Student Resume Examples and Writing Tips

Key Sections to Include in a Student Resume

You don’t have the long work history or education certifications that tenured professionals have, so student resumes follow a different structure than a traditional resume.

Let’s go over the elements, with realistic student resume examples for each one to help inspire you.

Our examples apply to all students, but if you’d like some industry-specific advice, check out our resume examples, including customer service agents and receptionists.

Header

Your resume header must include essential contact details. This helps interested hiring managers contact you promptly without having to scan the whole document.

Here are the top details to include:

• Full name
• Job title or Student, High School Student, or High School Graduate
• Phone number
• Email address
• Location (city and state)
• LinkedIn URL

Don’t have a LinkedIn profile? We recommend you take a few minutes to set one up. It’s a quick and easy way to establish yourself professionally and start growing your career.

Here’s a high school student resume header example:

Joshua Chan
High School Graduate
555-9003
joshchan@example.com
Fort Lauderdale, FL
linkedin.com/joshuachan/

Resume objective or summary

A resume objective is a concise description of your accomplishments, skills, and goals. It’s a quick way for hiring managers to learn who you are, what your motivations are, and why you’re great for the role.

Here’s an example of an objective in a student resume:

“Hard-working and motivated student with a GPA of 3.9 pursuing an opportunity to further IT engineering skills. Proven expertise in collaborating on a team and leveraging attention to detail. Motivated to use keen learning agility and problem-solving abilities in the programming internship at Digital Heights.”

A resume summary is also a great way to start a resume but generally isn’t recommended for students. Summaries cover your work and education experience, rather than your aspirations, so it’s best to use those once you have a longer professional history.

Education

Student resumes generally lead with education due to a lack of work experience. We also recommend this when building an internship resume.

Start with the name of your highest attained degree, and then add the institution’s name, location, and graduation date or date you began attending. If you have a GPA above 3.5, add that, too.

Here’s an example:

High School Diploma
Fort Lauderdale High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Graduated 2023
GPA: 3.9

Work experience

Work experience is a more flexible section than you think. Students have a lot of options here:

• School projects
• Internships
• Part-time jobs
• Personal projects
• Volunteer work 

Note: Generally, volunteer work would be an optional section at the bottom of a resume, but if you don’t have work experience, it’s a good idea to put it higher.

Structure whatever experience you have like typical work history, so start with your title in the role, and then add the location where it happened and the date. Here’s an example for context:

Team Leader
Fort Lauderdale High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL
October 2022 – December 2022

• Developed a dynamic, interactive website with a team of 5 engineers
• Designed an intuitive login portal and an interactive landing page animation, using expert front-end development skills
• Led a brainstorming session to test and debug, determining the root cause of several issues and leading to increased productivity  

Hard skills

Relevant technical skills are essential to a successful student resume. You may not have much work experience yet, but you can show them what foundational skills you have to help you succeed.

Because technical skills are role-specific and relate to certain tasks, they’re different for each role. Consider your own skill set and the role in question. Are you proficient with Microsoft Word and Excel? These are excellent hard skills for a variety of roles, such as receptionists, writers, and salespeople.

Soft skills

Soft skills are excellent for student resumes, as they’re transferable between hundreds of roles. These include interpersonal and organizational skills, and personality traits, like patience and conscientiousness.

These skills should also relate to the role you’re applying to, but they’re much broader.

Here are some common soft skills to put on your student resume:

• Time Management
• Emotional Intelligence
• Organization
• Communication
• Problem-Solving
• Attention to Detail
• Self-Motivation
• Innovation

Optional sections

Extra sections in a resume always add a little flair, but they’re especially important for a student resume. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Certifications
• Languages
• Hobbies and Interests
• Memberships, Associations, and Clubs
• Honors and Awards

Get accustomed to these resume sections and gain some valuable experience by filling out one of our resume templates. 

Tips for Writing College and High School Student Resumes

You’re off to a great start, but let’s make your student resume stand out from the crowd. These expert tips will give your resume an extra polish and frame you as an ideal candidate.

Quantify your achievements

Listing an accomplishment plainly is just stating a fact, but added measurable data turns it into an eye-catching achievement. Check out this example:

• Standard accomplishment: Collaborated with teammates, built solid strategies 
• Quantified achievement: Won 80% of team soccer matches throughout the season using excellent collaboration and planning

This is a way to bring strong context to your resume and prove your abilities to the hiring manager, even with no work experience.

Write a cover letter

Your resume won’t be filled to the brim with work experience, but you can convey your motivation, skills, and passion through a cover letter. A cover letter is an excellent supporting document that allows you to:

• Stand out from the crowd
• Highlight your unique qualities and history
• Share additional stories, skills, and projects that don’t fit on your resume
• Showcase your professionalism
• Discuss the value you bring to the company and how invested you are in its goals

Use a cover letter to tell your story – introduce yourself, list relevant accomplishments, and be courteous and professional. You’ll definitely leave a lasting impression.

Add strong references

References can help support your claims when you don’t have much experience. Provide references such as teachers, coaches, mentors, or people you’ve volunteered for. A third party affirming your skill and motivation is a great way to establish trust with an employer.

Just be sure you always ask references for their consent before listing them. Also, don’t list family members, as employers won’t trust they’re telling the truth.

Looking for more tips and tricks? Browse our resume articles for advice on optional sections, creative resumes, and resume formats.

Show Your Potential in a Student Resume

College and high school student resumes won’t have the same structure and content, but that doesn’t mean they can’t convey drive and dedication. Follow our tips to create a student resume that grabs the hiring manager’s eye:

• List education first to show academic experience
• Add projects, volunteer work, and part-time jobs
• Provide relevant hard and soft skills
• Write a professional cover letter
• Connect recruiters to references who can vouch for you

Excited to get started? Head over to CVwizard’s Resume Builder to put these tips to good use and build a striking student resume.