High School Student Resume Template & Examples
A manager hiring a high school student for a cashier, lifeguard, camp counselor or grocery job is not looking for a work history. They check three things first: when you can actually work around your class schedule, whether you show up when you say you will, and whether an adult can vouch for you. Your resume answers those questions with what you already have: classes, a team or club, babysitting or yard work for neighbors, volunteer hours, a school project you led.
Key Skills: Customer service · Cash handling · Reliability · Teamwork · Time management · Microsoft Word & Google Docs · CPR / First Aid · Bilingual (if you are)
Resume Writing Tips
Put your availability where it can be seen
Most first jobs for teens are shift work, and the first question a store or restaurant manager has is when you can work. Add one line under your contact details: «Available weekdays after 3:30 pm, weekends, full-time in summer». If you are 14 or 15, federal rules limit school-week hours (no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week), and some states add their own limits or require a work permit from your school. Writing availability that fits those rules shows you already know them.
Count the informal work you already do
Babysitting for two families every Saturday, mowing five lawns on your street, walking a neighbor's dog, helping at a family business: this is real work with real responsibility. List it under «Experience» like a job, with dates and a title such as «Babysitter (self-employed)». Say how often and for how long: «Cared for two children ages 4 and 7, three evenings a week, since 2024». The regularity is what an employer is looking for.
Turn school and activities into evidence
A varsity team shows you can keep a practice schedule; a job on the yearbook shows deadlines; student council shows you can run a meeting; a robotics or science fair project shows you finish things. Pick the two or three that match the job: for a retail job, the fundraiser where you sold tickets; for a camp counselor job, coaching younger kids. Add a number when you have one: hours, people, money raised, deadlines met.
List certifications that teenage jobs ask for
Some entry jobs list a certificate in the posting itself: lifeguarding and CPR/AED for pools and beaches, a food handler card in states that require it for restaurant staff, babysitter or first aid training for childcare. If you hold one, give it its own short section with the issuing organization and expiry date. If the posting asks for one you do not have yet, a line like «Lifeguard certification course scheduled for May» is honest and useful.
Keep it to one page and line up a reference
One page is right for a high school resume, and half a page of real content is better than a full page of filler. Skip the photo, your full street address and your date of birth. Instead, have one adult ready to speak for you: a coach, a teacher, a club advisor, a family you babysit for. You can write «References available on request» or list one with their permission.
Licences and requirements
Hours limits at 14 and 15
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 14 and 15 year olds in non-farm jobs may work outside school hours only: up to 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week, between 7 am and 7 pm (9 pm from June 1 to Labor Day). From 16, federal law does not limit hours. When state law is stricter, the stricter rule applies.
Work permits
Many states ask minors for work papers or an employment certificate before the first shift, often issued by the school. Check your state labor department's page early so the paperwork doesn't hold up a job offer.
Resume summary examples
- Freshman at Westfield High with a year of weekend pet sitting for four neighbors and 30 hours of library volunteering. Available Saturdays and Sundays and full-time in summer.
- Junior on the varsity soccer team with two years of regular babysitting and concession stand cash handling. CPR/AED certified. Available weekdays after 4 pm and weekends.
- Senior with 10 months as a part-time grocery cashier, 18 hours a week during school, and a 3.7 GPA. Looking for summer full-time work in retail before starting community college.
Strong Resume Bullets
- Cared for two children ages 4 and 7 three evenings a week for two years, including dinner, homework help and bedtime routine.
- Ran the concession stand for 8 home football games, handling cash and card sales for about 150 customers per game.
- Volunteered 60 hours at the county food bank, sorting and packing about 300 grocery boxes for weekend distribution.
- Kept a 3.5 GPA while practicing 12 hours a week with the varsity swim team.
- Mowed and edged 6 neighborhood lawns weekly from April to September, scheduling around school and meets.
- Organized a bake sale with 5 classmates that raised $640 for the class trip.
- Tutored 3 middle school students in algebra once a week through the school's peer tutoring program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything where someone relied on you: babysitting, pet sitting, yard work, helping at a family business, volunteering, team sports, clubs, school projects. Write them like jobs, with a title, dates and one or two lines on what you did and how often. An employer hiring a teen expects exactly this.
Include it if it is 3.0 or higher, or if the job is with a school, tutoring center or academic program. If it is lower, leave it out and let activities, attendance or honors carry the education section.
Federal law generally allows non-farm work from 14, with limits on hours and the kinds of jobs for 14 and 15 year olds; many states also require a work permit, often issued through your school. Informal work like babysitting or yard work for neighbors can go on a resume at any age.
For most store and restaurant jobs, no; many applications are a short online form. For an internship, a camp counselor job or an office role, a short note of three or four sentences helps: what you are applying for, when you can work, and one example from school or volunteering that fits.
Yes, and they are the best references at this age. Ask them first, tell them which job you applied for, and give them a copy of your resume so they know what you wrote.
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