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How to Start a Cover Letter: 6 Best Introductions Examples
How to start a cover letter? Just follow our guide and write a cover letter introduction that will sweep your future boss off their feet.
![Olga Ber](https://cdn-images.resumelab.com/authors/olga_berauthor_blogpost_resumelab_7242024.jpg)
Olga Ber
Career Expert
In recent years, the U.S. has seen around 3.8 to 3.9 million high school graduates annually. Approximately 30–40% of high school graduates enter the labor force directly after graduation, while the majority either enroll in college or pursue further education. That’s about 1.2–1.5 million people who are going to become your competition.
Make yourself much more marketable to employers by creating a high school graduate resume that’s better than most others. I’ll show you how.
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Cara Beldad
Recent High School Graduate
Phone: 607-301-7378
Email: carazbeldad@email.com
linkedin.com/in/carazbeldad_1
Resume Summary
Driven high-school graduate with exceptional communication and organizational skills. Eager to join Aardvark Inc. as a Sales Associate. As leader of the Furry Angels Fundraising Group, helped save the lives of 1,500 animals, raising $2,000+ annually.
Core Qualifications
Education
John Jay High School, Katonah, NY
August 2020–June 2024
GPA: 3.8
SAT: 1350
ACT: 30
President, High School Yearbook Committee
Excelled in Business Coursework
Captain of Debate Team 2 Years
Lacrosse Team Co-Captain
Experience
Co-Founder, Leader
Furry Angels Animal Fundraising Group, Katonah, NY
September 2022–June 2024
Counter Clerk, Cook
Barvel's Corner Store, Katonah, NY
April 2022–May 2023
Skills
Languages
What makes it work:
Emma R. Taylor
High School Graduate
emma.taylor@email.com
(987) 654-3210
linkedin.com/in/emmataylor
twitter.com/emmataylor
Objective
Motivated high school graduate with strong communication and organizational skills, seeking a position as a Hotel Front Desk Associate at Sheragram. Eager to apply customer service abilities in a professional hospitality environment and contribute to a welcoming guest experience. Certified in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Education
Springfield High School
Springfield, IL
Graduated: June 2024
Extracurricular Activities
High School Yearbook Committee Member
August 2022–June 2024
Debate Team Member
September 2021–June 2024
Skills
Certifications
Languages
Hobbies & Interests
What makes it work:
Ethan J. Miller
Welder Intern
ethan.miller@email.com
(123) 456-7890
linkedin.com/in/ethanmiller_weld
Career Profile
Dedicated high school graduate currently with a year of hands-on experience through an internship as a welder. Assisted senior welders in performing MIG, TIG, and arc welding tasks on various metal structures. Participated in metalworking projects, including the creation of metal sculptures and tools, as a member of the Trades Club. Looking to join MTL Inc. to contribute to overall team productivity and decrease project completion times.
Core Competencies
Education
Springfield High School
Springfield, IL
Graduated: June 2024
Extracurricular Activities
Trades Club
September 2022–June 2024
Competitions
1st Place, Statewide Engineering Design Challenge
Internship Experience
Welding Intern
ABC Fabrication, Springfield, IL
June 2023–June 2024
Key Responsibilities
Key Achievements
Other Skills
Certifications
Hobbies & Interests
What makes it work:
A comprehensive analysis of 500,000 resumes built with our tool showed that*:
- 29.73% of our users include certifications on their resumes.
- A total of 2.65% of users report zero work experience, while 18.06% have less than three years on their resumes.
- Users most frequently highlight Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Collaboration, Adaptability, and Multitasking as key skills.
- The median time to build a resume on ResumeLab is just 21.3 minutes.
* The data comes from the last 12 months (August 2023–August 2024).
When you graduate high school, there are two primary paths you can take. Either you pursue further education or you enter the job market. And that first option is becoming less popular each year.
This means that if you choose path #2, you’ll face increasing competition. But don’t worry. You have a major advantage on your side. You’re reading this article, which will help you write a high school grad resume that will blow the socks off of recruiters. I’ll walk you through each step.
This may seem obvious, but so many people just look at the job title + salary, and they either decide to send their generic resume or skip it. To show you how to write a targeted resume, we first need a target job.
Here’s an ad for an entry-level welding job in Illinois:
Job Description: Join our team as a passionate and hardworking welder! We’re seeking an entry-level welder who is eager to develop their skills in metal fabrication and join our experienced team. Higher education is not required. You will be responsible for executing welding tasks under the supervision of skilled professionals, ensuring quality workmanship and adherence to safety standards.
Responsibilities:
This job piqued Ethan Miller's interest. Who is he? Here is some info:
Ethan J. Miller is a dedicated aspiring welder with hands-on experience gained through a year-long internship. A recent high school graduate, Ethan is passionate about developing his welding skills and pursuing a long-term career in the trade. During his internship, Ethan assisted senior welders in performing MIG, TIG, and arc welding tasks, successfully completing over 50 projects with a 98% quality approval rate. His keen attention to detail and commitment to precision helped reduce material waste by 15% and contributed to a 20% increase in team productivity.
Ethan's education includes a high school diploma from Springfield High School, where he excelled in relevant coursework such as Physics, Mathematics, and Technical Drawing. Actively involved in the Trades Club, Ethan participated in metalworking projects and helped organize workshops for fellow students. He holds certifications in Basic Welding Techniques from Lincoln Electric Welding School and an OSHA 10-Hour Safety Certification, underscoring his dedication to safety and continuous learning in the field.
But despite how skilled Ethan is, the first draft of his resume was rusty:
Unprofessional resume introduction
High school graduate eager to continue developing welding skills and pursue a career in the trade. Committed to safety, precision, and continuous learning in the field of welding. I’m looking forward to working at your company.
And he didn’t know how to display his accomplishments either:
Key Responsibilities:
Ethan felt that something was wrong. Despite his experience, his resume sounded unimpressive, so he decided to open ResumeLab and give his high school graduate resume a much-needed lift. Here’s the advice he followed:
Do you remember how every essay you wrote in high school had a word/page limit, and sometimes it was difficult to shorten a grand subject into a single paragraph? A resume introduction is just like that.
To make a great first impression, Ethan made the following resume profile:
Improved Ethan’s resume profile
Dedicated high school graduate currently with a year of hands-on experience through an internship as a welder. Assisted senior welders in performing MIG, TIG, and arc welding tasks on various metal structures. Participated in metalworking projects, including the creation of metal sculptures and tools, as a member of the Trades Club. Looking to join MTL Inc. to contribute to overall team productivity and decrease project completion times.
Why is this resume profile much better than the previous one? A few things:
If you already have work experience, you’re going to use a resume summary. It will focus entirely on your work accomplishments and skills. If you have little to no work experience, use the resume objective. In it, mention your school achievements or relevant extracurricular qualifications. The general structure for both is pretty much the same.
Expert Hint: If you want to add some extra flare to your high school graduate resume, consider adding a resume headline. If you have an impressive achievement, it will definitely set you apart from other candidates.
There are a lot of universal skills that most companies would be happy to see in their candidates. But those universal job skills are mostly soft skills. Technical skills are job-specific, and I recommend you show them on the top of your resume in a core competencies section.
Pick 4–8 of these core competencies. Use them to target resume keywords and make an ATS-compatible resume.
Core Competencies
What makes this list of qualifications so great?
So, where should you showcase your soft skills? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you about the additional skills section in a moment. But first, there is something more important for a high school graduate resume.
You have just now graduated from high school. You may have worked a job already, but you may also have zero minutes of past work experience. This is why you should focus your efforts on developing your resume education section.
First, take a look at Ethan’s education:
Education
Springfield High School
Springfield, IL
Graduated: June 2024
GPA: 3.5/4.0
Relevant Coursework: Physics, Mathematics, Technical Drawing
Honors: "Future Engineer Scholarship," awarded to students demonstrating exceptional skills in technical subjects, 2023
Extracurricular Activities
Trades Club
September 2022–June 2024
Competitions
1st Place, Statewide Engineering Design Challenge
Why does this education section work?
When it comes to your education section, the more extensive your work experience history, the fewer details you’re going to mention here.
Expert Hint: If you have no work experience, I recommend adding even more information to the education section. Include honors, awards, capstone projects, club activities, student exchange programs, leadership roles, or other qualifications.
Here’s what worries hiring teams: finding applicants who’ll really get the job done. You can prove that’s you by adding a relevant experience section to your high school graduate resume. Think volunteering, internship, freelancing, projects.
Work it like this resume sample for high school graduates:
Internship Experience
Welding Intern
ABC Fabrication, Springfield, IL
June 2023–June 2024
Key Responsibilities
Key Achievements
Why is this job description impressive?
Don't worry if you have no work experience whatsoever. You're writing a high school grad resume, so no recruiter is going to expect several years of work experience from you. Of course, it can help, but if you have never worked a job in your life, put extra emphasis on your education section and your bonus sections (which I'll discuss soon).
Expert Hint: To find out more about writing a resume with no experience, click the embedded link. It’s going to give you a ton of great resume tips.
Okay, we went through some tough sections, so let’s take a breather with something very simple. But simple doesn’t mean unnecessary. The resume header is by far the most important part of your high school graduate resume. Without it, no one will be able to contact you.
Include your name, title, phone number, and email. Optionally add a link to your LinkedIn profile, or other relevant websites (such as your portfolio).
Ethan J. Miller
Welder Intern
ethan.miller@email.com
(123) 456-7890
linkedin.com/in/ethanmiller_weld
You don’t have to put any more sections to your resume for high school graduates. But think of it this way.
You’ve got a finite amount of space. And your competition isn’t just other high school grads. You need to show you’re better than some experienced workers as well. A great way to do so is by incorporating bonus sections. I recommend:
Here’s which sections Ethan added to his resume:
Other Skills
Certifications
Hobbies & Interests
What makes this choice effective?
If you’re skeptical about the power of bonus sections, let me tell you something: even after graduating from university, I didn’t have much work experience. However, my extensive list of certifications allowed me to secure fantastic freelance opportunities and greatly helped me get this career expert job.
Want more details on writing effective resumes? I recommend you read these articles:
Otherwise, continue reading to see how to make your resume look good.
The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.
Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.
In school, you might’ve gotten away with assignments written on a crumbled piece of paper 15 minutes before the deadline. Unfortunately, you’re no longer in school, and delivering messy documents is out of the question. So take proper care of your high school graduate’s resume format.
As a high school graduate, you don’t need a fancy resume. I recommend you stick to the basics. Choose a single-column layout, and have your education section be the focal point. Separate the sections on your resume with large subheadings. Avoid infographics, use minimal icons, and choose a white background.
When it comes to creating a resume template, it’s something that takes time and some basic graphic design skills. But you don’t have to do it by yourself. The internet is full of free Word resume templates you can choose from. Or pick a simple resume template from our builder to get you started.
But if you’d like to make a template yourself, or optimize a downloaded one, see the tips below:
If you want to learn more about resume templates, see the articles below:
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Do you have questions on how to write good resumes for high school graduates? Not sure how to choose what to put in your resume? Our builder can help you with that! And you can also leave a comment. I’ll be happy to help!
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How to start a cover letter? Just follow our guide and write a cover letter introduction that will sweep your future boss off their feet.
Olga Ber
Career Expert
To land a perfect job, you need the best-looking resume. This guide will show you what should a good resume look like, and what you need to do to have one.
Maciej Duszynski, CPRW
Certified Professional Resume Writer, Career Expert
Long story short: if your cover letter looks bad, it will generate zero interest. And there’s more to making it look great than setting the right margins and picking good fonts.
Maciej Duszynski, CPRW
Certified Professional Resume Writer, Career Expert