Anatomy of a Resume

Contact Info
For someone to offer you a job, they need to be able to get in touch with you! That makes your contact information one of the most important parts of your resume. Include an email address you regularly check, as well as a phone number. Some people also choose to include their address.

Objective Statement

An objective statement tells an employer what you are looking for in a job in just one or two sentences. An objective statement can help define your goals, but if you opt to use one it should align with the kind of jobs you are applying for so that it helps you seem like a good fit. Some people opt not to include an objective statement.

Employment / Experience

The employment section of your resume tells employers a history what you have done. It should outline your experience, including details on the tasks you did, projects you completed, and any achievements, milestones, or awards related to your work. As a high school student, you might choose to include volunteering and even jobs like babysitting or tutoring. The experiences you choose to include should be used to show the skills you have used/developed in each position - this is so the employer can consider how your particular skills and perspective might benefit their organization. 

Education

Employers will also expect to see your education listed on your resume. Many jobs require a High School diploma or equivalent in order to hire you. Since you're working on earning your high school diploma right now, you should list the school you attend and note that your education is in progress. Be sure to include any specific programs you're participating in school if you are in Early College or a shop.

Awards and Accomplishments

Have you received any awards at school? Or, maybe through an extracurricular activity or a current job? Student of the Month, Athletic Awards, Perfect Attendance, and other awards are a great way to show employers that you are hard working and reliable. 

Certifications

As you progress in your education and career, you may earn certifications. This could include a certification in a specific software or computer skill, or a required license to perform a certain job (like how your teachers have to be licensed to teach in Massachusetts!) - it's ok if you don't have any certifications yet, but keep this section in mind for the future.

Let's get started on your resume! 

Update your Contact Info

Your contact info goes right at the top of your resume because it's so important. Always double (and triple!) check your contact information to be sure that it's right. 

In your new resume template, the first thing you need to do is update it to include your contact information.

1. Replace "Full Name" with your full name.

2. Replace the phone number, email, and address fields with your personal contact information. 

3. Delete the instructions from the template and proceed to the next step below.

Add Your Education

Employers look at your resume to understand your skills and qualifications, and the level of education you have attained shows that you have successfully satisfied the requirements of a diploma, degree, or training program. Many jobs require a High School diploma, and some careers require college, apprenticeship, or other trainings. While you're in high school, you should list your school and the date you will graduate.

To add your education to your resume, copy and paste the education section below into your new resume template. Then:

1. Replace [Your School Name] with the name of your school

2. Update the year to reflect the year you expect to graduate from high school.

3. Add any additional relevant information about your studies, and then delete the "Optional" suggestions. 

4. Proofread your work. Everything should be listed accurately and reflect true information for you. All of the instructions, including the highlighted text in the template, should be deleted.

EDUCATION

[Your School Name]

Anticipated Graduation: June 20##
Optional: Add any relevant info about your course of study. Example: Early College Pathway, your shop, etc.

Optional: You may choose to list the extracurricular activities you participate in at school

Brainstorm Your Experience.

It's time to brainstorm a list of work, volunteering, and other activities where you have practiced or used different skills. For a high school resume, it's ok to include clubs and volunteering in your experience but as your work experience and career grow, this list should become increasingly career focused. If you choose to include a club, it should be one that you regularly participate in at school.

Sample Experience

      Dunkin’ Donuts – Lynn, MA

Barista & Cashier  January 2022 - Present

• Prepare drinks per standard procedures to fill customer orders

• Interact directly with customers while taking orders and operating the register 

• Maintain a clean and safe workstation 

• Work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure a safe and efficient delivery of orders

STEM Club at Lynn English High School

Club Secretary  September 2023 - Present

• Create meeting minutes from club and leadership meetings

• Communicate club meetings to members via email

• Create flyers to inform student body of STEM Club 

• Contribute to ideas and planning of club meetings, such as guest speakers and professional development events

My Brother's Table - Lynn, MA

Kitchen Volunteer  June 2023 - Present

• Prepare fresh food for distribution to soup kitchen patrons

• Follow all health and safety protocols of the My Brother's Table kitchen

• Collaborate with kitchen staff to execute recipes correctly from start to finish

Now that you've seen a few examples, it's time to get started on your very own experience section.

First, make a list of your experiences in your resume draft. Come up with at least two experiences.

• Include the name of the organization or entity, your position's title

• Include the dates you've been in the position for. 

• You can also optionally include the city/state. 

Next, for each experience you've come up with try to brainstorm 3 or 4 responsibilities or skills for that experience. Think through the things that you normally do at that job or what you're responsible for while volunteering. If you're feeling stuck, take a look at the examples again to help generate some ideas. If you need help, talk out your responsibilities and what you do in the experiences you've chosen to list with a friend. 

Action words to get you started

Looking for more action words? Check out a longer list here. 

Awards, Skills, & Certifications

To wrap you your resume, it's time to brainstorm your skills, certifications, and any achievements that a prospective employer should know about. 

Awards and Accomplishments

Have you received any awards at school? Or, maybe through an extracurricular activity or a current job? Student of the Month, Athletic Awards, Perfect Attendance, and other awards are a great way to show employers that you are hard working and reliable. 

Skills

If you have enough experience with something to say you're skilled at it, you might want to include it on your resume.
This is a great spot to put any additional languages you speak! This is also where you should list specific computer skills you have, like Canva or Excel. Digital literacy is very important in many positions. Just be sure that you have an adequate level of skill for anything you list, since your employer will expect you to be able to do anything you say you can do. 

Certifications

As you progress in your education and career, you may earn certifications. This could include a certification in a specific software or computer skill, or a required license to perform a certain job (like how your teachers have to be licensed to teach in Massachusetts!) - it's ok if you don't have any certifications yet, but keep this section in mind for the future.

If you want to enhance your resume by developing some new skills or earning a certification, there are ways to do that. You can get CPR Certified, or sea

LinkedIn Learning is an online professional development resource available to all current North Shore Community College students. You can complete short courses and earn certificates, which can be added to your resume and LinkedIn to show your skills. You can use the search bar within LinkedIn to find courses that interest you and apply to your career goals.

Here are a few example courses:

• Excel Essentials 2.5 hours to complete and earn a certificate

• Powerpoint, from Outline to Presentation 41 minutes to complete and earn a certificate

• Design Thinking: Understanding the Process 1 hour 45 minutes to complete and earn a certificate

• Career Essentials in Data Analysis 9 hours to complete and earn a certificate

Final Steps

Be sure to proofread your resume! It's a good idea to ask a friend, family member, or mentor to proofread it for you too. They can give you feedback and may have suggestions to help make your resume even better.

Read your resume one more time, but pretend you are an employer reading it. Think about what an employer might think about your experience and other credentials. Make sure you've given enough information to make your qualifications clear to someone who may not be familiar with your school or prior work/volunteer experiences. Finally, consider whether you are telling the employer everything important they should know about your quality as a candidate. 

Review the name of your resume file. Whether you upload or email your resume to submit it, be sure the file includes your full name in it. For example, if your name is Matthew Suarez a good name for your resume file is "Matthew Suarez Resume" - hiring managers download a lot of resumes, so you want to include your name so they can find you easily!

Now you're ready to use your resume to apply for jobs :) 

Eager to learn more about resumes? Have a specific career in mind? You can find sample resumes for many different types of careers on Indeed.com, a job searching platform, by clicking here.