How to Create a Résumé for High School Students

Choose a Job Objective

 

Make a list of jobs that you feel you want to apply for. Include jobs that call for the skills, abilities, and special talents that you discovered about yourself while doing the previous exercise.

 

Now choose your Job Objective. To obtain a..

  • Position as an Office Clerk
  • Part-time Sales Job with Best Buy
  • Summer Internship in the Marketing Department

 

What are the requirements of the Job?

 

Research the job

  • Look on the Internet.
  • Talk with people who have a similar job. Ask them if they will share a written job description with you.
  • Ask about "job shadowing" or "career exploration" at your school.
  • Read a classified ad for a similar job.
  • What are the education or certification requirements?
  • What are the skills needed for the job?
  • What experience is needed for the job?


Related Skills and Abilities

 

Review all of your skills and abilities that you listed. Select the ones that are most related to your job objective.

 

Example:

If your Job Objective is "To obtain a position as a Marketing Intern" related skills might be:

  • Customer Service
  • Marketing/Sales/Design
  • Computer knowledge

 

Demonstrate your Skills

 

Use facts

Describe your skills by identifying specific experiences and achievements where you used or acquired the skill

  • Put action words at the beginning of the sentence
  • Wherever possible provide specific, provable, successful results that would interest your future employer

 

For example:

  • Made copies
  • Photocopied and collated one thousand monthly newsletters over a twelve month period. Total distribution 12,000.

 

 

Action Words

 

Managing

  • Accomplished
  • Analyzed
  • Attained
  • Conducted
  • Consolidated
  • Contacted
  • Coordinated
  • Developed
  • Directed
  • Established
  • Evaluated
  • Exceeded
  • Headed
  • Improved
  • Increased
  • Initiated
  • Organized
  • Oversaw
  • Planned
  • Prioritized
  • Produced
  • Scheduled
  • Strengthened
  • Trimmed

 

Technical

  • Assembled
  • Built
  • Calculated
  • Computed
  • Configured
  • Designed
  • Determined
  • Devised
  • Eliminated
  • Enhanced
  • Fabricated
  • Installed
  • Maintained
  • Operated
  • Overhauled
  • Programmed
  • Reduced
  • Refined
  • Remodeled
  • Repaired
  • Retrieved
  • Solved
  • Trained
  • Upgraded

 

Clerical

  • Approved
  • Arranged
  • Catalogued
  • Classified
  • Collected
  • Compared
  • Compiled
  • Completed
  • Distributed
  • Enlarged
  • Implemented
  • Inspected
  • Monitored
  • Operated
  • Organized
  • Prepared
  • Processed
  • Recorded
  • Retrieved
  • Screened
  • Specified
  • Sorted
  • Tabulated
  • Validated

 

Communicating

  • Addressed
  • Arranged
  • Convinced
  • Corresponded
  • Developed
  • Directed
  • Drafted
  • Edited
  • Enlisted
  • Influenced
  • Interpreted
  • Negotiated
  • Participated
  • Persuaded
  • Presented
  • Promoted
  • Proposed
  • Related
  • Secured
  • Sold
  • Spoke
  • Translated
  • Wrote

 

Researching

  • Collected
  • Consulted
  • Evaluated
  • Examined
  • Experimented
  • Identified
  • Inspected
  • Interpreted
  • Interviewed
  • Investigated
  • Obtained
  • Organized
  • Reviewed
  • Searched
  • Summarized
  • Surveyed

 

Teaching

  • Advised
  • Clarified
  • Coached
  • Communicated
  • Coordinated
  • Corrected
  • Developed
  • Enabled
  • Encouraged
  • Evaluated
  • Explained
  • Guided
  • Informed
  • Initiated
  • Instructed
  • Persuaded
  • Set goals
  • Trained

 

Creating

  • Acted
  • Conceived
  • Created
  • Customized
  • Designed
  • Developed
  • Established
  • Fashioned
  • Illustrated
  • Improved
  • Initiated
  • Introduced
  • Invented
  • Originated
  • Performed
  • Planned
  • Redesigned
  • Reshaped
  • Revitalized
  • Shaped

 

Helping

  • Assisted
  • Clarified
  • Coached
  • Counseled
  • Demonstrated
  • Educated
  • Guided
  • Motivated
  • Referred
  • Supported

 

Work History

 

Make a list of jobs you have had - including jobs created by yourself.

  • List the most recent job first, then go back chronologically
  • Include the dates of the work of employment, your job titles, and company name
  • Include work experience, even if it was short term or unpaid
  • Include jobs even if your parents or relatives were the employer
  • Include odd-jobs you did on your own as an entrepreneur and list yourself as the employer

 

For example:

September 2006-Present, Sales Associate, GAP

 

FINAL STEP

 

Now plug all of your information into a resume template, which can be found in most word processing programs.