
For privacy, include:
Do not include your street address or zip code.
Do not use:
These can break formatting and are not ATS-friendly.
Each role should include 2–3 bullet points. Start with action words like:
Unless told otherwise, submit your resume as a PDF to keep formatting consistent.
Some employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to scan resumes. But what really is ATS? It’s a tool for recruiters that will scan your resume and flag if you are a good candidate. To make your resume ATS-friendly:
Even for part-time jobs, a clean resume helps you stand out.
Even without formal experience, you can improve your resume by:
Small actions over time make a big difference.
Start now. You can:
Even a few weeks of consistent effort give you something real to include.
Your resume still matters. Focus on:
Employers and trade programs care about what you can do and how you show up. Not sure what path is right for you after high school? Level All can help you explore careers, trade programs, and next steps so you can start building real experience now.
Before submitting your resume, make sure:
Everyone starts with no experience. What matters is what you do next. Your resume is simply a way to show your effort, growth, and potential. Want help building your resume and planning your next steps? Explore Level All’s guides for guidance on college, careers, and life skills.
