High school student CV example

How to write a CV for a high school student

Now that we’ve found the perfect template for you, let’s take a look at how to present content. We’re going to explain how to write a CV in detail for a high school student.

Here is what is coming up:

• What contact details should I include in my high school student CV?
• Start your high school student CV with a personal statement
• High school student CV work experience
• Great skills to add to your high school student CV
• High school student CV education

What contact details should I include in my high school student CV?

What’s the point of a CV if recruiters can’t get in touch? Follow the lead of our high school student CV examples by including all the must-haves on your own application.

That starts with your name, which should be the first thing recruiters see. Next, add your address, so they can see where you’re based. Then finish it off with a phone number and email address.

Make sure it’s your own phone number – and one that you actually use. It’s pretty unprofessional to have a family member or friend answering on your behalf – and even worse if nobody answers at all.

As for your email address, it’s best practice to make a new email address just for your high school student CV. Most people don’t have a simple, professional email address that’s suitable for a CV – but now is the time to make one.

Example of contact section for high school student CV

Start your high school student CV with a personal statement

All good high school student CV examples have one thing in common – they start with a strong personal statement. Also known as a professional summary, it’s a short paragraph which introduces you as a candidate. The general advice is to avoid using first person, such as “I” and “me”, and focus on what you can offer to a potential employer – rather than what you want from the job. Here’s a good example:

On a high school student CV, it’s worth highlighting that you’re currently in high school from the get-go. This will give recruiters context for the rest of your CV and explain why you don’t have as much experience as other applicants, amongst other things.

Next, you’ll want to cherry-pick your best qualities, with the job in mind. That could be a strong mathematical ability for a cashier role, or physical fitness for a job in a warehouse. A good tip here is to double-check the job description and see which of their requirements or preferences you meet.

Example of personal statement for high school student CV

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High school student CV work experience

Not all high school student CV examples come without experience. If you do have any work experience, it can really set you apart from other candidates. That could be anything from a newspaper round or voluntary role to shelf stacking at a family shop. Here’s what you need to know.

Where does the experience go?

The first challenge is where to include experience. That depends on the CV format you’re using. With a skills-based CV, you’ll still want to focus on your capabilities and let your work history complement them. Add an experience section below to back them up.

Avoid anything irrelevant

A CV for a teenager with no experience might look bare at first glance, but you shouldn’t be tempted to pad it out with irrelevant information. Ultimately, deciding what to keep in and leave out will depend on how many positions you’ve had previously and how they relate to the desired job. Try to stick to your last two or three positions, focusing on the most relevant aptitudes and responsibilities in each role – then there’ll be no need to pad out your teenager CV.
On the other hand, you might have a few roles to talk about despite still being in high school. If that’s the case, you could justify a standard format, with your experience directly after the personal statement.

How it’s done

Like your education, the work history section has a few key requirements that recruiters will be looking for on a CV for high school students.

• Dates – You’ll need to include the start and end date for each job role
• Job details – List your job title, the company you worked for, and the location.
• Responsibilities – Finally, you’ll want to list 3-6 key responsibilities from each role using bullet points as below.

Example of work experience for a high school student CV

Great skills to add to your high school student CV

Skills are essential for younger candidates – especially so when it’s a CV for high school students with no experience. Whether you’ve had a bit of part time work or no jobs at all, competencies will be your biggest selling point to recruiters for a variety of roles.

Here’s the best bit – when you’re fresh out of school or still in education, you’re ready-made with a selection of transferable CV skills to put on your CV. That includes English and Maths, both fresh in your mind. But it also covers things that are harder to teach. The vast majority of high school students have an innate ability with digital devices and software, for example, that older applicants simply can’t compete with.

On a conventional CV, your skills will be listed in a brief, bullet-point list. However, on a skills-based CV, you will list groups or categories, then expand on them with more specific examples. In our CV example, a high school student has listed “excellent communication” as a group, with “well spoken”, “great listener”, and “good English” as the specific aptitudes.

To give you a bit more inspiration, here are some examples to include on your high school student CV.

High school student CV education

Unless you’ve just got your results, most high school students won’t have any formal educational qualifications per se. But that doesn’t mean you should omit the education section completely. Quite the opposite, in fact, on a CV for high school students with no experience…

Clear, concise, and simple

First and foremost, be sure to include the subjects you’re studying towards. While they’re not technically qualifications until you’ve got the grade, it’s still good to give recruiters a better idea of your educational background.

The usual advice for CV writing is to keep education details brief. There’s no need to include a list of GCSE subjects when you have more relevant things to offer, essentially. But for a high school student, there’s no harm in adding a concise list of subjects you’re currently studying. Above all else, it can show that you’re interested in what you do at school and set you apart a little more.

Know where the line is

This one is simple. Don’t list anything before your GCSEs (or projected results). That includes any SATs, mock tests or other non-formal exam results. While recruiters are familiar with GCSEs or Scottish National qualifications, their knowledge of the curriculum doesn’t tend to go any further. At the very least, it’s a waste of your time, and at worst, it can make your high school student CV look a bit too unprofessional.

How to list your qualifications

We’ve covered what to include, now onto how to include it. As with our CV example, high school student qualifications should be listed with the date or expected date, level of qualification, and institution.

 Example of education for high school student CV