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
Career Expert
It’s time to leap into the unknown and start your life for real. Build yourself a solid pair of wings and nail the interview with this on-point high school graduate resume sample.
Graduation cap tossed and diploma in hand, you're ready to conquer the world. But before you can start your journey, you need to impress potential employers with a stellar resume. The job market is competitive, and one misstep could steer you off course.
Fear not! We're here to help you craft a high school graduate resume that lands you that dream job and sets you on the path to success.
In this guide:
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Cara Beldad
Phone: 607-301-7378
Email: carazbeldad@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/carazbeldad
twitter.com/carazbeldad
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.
Education
2015–2019
John Jay High School, Katonah, NY
GPA: 3.8
SAT: 1350
ACT: 30
President, High School Yearbook Committee
Excelled in Business Coursework
Captain of Debate Team 2 Years
Experience
Furry Angels Animal Fundraising Group
Co-Founder, Leader
2016–present
Barvel's Corner Store
Counter Clerk, Cook
2017–2019
Athletics
Lacrosse Team Co-Captain
2016–2019
Hard Skills: marketing, strategy, mathematics
Soft Skills: interpersonal skills, collaboration, communication, time management, problem-solving
Languages: Spanish (Advanced)
Your first impression is precious in a high school graduate resume. Don’t blow it with frazzled resume formatting. Use these tips:
Expert Hint: Recruiters spend about 7 seconds initially scanning a resume. Make sure yours is formatted in a way that highlights all the important stuff in very little time.
The recruiter just deleted your high school graduate resume. It seemed a little mediocre for the job. But you can drop jaws instead. Write a high school graduate resume profile in the form of a resume objective.
Include:
Picking the right accomplishments right of the bat is difficult, so write it at the end so you don’t struggle with the material.
On a side note, you may have come across the term resume summary as well. Generally, resume summaries serve the same purpose as resume objectives, but are suitable for experienced candidates who have several years of professional experience under the belt.
Now, see these high school graduate resume examples:
The second of those samples of resume for a high school grad says, “I can get the job done.” But the first gives proof with a shining fundraising achievement.
And if you think you don't have such accomplishments to put on your high school graduate resume, you don't have to. But, you certainly have other qualities that would fit just as well. I’m about to show you how to find your most attractive features.
Oh, if only I could go back in time. My high school graduate resume education section was a travesty.
I listed my SAT and GPA scores and my relevant corsework. Plus I said, “Oh yeah, and I was on the swim team.” Not terrible, but not impressive.
I can’t go back and change that now. But I can keep you from making a costly mistake. Take my word for it—
Break your resume education section into sections with accomplishments. Learn from these sample high school graduate resumes:
You don’t have to use those exact high school graduate resume examples.But don’t just slap your GPA in there, plus a team sport.
If you’ve got projects, classes, or high school achievements that’ll wow them, show them. And if not? Don’t sweat it. Just fill your high school graduate resume with no work experience with other high-flying moments from your life.
Expert Hint: Include your GPA only if it’s 3.0 or above. Otherwise you might hurt your chances.
Here’s what worries hiring teams: finding applicants who’ll really get the job done. You can prove that’s you by adding relevant experience section to your resume. Think volunteering, internship, freelancing, projects.
Work it like this resume sample for high school graduates:
Experience
Furry Angels Animal Fundraising Group
Co-Founder, Leader
2016–Present
Barvel's Corner Store
Counter Clerk, Cook
2017–2019
That entry-level resume for a high school graduate shows a passionate, competent candidate. She probably finishes what she starts, with flying colors.
And 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: Studies show that employers give preference to candidates with previous work experience. To boost your chance of getting hired, dig deep to find your most impressive moments. Then spotlight them in your resume for a high school graduate.
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.
What skills should you put on a high school grad resume? Well, it depends. To determine the best skills to add, read the job posting and locate resume keywords. In most cases employers tell you outright that they want a candidate who is a "problem solver," or "teamworker" etc.
But here are the top 10 resume skills you might want to add for most jobs.
Word of caution—Don’t list them all. Only list skills you can prove in your high school graduate resume. And go for about 10 skills total at most.
One more thing. Mix your hard skills with soft skills. This will show you're skilled in both the technical and interpersonal aspects.
Do you need sports in a high school graduate resume? Well, no. But if you’ve rocked the gridiron, court, or pool, let your dedication shine.
Do it like this no work experience resume for high school graduate:
Athletics
Lacrosse Team Co-Captain
2016–2019
The recruiter won't see a run-of-the-mill job applicant when they read that. They will see a hard-working leader who makes good things happen.
But sport isn't the only extra thing you might consider adding to a high school graduate resume. Take a look at what else you can add.
You don’t have to put anything else in your fresh-out-of-high-school resume. But think of it this way—
You’ve got a finite amount of space. This is your chance to impress them. To show what you’ve achieved. Your goal should be to pack your resume for high school graduate with the best and coolest things you’ve done.
List things that show you can:
Choose carefully, but only add your most impressive points.
Pick from:
See these examples:
The second of those high school grad resumes is way to vague and underdeveloped. Instead of hiking, it could say, “Hiked 20+ 4,000-foot peaks in 2 years as member of Peak Bagger’s Club.” That would make much more impact.
Expert Hint: Write a cover letter for your high school grad resume. Talk about how much you like the company, why, and how the job fits your goals and passions.
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.
Haven't written your cover letter yet? See:
Here’s how to write a resume for a high school graduate:
If you want to look more into writing a resume, visit this guide: How to Build a Resume.
Got questions on how to write good resumes for high school graduates? Not sure how to choose what to put in your resume objective for high school graduates with little experience? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!
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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