Students & Newcomers

Canadian Resume Example for High School Students

No job experience yet? That is normal. A first resume is built from school, volunteering and the things you already do well, and it only needs one page.

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Updated 2026-09-27

What does a high school student resume need in Canada?

A high school student resume for a Canadian employer should fit on 1 page. Open with a short summary, then put your availability near the top, along with any certificates you hold, like First Aid or a Food Handler card. Follow with your work experience, newest first, with numbers wherever you have them. Use the job posting's own words for your skills, and list the ones it asks for first. Leave out your photo, date of birth, marital status and SIN.

• Length: 1 page
• Put first: Availability
• Layout: Single column
• File type: PDF

A sample high school student resume

A sample high school student resume in Canadian format. The person and employers are made up.

Noah Bergeron
Ottawa, ON · (613) 555-0124 · noah.bergeron@email.com
Available after school, weekends and full-time in July and August

Summary

Grade 11 student in Ottawa with 60 volunteer hours at a food bank and experience coaching a youth soccer team. Friendly, reliable and quick with numbers. Holds a Food Handler certificate and is looking for a part-time job at a grocery store or restaurant. Available after school, weekends and full-time in summer.

Experience

Volunteer, Riverside Community Food Bank, Ottawa, ON, Sep 2024 to Present

• Volunteered 60 hours at a local food bank, sorting donations and helping 100+ families at weekly pickups

Assistant Coach (volunteer), Carlingwood Youth Soccer, Ottawa, ON, May 2024 to Aug 2025

• Coached a team of 12 under-8 soccer players for 2 seasons with a senior coach

Snow Shovelling (self-employed), Neighbourhood clients, Ottawa, ON, Dec 2023 to Present

• Shovelled snow for 6 neighbours each winter, showing up before 7 a.m. after every storm

School activities

• Helped raise $1,200 for a school trip by running the bake sale table and handling cash
• Balanced school, a sports team and 10 hours a week of volunteering while keeping an 85% average

Certifications

• Food Handler Certificate
• Standard First Aid and CPR

Education

Ontario Secondary School Diploma, expected June 2028

How to write a high school student resume in Canada

Every first resume starts without job experience, and managers hiring for part-time work at grocery stores, fast food restaurants, cafés, movie theatres and summer camps know that. What they want to see is that you are reliable, friendly and ready to learn, and that you can work the hours they need. A clean one-page resume that shows those things will get you further than one padded with filler.

Build it from what you have. Volunteer work counts, including the community involvement hours Ontario students need to graduate. So do school clubs, sports teams, student council, part-time babysitting, dog walking, snow shovelling and helping at a family business. For each one, write what you did and one thing that went well, like raising money for a school trip or coaching younger kids at a hockey camp.

A few details make a big difference. Put your availability (after school, weekends, summer) near the top. Add any certificates you have, such as a babysitting course, Bronze Cross, National Lifeguard, First Aid or a Food Handler certificate. Use a simple, grown-up email address. You will need a Social Insurance Number to be paid, but never put it on your resume. The minimum working age depends on your province and the type of job, so check your province's rules before you apply.

The layout rules that apply to every job are in our Canadian resume format guide. If you would rather start from a blank page that already follows them, use a free Canadian resume template.

High School Student professional summary examples

Your summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Pick the one closest to your own background and change every detail so it describes you.

• Grade 11 student in Ottawa with 60 volunteer hours at a food bank and experience coaching a youth soccer team. Friendly, reliable and quick with numbers. Holds a Food Handler certificate and is looking for a part-time job at a grocery store or restaurant. Available after school, weekends and full-time in summer.
• Responsible grade 12 student in Surrey with 2 years of babysitting and a Red Cross Babysitting and First Aid certificate. Organized, patient with kids and comfortable taking charge. Looking for a summer camp counsellor or daycare assistant job.
• Motivated grade 10 student in Calgary with Bronze Cross and Standard First Aid, a member of the school swim team and a volunteer at community events. Hard-working and good with people. Looking for a first job at a pool, recreation centre or store.

Skills to put on a high school student resume

List the hard skills first, because they are what screening software and hiring managers search for. Keep soft skills to the ones a bullet point further down can back up.

Hard skills

• Cash handling basics
• Customer service
• Microsoft Word, Google Docs and Excel
• Social media and Canva
• First Aid and CPR
• Food safety basics
• Childcare and supervision
• Basic math and measurement
• Bilingual (English / French)
• Event setup and cleanup

Soft skills

• Reliability
• Friendliness
• Willingness to learn
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Responsibility

Words to mirror from the job posting

Employers and their screening software look for the words they used in the ad. When one of these appears in a posting and it is true for you, use the same wording on your resume.

• high school student
• part-time
• volunteer
• customer service
• teamwork
• reliable
• student job
• summer job

Work experience bullet examples

Each one starts with what you did and ends with a result. Keep the shape and put your own numbers in.

1. Volunteered 60 hours at a local food bank, sorting donations and helping 100+ families at weekly pickups
2. Coached a team of 12 under-8 soccer players for 2 seasons with a senior coach
3. Babysat 3 families' children regularly for 2 years, handling meals, homework and bedtime routines
4. Helped raise $1,200 for a school trip by running the bake sale table and handling cash
5. Balanced school, a sports team and 10 hours a week of volunteering while keeping an 85% average
6. Designed posters and social media posts for the student council in Canva, boosting event turnout
7. Shovelled snow for 6 neighbours each winter, showing up before 7 a.m. after every storm

Certifications and licences that help

Write each one out in full with the issuing body and the date. An employer should never have to guess what an acronym means or whether it has expired.

• Red Cross Babysitting Course: Great for babysitting, camp and daycare jobs. Give the year.
• Bronze Cross or National Lifeguard: Needed for lifeguard and swim instructor jobs, and a strong plus elsewhere.
• Standard First Aid and CPR: Shows responsibility and is useful for camps, pools and childcare.
• Food Handler Certificate: Makes you easier to hire at cafés, restaurants and grocery stores.

What recruiters wish you knew

Count your volunteer hours

Volunteering is real experience. Give the hours, where and what you did, and one result. Ontario students already track their community involvement hours, so use them.

Say when you can work

Managers schedule around after-school, weekend and summer shifts. Put your availability near the top, so they do not have to guess.

Ask for references now

Teachers, coaches and volunteer supervisors make good references. Ask them first, then write "References available on request" at the bottom.

The section order for a high school student resume

Top to bottom, in the order a hiring manager in this field wants to read it.

1. Contact details. City, phone, email, and one line on your eligibility to work.
2. Professional summary. What you study or did before, your strongest skills and the job you want.
3. Skills. Transferable skills, software and languages.
4. Education. Program, school and expected graduation, or your credential assessment.
5. Experience. Paid work, campus jobs and volunteering, each with a result.
6. Certifications. Quick ones that help, such as WHMIS, First Aid or Smart Serve.

What recruiters check first

Your availability, your program or credential assessment, volunteer work, and whether you can work in Canada. Where to put it: Summary, then education and projects.

Common mistakes on high school student resumes

These come up again and again, and each one is quick to fix.

Padding it to look older

One honest page beats a stretched one. Managers hiring students know you are new, and filler like a long objective or a list of hobbies makes the good parts harder to find.

Leaving out informal work

Babysitting, shovelling snow, mowing lawns and helping in a family business are real work. They show you can show up, handle money and be trusted.

Applying from an old email address

An address you made in grade 6 can cost you a call back. Set up a simple one with your name before you apply anywhere.

Before you send it

Six quick checks. Each takes less than a minute.

• The job title in your summary matches the one in the posting.
• Every certification is written out in full, with the issuing body and the expiry date.
• At least half of your bullets include a number.
• There is no photo, date of birth, marital status or SIN.
• It is saved as a PDF, unless the posting asks for a Word file.
• You ran it through the free resume check and fixed what it found.

High School Student resume FAQ

How do I make a resume with no work experience in high school?

Start with a short summary about who you are and when you can work. Then add volunteering, school clubs, sports, babysitting and any odd jobs, with one or two bullets each. Finish with skills, certificates and your school. One page is enough.

What should a high school student put on a resume?

Your name and contact details, a summary, volunteer work and activities, any jobs (including informal ones like babysitting), skills, certificates like First Aid or Bronze Cross, your school and grade, and your availability.

Should I put my grades on my resume?

Only if they are strong, such as an average of 80% or higher, or an honour roll. Otherwise, leave them off and focus on what you have done.

Should I include my SIN on my resume?

No. You need a Social Insurance Number to be paid, but never put it on a resume or a job application. Give it to your employer only after you are hired.

How old do you have to be to work in Canada?

It depends on your province and the type of work. In Ontario, you can work in most stores and restaurants at 14. In British Columbia, the general working age is 16, with some light jobs allowed at 14 or 15 with a parent's permission. Check your province's employment standards before you apply.

What is a good objective for a high school student resume?

One or two lines on your strengths and the job you want. For example: Friendly, reliable grade 11 student with food bank volunteer experience, looking for a part-time cashier job on weekends and after school.

Related resume examples

• Cashier resume example: Lead with cash accuracy, speed at the till and the hours you can work.
• Barista resume example: Show drink speed, espresso skills and the shifts you can cover.
• Student resume example: Use co-op terms, projects and part-time work to land your next role.
• Retail Sales Associate resume example: Highlight sales targets, customer service, and POS skills for Canadian retail floors.

Further reading

• Writing an Entry-Level Resume With No Experience
• Getting a Job in Canada With No Canadian Experience
• How to Write a Cover Letter for a Canadian Resume
• Translating Foreign Job Titles and Credentials for Canada
• The Best Job Search Sites in Canada

Keep building your Canadian resume

• Canadian Resume Format Guide: What to include, what to leave out, and how to structure every section.
• Canadian Resume Template: A free, ATS-safe template with the right sections in the right order.
• ATS Resume Checker Canada: Score your resume against Canadian ATS screening and see exactly what to fix. Free.
• Resume Builder Canada: Build an ATS-ready Canadian resume with the right format and keywords.
• AI Resume Builder Canada: Draft and tailor resumes to each Canadian job posting you paste in.
• Free CV Builder Canada: Turn an international CV into the Canadian format employers expect.

Turn this example into your own resume.

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