21+ Student Resume Examples + Writing Guide
Exceed your competition with our student resume examples! These student resume samples are completely customizable and show you what to include in your resume to land the job.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Student resume summary examples
Most hiring managers only do a seven-second scan of your resume. If they don’t see what they’re looking for in your professional summary, they’re probably skipping to the next person.
When writing a student resume, you want to include a professional summary that is two to three sentences long and sells your top achievements and qualifications for the job at hand.
Students without much work experience would be better served by writing an objective statement that shares relevant skills and mentions concrete goals within the job or career.
Below, we’ll share examples of student professional summaries for different job candidates.
Good example:
“A motivated and results-driven student with a passion for learning and problem-solving. Possesses strong analytical and organizational skills from over 3 years of work experience in roles like lifeguard, tutoring, customer service and retail. Committed to delivering high-quality work and meeting deadlines, while continually striving to expand knowledge and experience.”
Why this example passes:
- Features relevant skills like problem-solving and analytical thinking.
- Mentions the candidate’s years of experience.
- Establishes trustworthiness by showing dedication to quality work and meeting deadlines.
Bad example:
“Recent graduate with a passion for learning and exploring new ideas. Possesses strong communication and interpersonal skills. Seeking to utilize my knowledge and skills to contribute to a dynamic team.”
Why this example fails:
- Doesn’t include any numbers that quantify student’s performance.
- Uses vague descriptions and skills.
- Doesn’t include years of experience.
The fastest way to write your professional summary
Showcase your selling points as a student with an attention-grabbing professional summary generated by our Resume Builder! It’s an automated tool that will suggest pre-written phrases and tailor-made achievements you can customize.
- 1
Enter the details about the job title you held. The builder comes preloaded with auto-suggested phrasing written by resume experts.
- 2
Then, just pick from these suggested phrases that best frame your experience and customize them to your liking!
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All you have to do is choose the summary phrases that best frame your experience. It’s like having a professional do it for you!
Our Builder is the quickest and easiest tool for writing a stellar high school student resume. However, you can also dive deeper with our professional resume-writing services. Take advantage of all the tools LiveCareer offers and start landing interviews!
See what users like about our builder
Student resume work experience examples
One of the most important sections in any high school student resume is the work experience. A work experience section that demonstrates you have what it takes to thrive in the job is crucial to writing a resume. Recruiters want to see your unique achievements, so leave the generic job duties out. Use the following examples to understand how to write an excellent work experience section.
Good example:
Server | Tulip Café | Berkeley, CA | Spring 2022
- Upsold desserts and specialty beverages to customers, resulting in a 20% increase in dessert sales and a 10% increase in overall check averages.
- Handled an average of 80 transactions per shift with accuracy, minimizing errors in customer bills.
- Consistently maintained a clean dining area, contributing to a boost in customer retention and positive online reviews.
Why this example passes:
- Showcases unique achievements when describing their job responsibilities.
- Includes various quantifiable achievements that give validity to the candidate’s abilities.
- Shows potential employers the potential impact of hiring this candidate by mentioning boosted customer retention and positive reviews.
Bad example:
Server | Tulip Café | Berkeley, CA | Spring 2022
- Sold various desserts and specialty beverages to many customers on a daily basis.
- Handled the cash register operations, utilized POS system and took care of cash and credit transactions.
- Kept the dining area clean and tidy, greeted customers and restocked pastries.
Why this example fails:
- Only mentions generic job duties any other server in a similar role could have also done.
- There are no numbers to reflect the scope of the candidate’s labor and impact on the business.
Student resume skills examples
Here are 18 sample skills you can include in a student resume:
- Research
- Networking
- Time management
- Data entry
- Customer service
- Administrative support
- Project coordination
- Event planning
- Team collaboration
- Business correspondence
- Basic housekeeping
- Event coordination
- Social media management
- Operations support
- Appointment setting
- File maintenance
- Performance improvement
- Complex problem-solving
You should sprinkle skills and abilities throughout your high school or college student resume. Include them in your professional summary, work experience blurbs and in the dedicated skills section.
PRO TIP
List the skills the employer seeks. You can find these required skills and qualifications in any job description; in the resume industry, we call them resume keywords.
Examples of additional resume sections
When writing a resume for a high school student, you must include the five main sections: contact information, professional summary, work experience, skills and education. However, you can also add different sections to show off more achievements.
Here are some examples of optional high school student resume sections that you could add to provide greater detail:
- Languages
- Interests
- Certifications
- Accomplishments
- Professional experience
- References
- Software
- Additional skills
Including additional sections in your student resume will help you convince employers you’re the best fit for the position. However, be selective about what qualifications you include, and eliminate any that don’t respond to the job’s specific requirements.
Examples of resume formats
How you order a resume is called a resume format. There are three main resume formats: chronological, functional and combination. Here are examples of each:
The main difference between the three resume formats is whether or not they give more visual weight to your work history or to your skills section. The format you should select when writing a resume for a college student or for a high schooler will vary depending on the student’s years of work experience.
How to choose a resume format
0-3
Years of experience
Functional formats
- Focus on skills.
- Best for first-time student who lack work experience.
- Good for people re-entering workforce.
- May omit dates in the work history section.
Organization:
- Skills listed above work experience.
3-10
Years of experience
Combination formats
- Balance skills and work history.
- Ideal for mid-career student.
- Suitable for career changers and people seeking promotion.
Organization:
- Skills next to or above work experience.
10+
Years of experience
Chronological formats
- Put the most focus on work history.
- Best for student with a long, steady career.
- Most popular format.
- Preferred by recruiters.
Organization:
- Work experience listed above skills.
Once you know the best format for you, it’s easy to pick a student resume template. Our resume templates are preformatted layouts created by design professionals to ensure your resume looks amazing!
Don’t forget your student cover letter
A cover letter works hand-in-hand with your student resume to make a stronger case for why you deserve the job.
In one page, a cover letter allows you to explain a little more about yourself and what motivates you as a student job seeker. It is the best tool to show your enthusiasm, commitment and personality rather than submitting your resume alone.
You can find additional inspiration for your letter’s content with cover letter examples and professional designs in our cover letter templates library.
Seems like a lot? Writing a cover letter is much easier with our Cover Letter Generator! It features personalized phrases and text to select, add and edit for a custom cover letter.
Similar resume examples
Want to see more resume examples fit for student job seekers? Check out the student resume samples below.
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