I've just graduated high school, and I'm putting together a resume for my first job. What should I highlight since I don't have much experience yet? Should I include school projects or clubs?
Congrats on moving forward with your first job search! Your lack of traditional work experience should not deter you. Many employers understand that high school students and recent graduates will have limited job experience, so they'll be looking at other facets of your personal and academic life that demonstrate skills or traits relevant to the job.
It's absolutely a great idea to include school projects and clubs on your resume. What you're trying to do here is showcase your variety of experiences and the skills you have developed through them.
Let's dig into what you could include:
1. Objective Statement: As you don't have much work experience yet, start your resume with an objective statement. This can quickly highlight your career goals and the skills you bring to the table.
2. Academic Achievements: Include your GPA (especially if it's strong), graduation date, any relevant coursework, honors, or awards.
3. Extracurricular Activities: Highlight any involvement in clubs, sports, or school projects. If you held a leadership position (like president of a club or team captain), make sure to emphasize that.
4. Skills: Include software skills, language proficiency, or any other technical skills you possess that are relevant to the job.
5. Volunteer Work or Community Service: Any unpaid work or community service you have performed can be very valuable on a resume. It shows employers your initiative and dedication.
6. Any Part-time Jobs, Internships, or Job Shadowing Experiences: Even if these aren’t in the field you are applying to, they still demonstrate valuable skills such as team collaboration, customer service, responsibility, and more.
In laying out your resume, remember to be concise and to the point. Use action verbs to start each bullet point and quantify your achievements if possible (for example, "Led a team of 4 in a fundraising campaign that raised $2,000").
Lastly, always tailor your resume to each specific job you're applying for. Highlight the skills and experiences that are especially relevant to the job.
Best of luck in your job search! I'm sure you'll put together a great resume.
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