Do I Need High School Stuff on My Resume for Jobs?

I'm working on my resume and am not sure if high school experiences are relevant for job applications. Is it important to include things like clubs, sports, or honors from high school on my resume, or can I skip them?

This is a great question and the answer largely depends on your work experience and the position you're applying for.

If you're in college or have recently graduated, and perhaps do not have a lot of professional work experience yet, your high school achievements can help fill out your resume and demonstrate your skills. Potential employers might be interested to see the leadership roles you held or any major accomplishments.

However, as you gain professional experience and your career progresses, your high school experiences become less relevant. Ideally, your college experiences, internships, part-time jobs, and post-college professional experiences should eventually replace your high school information.

In other words, high school accomplishments are generally considered a filler for when you're starting or need to beef up an inexperienced resume. As you gain more work experience, you can begin to remove them.

For example, once you have relevant internships or work experience, it might be better to replace high school clubs with this more relevant experience. But if you were a high school athlete and are applying for a position related to sports, such experience could be valuable to include, even after you've gained some work experience.

As with most things resume-related, the rule of thumb is to keep it relevant. If your high school experience is relevant to the position you're applying for, it could be worth including. If not, it might be more beneficial to focus on experiences that showcase skills and accomplishments that align more closely with the job you're seeking.