Place High School Education After Your College Experience
If you’ve attended any years of college, even if you have yet to earn a degree, list that experience first, followed by your high school education. If you have a college degree, you can leave your high school education off your resume. Once you have completed a college degree, you should include information regarding classes, projects, internships or organizations that you participated in that are relevant to the role since this information is more recent.
For example, if you were captain of the swim team or student body president and just graduated three years ago, you may want to keep your high school education on your resume even if you’re about to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Accomplishments such as these show a hiring manager you have leadership potential and can work well with a team.
Consider Sharing Your Grade Point Average
Your GPA is a way for hiring managers to understand how well you did in school. As a numerical average of your grades, the higher to a 4.0 GPA you are, the better you performed in your classes. A hiring manager may prefer to hire a candidate who has a higher GPA because it shows that they worked hard, took their education seriously and were interested in building their knowledge base, all traits that are useful in any work environment.
However, if your GPA is below 3.5, consider leaving it off your resume and instead focusing on the unique attributes you have that make you an ideal fit for the role. If a hiring manager wants to know what your GPA was, you can provide the details when they ask.
If You Have A Professional Qualification
Perhaps you havent been in education for a while, and have decided to brush up on your knowledge in an industry or learn something. In this case, you would benefit most from detailing your most recent educational qualification, and keeping the others brief.
If you arent that far removed from education, and it relates equally to the role, then place an equal amount of emphasis on each qualification.
If you took a course for the purpose of developing current skills and gaining a higher-level role in a career you already have experience in, then make sure previous work experience or related education is also adequately included. This enables the employer to see how youve grown and developed, and they will admire your dedication to the field.
You May Like: Can You Go To Jail For Lying On Your Resume
When Should You Submit A Resume To Colleges
Some colleges and scholarship committees request or recommend that you include a high school resume with your application materials. Bring your resume to college interviews and give copies to your college counselor and teachers so that they can write you the strongest possible recommendation letter.
How To Write High School In Resume
Try our resume builder. Sample resume made with our builderâ See more templates and create your resume here. You should only add it if you graduated within the last three years and if it was above a 3. Otherwise, lose it. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. For most of you, putting your education on your resume is that straightforward. If you want to add extra information, you can. Read on Our resume builder lets you choose from modern or basic resume templates. See more templates here. See more templates and create your resume here.
You can put your education above your work history if you’re a student or recent graduate and have little experience. If you have more than a year of work experience, your education should come after your employment history. Your most recent degree goes first. If you have a GPA of 3.
Don’t foget about relevant course work, honors, and making dean’s list. In most cases, resumes open with the experience section as it’s more relevant and important to recruiters. But there’s nothing wrong with breaking this rule if your education is much more impressive than your experience. If you are a seasoned professional , put your professional work history section before your education.
Chronological, by importance of activity, or by time commitment are a few options.
Also Check: How To Insert A Line In Word For Resume
List Awards And Achievements
Employers are looking for candidates who have a history of making an impact. Sharing your awards and achievementsacademic or otherwiseproves you can make positive contributions and will help you stand out above other candidates.
Here are a few examples of awards or achievements you can include on a high school resume:
- Member of the National Honors Society
- Elected student body president for the 2016/2017 school year
- Awarded school newspaper best feature article of the year
- Helped yearbook staff increase ad sales 30% year over year
Save Your Hobbies For Small Talk
We are well aware that one of the standard resume templates in Word has a place for you to list your hobbies. This might be the worst thing to have on your resume on this list. Its at least tied with high school achievements for last place.
Hobbies enrich our lives. They unlock our creativity and make us well-rounded individuals. They give us something to talk about when making small talk. However, they have no place on your resume. Employers dont care that you can knit, or that you go sailing on the weekendsat least not during the candidate sorting process. Save it for after youre hired, or if the interview committee asks what you do for fun. Leave it off of your resume!
You May Like: How To Send A Cover Letter And Resume Via Email
Where Do Sports Belong On A Resume
College athletes should always list relevant work experience and internships first on their resumes. The best place to list sports involvement is in a subsequent activities section. However, because of their full-time commitment to sports, most student-athletes may not have had the time to complete internships or take on a summer job.
If this is the case, student-athletes should list their sports first in the experience section. Many times the schedule of a student-athlete is as time-consuming as a full-time job. It often adds up to more than a 40-hour work week commitment.
All in all, student-athletes should try their best to include their athletic experience in their resume that best exemplifies why it will help them perform the job at a high level to the employer.
Is Your Resume Too Long
Ideally, your resume should be limited to one page. If you find that your resume content is spilling onto a second page, and you have trimmed all the information you can, consider removing the education section.
Education is almost always addressed in the official job application, and this is where hiring managers look for the base requirements during the background check.
Read Also: How To Build A Acting Resume With No Experience
Personal Information Photos And Schools
Do not include any personal information beyond your address, email, and phone number. Leave out your age, date of birth, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, political affiliation, and the names and ages of your spouse and children. While some of this information may be required in an international CV, you should leave it out of a resume. The reason is that it’s illegal for employers to making hiring decisions based on this information.
You should also leave out important numbers that could allow someone to steal your identity, such as your social security number, driver’s license number, and any credit card information. You may wish to leave your address off your resume or only include part of it in some cases.
Your health is a personal issue, so there is no need to mention it on your resume. If you have health-related limitations they can be addressed during the hiring process.
If you get hired, the company will likely conduct a background check for a criminal record. However, there is no need to include this information on your resume. Also, there is no need to include personal pronouns as most employers will ask for your preferred pronouns.
If Youre Still Studying
If youre still in education, or youre developing your knowledge by taking an additional qualification, information on your current area of study is likely to be the most relevant.
Include any predicted grades, if you have them, and dates for when youre likely to complete your studies. You may also choose to add in more information about the modules youve covered so far, especially if theyre directly related to the role.
This way, employers can identify any specific knowledge youve already gained in the industry, and wont be in the dark about completion dates when it comes to offering you the role.
You May Like: Should You Put Your Photo On A Resume
What Are Red Flags For A Guy
9 Red Flags Showing Its a Man Youd Better Run Away From ASAP
- He considers you a couple after the first date and talks about it constantly.
- He gives you sweet nicknames.
- He is ready to meet your parents right away and makes plans for the future.
- He is ready to take on all obligations and move in together right away.
Create A Section Of Your Resume Specifically For Education
Because employers look for an education section, make sure you have one on your resume. Typically, education sections appear toward the bottom of your resume after your experience, although you may include this information on either the left or right side of your resume if you’re using a unique template. Create an education header and only include information pertaining to your education in this section.
You May Like: How To Put Training On Resume
Know That Courses Count As Education
Unfortunately for employees who did not finish higher education, many corporate employers still want applicants with college degrees.
Ashley Watkins, a nationally certified résumé writer and a corporate recruiter for over 15 years, said she would advise applicants to include any relevant education they have.
I would rather them get credit for some college or some education versus no education, and thats in cases where the job posting may require that they have some college or it may have a bachelors degree preferred, she said.
Widely used applicant tracking systems may be scanning résumés for keywords like a bachelors degree, and they may penalize job applicants without one. But there are ways around that if you completed courses toward a degree, said Virginia Franco, a nationally certified résumé writer.
Sometimes, the people who program applicant tracking software, theyll put as either a requirement or an ideal qualification that someone has finished their undergraduate degree, and then you might get hurt, you wont score as high, Franco said. A workaround is to put B.A. or B.S. coursework, and then list the degree you were going toward.
Ditch College Sororities Fraternities And Clubs
If you were a social butterfly in college, thats fantastic. We hope you used the opportunity to network with the right people . You should connect with all of your fellow former club members on LinkedINbut dont list your college club memberships on your resume!
Like listing your high school accolades, listing your college memberships makes you look immature. Again, you have better things to talk about. Where did you intern while you were in college? What volunteer work did you do? What skills did you master that youre bringing to a potential employer? List that instead.
Don’t Miss: How To Put Double Major On Resume
Unrelated Or Obsolete Skills And Experience
You don’t need to list every job you have held on your resume. Generally, you only want to include positions you’ve had in the past 10 to 15 years unless an earlier job strongly demonstrates your qualifications. Leave out any positions that are unrelated to the job for which you are applying unless this will leave gaps on your resume.
However, if you have limited job experience, you can include slightly unrelated positions as long as you demonstrate how they prepared you for a job in your new field. For example, if you are applying for a sales job, you can include your earlier job as a cashier if you explain that the job helped you develop your customer service skills.
Make sure all the skills and attributes you list on your resume are current. If you list skills that are obsolete or not relevant to the position, it won’t help you get an interview. Review this list of skills to exclude from your resume.
If You Want To Demonstrate Work Ethic
High school or college jobs often demonstrate your level of motivation, says Dena Upton, vice president of people at Drift, a conversational marketing and sales platform. These jobs can be a great indication of your work ethic and driveparticularly if you are early in your career, she says.
For example, if you were a manager of a restaurant when you were in college, it can speak to leadership experience. Or if you were a retail salesperson, it can demonstrate your customer service abilities.
If you had a part-time job and participated in extracurricular activities, this can be especially telling, says Upton. You shouldnt shy away from showcasing things like sports achievements or volunteering, as not only do they paint a fuller picture of who you are and what makes you tick, she says, but they can be a great indication of your leadership, time management, and teamwork skills.
Also Check: How To Build A Acting Resume With No Experience
High School Resume Tips And Example
This article has been approved by an Indeed Career Coach
As a high school student, developing a resume is a great way to start preparing for the working world. Resumes can be used for job applications, to secure internships and even to help complete college applications. Your high school resume will likely be focused on relevant coursework, extracurricular activities like volunteering or clubs and any job experience you do have.
Here are some tips to help you compose a high school resume that stands out to potential future employers and sets the foundation for a successful career.
1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objectivec. Description of role and achievement4. Education
If Youve Just Left University
As a recent graduate you should always focus on your degree, and include college and school level information with less detail.
If you have a large number of GCSEs, list the amount and the grades you got rather than each individual subject . This saves space and makes your CV clearer and easier to read.
Work experience should also come secondary to education at this stage. Structure your CV by including your degree information first, and then go on to include any jobs you may have held in the following section.
Including individual modules isnt absolutely necessary, but could increase your chances if the modules relate closely to the role youre applying for. If you dont have a lot of work experience, this is a good way to demonstrate your skills and ability to do the job.
Read Also: When Will Corvette Plant Tours Resume
Outdated Education On A Resume
You should remove the year you graduated from most resumes to avoid age discrimination, but you should consider removing your older degrees for similar reasons. Even though it’s illegal to discriminate based on age at any stage of employment, your age will have an impact on your job search.
Examples of outdated education:
Some degrees are in programs that have been discontinued by the school, so you might be giving away more information than you think. Without much detective work, a hiring manager is likely to assume your age if you list a degree in an outdated field like radio advertising or home economics.
Instead, list just the level of the degree and the institution. You do not need to include the year.
Provide A Detailed Education Section
As a high school student, education and exploration of your interests have likely been your primary focus. While you may not have a long list of job experiences, your participation in school, both in and out of the classroom, will provide potential employers insight into the value youll bring as an employee. This includes both academic achievements and participation in activities that prove you to be a balanced, well-rounded person.
If youve achieved an impressive grade point average or completed challenging coursework, listing this information can illustrate your dedication and ability to overcome obstacles. Additionally, be sure to include your extracurricular activities. This shows employers that youre able to balance multiple responsibilities. Finally, be sure to list any completed coursework related to the job.
For example, if youre applying for an internship at a newspaper, your education section may look something like this:
Susan B. Anthony High SchoolGraduation Date: May 2019Relevant coursework: Introduction to Journalism, Yearbook, Creative Writing, PhotographyClubs: School newspaper, Art club, International club, Future business leaders of America
Related: How to List Education on a Resume
Also Check: Applying To Two Positions At The Same Company
When You Can Include Hs Experience
You may include high school activities on your resume until the end of your freshman year or beginning of your sophomore year of college. Up until that point, you dont have much experience beyond high school so you may need to draw from your high school honors, awards, extracurricular activities, and work experiences to showcase your strengths.
However, limit the high school activities to the ones that are the most impressive and best showcase your qualifications for the job/internship you are applying for.
For example, participation in yearbook isnt going to impress employers as much as achievements, leadership, and the development of other work-related skills. Your resume needs to demonstrate what sets you apart as a great candidate, so dont just list insignificant high school activities to fill space.
Want expert help putting together your resume? Check out our resume review service and get a polished, professional resume for only $99.