Build your resume and skills

At first thought, it might seem odd for you to start a resume while you are still in school. However, a resume is just a list of skills, qualifications, and personal information. You may not realize it, but you’ve already gained some impressive skills that you can start to list on a resume.

You may not realize it, but you’ve already gained some impressive skills that you can start to list on a resume.

• Your CTE teachers may have taught you practical skills, like problem-solving, teamwork, and communication, or specific skills, like graphic design or procedural work.

• You may be a leader in your school’s marching band and learned how to manage a group of individuals.

• You may have taken a CPR class before you started babysitting.  

It’s good practice to keep track of what you can do to show others when you need to.

Resumes are not just for adult job applicants. High school students applying to college, summer jobs, and internships need resumes too. A well-written high school resume is more than just a list of accomplishments—it's a snapshot or a picture of who you are and how you spend your time.  

As a high school student, building a resume is a great way to start preparing for the work world. You can use your resume for future job applications, internships, and even to complete college applications. Your high school resume will likely be focused on relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, and any job experience you do have.  

Your resume should include some or all of the following parts. You can change what parts you include depending on what you’re using the resume for. 

• Education, including GPA 
• Jobs 
• Clubs and activities 
• Achievements, awards, and/or honors 
• Projects 
• Additional skills 
• Hobbies 

The point of the resume is to show what you’ve accomplished. If you don’t have something to show for awards or honors, it’s okay not to include that section on their resume page. 

Throughout your time in high school, you’ve gained quite a few skills that you can showcase on your resume.  

Soft skills 

Soft skills are skills that you can’t really measure. Examples include: being a good listener, engaging in small talk, and getting along with others.  

Hard skills 

Hard skills are skills that you can measure such as: words per minute when typing or the ability to use programs such as the Adobe Creative Suite. 

Explore: Examples of soft and hard skills to include on your resume from Indeed

Before you start building your resume, think about what it should look like and the type of information you want to include using this step-by-step guide. 

Explore: High School Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide from Indeed

Use the following sample resume to make sure you’re on the right track for updating your resume for college, scholarship, or job applications. 

Explore: Sample Resumes for High School Students from Indeed

Canva is a handy free resource for creating all kinds of visual designs, such as posters, cards, invitations, and more. Canva is also known for resume building. Their free resume builder lets you pick from creatively designed templates (many of which you can customize). This tool is a great option if you want to stand out from the crowd with unique graphic design options. 

Explore: Free Resume Builder from Canva

When creating a resume on Google Docs, you have the option to choose from a set list of templates. Or, you can search the internet for a more unique template. An added bonus to going this route is that your resume will be easy to share with a teacher, advisor, or other mentor.