Resume Advice for High School Graduates Landing Their First Job

As I'm finishing up high school, I'm worried about starting my job search without much experience. How should I construct my resume to best showcase my strengths and potential to employers?

Building a strong resume straight out of high school might seem challenging, but there are ways to highlight your skills and experiences effectively:

1. Start with Basic Details: Always begin your resume with your contact information, full name, mailing address, phone number, and professional email.

2. Include an Objective: This succinctly outlines your career goals and what you hope to achieve in your initial role. The objective should be tailored to each job you apply for.

3. Highlight Academic Achievements: After your contact information, list down your academic details; the high school you attended, dates of attendance, GPA (if above 3.0), and notable academic achievements such as commendations for prefecting, honor roll, AP scores, and interesting coursework.

4. Emphasize Extracurricular Involvement: This part can include involvement in a club, student council, sports, competitions, and community service projects. Explain roles, responsibilities, and well-defined successes. For example, if you were the school orchestra’s concertmaster, managing peers for a successful annual concert highlights your teamwork and leadership skills.

5. List Relevant Skills: Include relevant hard and soft skills such as computer proficiency (word processing, spreadsheets), languages, strong communication ability, etc. These skills could be garnered not necessarily from professional exposure but also from school projects, hobbies, or voluntary work.

6. Volunteer Work and Internships: These are highly valued as they show your commitment to learning and causes. Provide detail on what you did in your roles, your learning, and any impact you may have had.

7. Work Experience: If you've had part-time jobs, summer jobs or odd jobs like babysitting, include them. Specify your role, institution, tasks performed, and what you learned from the experience.

8. References: These can be from teachers, internship supervisors, or coaches who can vouch for your skills, work ethics, and character.

Remember to keep your resume no longer than 1 page, concise, and free of any grammatical mistakes. Tailor your resume for each job, highlighting relevant experiences and skills.