Start with evidence, not a job count.

A high school resume can be useful before the first formal job

CareerOneStop recommends a targeted resume that highlights relevant work history, education, and accomplishments. Berkeley's first-year examples likewise draw from education, coursework, skills, activities, volunteering, and part-time work.

A resume does not need an empty Work Experience section. Expand the sources of evidence, then preserve what each experience really was. A class assignment is not client work, helping a family member is not automatically employment, and club membership is not leadership without a real role.

Write for one opportunity instead of every possible first job

1. 01

   Read the full posting

   Mark the tasks, schedule, location, minimum requirements, and application instructions.

2. 02

   Separate required and preferred

   Do not treat enthusiasm or a related class as a substitute for a required license, age, schedule, or authorization.

3. 03

   Inventory matching evidence

   Search jobs, school, service, activities, projects, training, and informal work for verified examples.

4. 04

   Use the employer's language

   Repeat a term only when your evidence genuinely supports it.

5. 05

   Complete the application

   Treat the resume as one document; answer required application fields separately and accurately.

Make contact reliable without publishing unnecessary personal data

Use your name, a phone number you monitor, a professional personal email address, and city and state when location helps. Check voicemail and email regularly. A school email can expire or restrict outside messages, so use it only if it is reliable for the full hiring process.

Do not put a birth date, age, Social Security number, full street address, photo, school schedule, student ID, parent or guardian contact, account credentials, or work-authorization documents on a general U.S. resume unless a legitimate process specifically requires information through an appropriate channel. See the contact information guide.

List the school, location, and expected graduation accurately

CareerOneStop says high school belongs when it is the applicant's highest education and work experience is limited. List the school name, city and state, and expected diploma or graduation month and year. Use Expected, Anticipated, or In progress so an unfinished credential cannot be mistaken for completed.

Add a few relevant courses, honors, or activities only when they strengthen the target. Do not list a course as completed while it is underway, call a class a certification, or project a graduation date you cannot reasonably support. The education guide covers status labels and incomplete programs.

Include an exact GPA only when requested or useful

There is no universal GPA cutoff. Follow the application, use the exact supported value, label weighted or unweighted status when ambiguity matters, and include the scale when useful. Do not round up, project a future value, or substitute a selected-course average for cumulative GPA.

If GPA is optional and does not add useful evidence, leave it out. Use the GPA guide for transcript, scale, precision, and label decisions.

Use real work, service, projects, activities, and training

The no-experience resume guide provides a broader evidence inventory. Select only material that helps the actual opportunity.

Lead with the strongest relevant evidence while keeping context visible

These are starting points, not fixed templates. Keep ordinary headings and an understandable chronology. Do not use a skills-first layout to conceal real dates or the setting where a skill was developed.

Describe the service without inventing an employer

Babysitting, tutoring, lawn care, pet care, helping in a family business, selling a real product, or other informal work may be relevant. Name what you did, the truthful recipient or safe category, dates, frequency, responsibilities, and supported outcomes.

Do not create a company name, call unpaid household chores employment, turn occasional help into continuous work, or claim adult supervision as independent management. Protect household names, addresses, children's information, keys, schedules, and payment details.

Connect every skill to evidence the reader can evaluate

Use specific tools, languages, equipment, methods, or job-relevant capabilities that you can demonstrate. Evidence can come from a class, project, activity, job, training, or volunteer role. Do not rate yourself expert because you completed one assignment.

Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, reliability, and organization are more credible inside bullets that show the situation and action. The resume skills guide covers selection, naming, placement, and proof.

Ask permission and keep private contact details off the resume

Do not list teachers, coaches, neighbors, customers, or supervisors without permission. A reference should know what opportunity you are pursuing and agree to be contacted. Prepare a separate reference sheet only when requested.

Do not publish a reference's phone number, email, address, or relationship on a public resume, portfolio, or unrestricted link. Use the reference guide for permission and sharing boundaries.

Age, availability, authorization, and consent belong in the required process

A posting or application may ask questions the resume does not need, including availability, age-related eligibility, work authorization, permits, or guardian consent. Answer lawful, legitimate requirements accurately through the employer's process; do not guess or add identity documents to the resume.

Youth-employment rules vary by age, job, hours, school status, and location. A resume cannot establish legal eligibility. Check current official labor guidance and the employer's instructions rather than relying on AI or a general resume example.

AI can organize supplied evidence, but it cannot create experience

AI cannot know whether an activity occurred, a course was completed, a GPA is current, a credential is valid, an informal job was paid, a result belongs to you, or a young applicant is legally eligible for particular work or hours.

Remove private information before using an AI service. Reject invented employers, leadership titles, dates, hours, awards, course status, metrics, skills, references, and claims that ordinary participation proves a workplace trait.

Check the target, facts, context, privacy, and file together

• +The resume targets one real job, internship, program, or opportunity and follows its instructions.
• +School name, expected graduation, GPA, course status, awards, and certifications match current records.
• +Paid work, informal services, volunteering, activities, and class projects retain their true context.
• +Every skill is supported by a course, project, task, activity, credential, or other evidence.
• +No birth date, Social Security number, full home address, photo, school schedule, account credential, or unnecessary private detail appears.
• +The final file opens correctly, uses the requested format, and contains current contact information.