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13 Bad Resume Examples: The Worst Resumes to Avoid in 2024

April 15, 2024

Still not landing any interviews after applying to dozens of jobs? There could be a problem with your resume. A resume is your first impression with a hiring manager or recruiter. And sometimes, without even realizing it, we’ve got a bad resume and don’t even know it. Recruiters see countless resumes every day - so they know what a great resume looks like. But they’ve also seen the worst resumes you can imagine. This post will highlight some bad resume examples to help save you from making a resume that doesn’t land you in the interview pile.

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1. The typo filled resume

The worst resumes are always those filled with typos. The grammar police will always discard a resume with spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. It shows a lack of attention to detail. When creating a resume, you’ll want to have someone you trust look over your resume to catch any typos or easy-to-scan grammar errors to ensure you give yourself the best shot of landing yourself a job. We get it. Not everyone is good at writing, especially if writing isn’t a core part of your job’s required skill sets. But that doesn’t mean the person assessing you isn’t going to judge you for it. These kinds of issues pop to a reader scanning a resume, which can serve as a distraction while assessing your competence for a role. Here’s a bad resume example when it comes to the typo filled resume.

2. The AI takeover resume

In 2024, AI is all the rage. But if you take a quick look at the average recruiter's posts on LinkedIn, it’s obvious that some people are taking it a little too far. Recruiters get a ton of AI resumes that lack the personalization they need to make the best hiring decisions. Injecting a few AI bullet points can ensure you cover your bases when highlighting your core skill set and professional accomplishments. But if you’ve got a resume that’s 100% written by AI, you’ve probably got a bad resume. It’ll lack the personality, key accomplishments, and tidbits that accurately reflect your own work experience to make you truly shine. It also shows a lack of effort, so those recruiters scanning your resume will truly wonder, “how much effort will this person put into their job?” You need to tailor your resume for a job, but if you’re just regurgitating the exact same sentences into your resume, it’s probably a bad resume. The worst resumes won’t highlight what makes you and your accomplishments exceptional.

3. The overly designed resume

It might be hard to believe, but the worst resumes aren’t the simple black and white ones. Those often perform pretty well because they’re easy to read and scan. However, with everyone trying to stand out among other job seekers, there’s a growing trend to have overly designed resumes with photos on them. However, photos on resumes can often lead to discrimination or present bias during the interview process. Some people will add graphs or charts on their resume to present information in a novel way, but in the end it takes up valuable space for you to better highlight your key accomplishments. An overly designed resume can distract hiring managers from seeing your potential. There’s just too many gimmicks on the page for them to see what you truly offer to help you land that role. Here’s a bad resume example from a design perspective.

4. The task-driven resume

The bullet points you add to your resume should focus on key achievements you had in your previous roles. This is the place to sell yourself as the perfect candidate. By framing bullet points as achievements with data, you help recruiters imagine what you could do. A bad resume will often only add tasks instead of achievements. It’ll list the work you did rather than the result of the work you did. It ends up coming across as boring, unoriginal, and unimpressive to a recruiter. The worst resumes will include tasks completed in bullet points with no call outs to any data, key metrics, achieved goals, or results.

5. The bad font choice resume

One of the main goals of a resume is to convince someone it’s worth reading. You want a resume that’s scannable, easy-to-read, and lands you in the interview pile. Bad resumes will include unreadable fonts. In fact, the worst resumes will use unreadable fonts, which makes it impossible for a recruiter to read. Most recruiters will look at your resume for a few seconds before making a decision on whether or not to call you. If hard concentration is required to read past the comic sans or weirdly cursive font, the recruiter will simply give up and reject the candidate. Even if all the content on the resume is top tier, you’ll be overlooked. You need to choose standard fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or some other easy to read font. Avoid cursive or any non-traditional font when choosing the best font for your resume.

6. The Linkedin resume

Your LinkedIn profile includes all of your professional work experience. Your resume shouldn’t. Using Huntr, you can import your entire LinkedIn work experience into Huntr’s resume builder . But you should actively remove the work experiences that aren’t relevant to the positions you’re applying to. A bad resume includes pages and pages of professional experience that no recruiter has the time to read. The ideal length of a resume is one page and two pages max. You don’t need to tell the story of your entire work history. Keep it simple by focusing on the key experiences that make you most qualified for a job. The worst resumes are too long and include way too much professional experience that isn’t tailored or optimized for the role.

7. The buzzword overload resume

Including too many buzzwords can have a counterproductive effect on how you’re perceived. You also don’t want to use too much jargon, acronyms, or any other flashy words to make yourself sound like a “superstar hire.” The buzzwords people use the most include things like hard worker, perfectionist, innovative, creative, results-driven, and so on. Unless your accomplishments can warrant the buzzwords, you should actively avoid including them. Find alternative ways of saying and showcasing your qualifications.

8. The bad formatting resume

A resume with bad formatting can be an eyesore and off-putting for hiring managers. When you think of a bad resume, the design is one of the easiest things to critique since it stands out to you. Bullet points that aren’t aligned, resume content that’s centered rather than left aligned, not enough or too much white space, changes in formats at different points in the resume, inconsistent punctuation, and so on could all create some of the worst resumes. You want your resume to be visually appealing so that there’s no distractions preventing the hiring manager from reading your resume. You don’t want your resume to be an eyesore where they notice inconsistencies instead of realizing how qualified you are for the role. The best way to prevent bad formatting is to use a resume template from a resume builder instead of downloading your own template and modifying it. You can find several stunning resume templates on Huntr where formatting will stay consistent, so you can present your work experience with no distractions.

9. The plain resume

The worst resumes are boring to read. You’ll use plain descriptions in the bullet points or a standard resume summary instead of one that captures attention. What creates a boring resume is not being specific enough, being too generic, or using copy and paste content from other resumes that aren’t distinct to what you bring to the table. You don’t want to be too unfocused either. You want to tailor your resume so that it’s interesting to the person on the other end. If you use the same resume for every job, it’ll come across as generic which won’t interest the hiring manager at all. Having a base resume can allow you to pull points for a tailored resume. But your base resume shouldn’t be the one you apply to all jobs with. You have to add that bit of oomph to your resume to stand out amongst other candidates. You can add a QR code to a video of yourself talking to add some personality, add links to a portfolio website with attention grabbing content, or showcase personality in other ways where your resume is the jump off point to get them to keep checking you out.

10. The super personal resume

Your resume should be detailed when talking about your professional work experience. But to avoid making a bad resume, you want to avoid mentioning things outside of your work history. For example, don’t share your political affiliations, sexual orientation, marriage status, family dynamics, salary expectations, reasons for leaving your last job , unrelated hobbies, and other personal information that don't belong on your resume. The worst resumes are the ones that get rejected. And including these kinds of personal tidbits about yourself will get you rejected fast due to a bias that gets added to your resume. Having these kinds of details on your resume is unprofessional. Avoid oversharing your life story or unnecessary information about yourself. Stick to the relevant work experience you have to come across as the ideal hire. Most employers are hiring you for your expertise, not your personality. As long as you seem kind and willing to grow, that's about as much personality as hiring managers are looking for beyond your work experience and soft skills.

11. The terrible online presence

While this might not have to do with a resume per se, it still affects your ability to get hired. People will post their whole resume on LinkedIn hoping to get hired. But when you go through their comments on LinkedIn, you might find some not-so-nice comments. When people are employed, they’re under the impression that people can’t find their social media posts. But just as your public content can get you fired from a job, it can also prevent you from landing a job. In addition to a bad resume, the worst hire is the one who spends their time on social media writing negative comments on people’s posts, putting people down all day on social media. You’re allowed to disagree with opinions, but criticizing people publicly is going to come across poorly to future employers. Everything you post online will reflect on you just like your resume would. Having a bad resume is fixable, but a bad online presence will need a lot more work to make improvements upon.

12. The exaggeration resume

Having big accomplishments is worth celebrating. But if you can’t back your accomplishments up with proof, or if you exaggerate or lie on your resume, it could backfire on you. For example, if you say you’re fluent in Spanish, but making tons of grammatical mistakes in Spanish, it’ll come across as lying or an exaggeration. If you make a big claim, you need to back it up with data. Maybe showing a screenshot or having access to a tool that highlights the proof. Either way, having evidence to prove your claims on your resume, particularly with big accomplishments will help showcase you were telling the truth and are an extremely qualified candidate. Getting caught in a lie will turn a bad resume into the worst resume. So, when in doubt, try honesty.

13. The unrelated resume

The worst resume is an unrelated resume. A hiring manager getting a resume from a completely unqualified candidate won’t be willing to entertain an interview with them, they’ll just instantly reject the candidate. For example, if all your professional experience is in the restaurant industry but you’re applying to be a marketer with zero education or professional experience, you won’t be considered. You need to have some evidence of initiative you’ve taken to learn the skill for the role you’re applying for. If you’re an entry-level candidate, you need to have done an internship, taken a course, or started a side hustle of some sort to practice the skills. Otherwise, there’s literally nothing that’s going to convince the interviewer that you’d be a good fit. You need to have some sort of connection or transferable skills to position yourself for a career change.

How to Avoid Creating a Bad Resume

Following the tips above will help ensure you don’t create the worst resume out there. Still, there are things you can do to avoid creating a bad resume. Using Huntr’s resume builder will help ensure you have a beautiful resume that looks professional, is properly formatted, includes relevant work experience through AI suggestions, and more. Huntr also has a built-in resume checker , also known as a resume grader, to help you catch buzzwords and other issues which could hold you back from getting an interview when you’re looking for your next role. If you’re looking to build a great resume, you can sign up for Huntr today !

Nicole Martins Ferreira

Nicole Martins Ferreira, Senior Writer at Huntr, brings a rich background in marketing, tech, and ecommerce to craft insightful content on job search strategies and career advancement. With experience from Super Magic Taste to Shopify, she excels in creating engaging, actionable advice for job seekers. Nicole's expertise in SEO and content marketing, honed across diverse roles, enables her to effectively guide individuals through the complexities of the job market. Her contributions at Huntr are vital, offering readers valuable tips and strategies to navigate their professional journeys successfully, making her work an invaluable resource for job seekers everywhere.

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10+ Bad Resume Examples - Mistakes to Avoid in 2024

They say that to err is human, but some mistakes you’re definitely better off avoiding - especially when it comes to your resume! 

From grammatical and spelling mistakes to using the wrong font and submitting a 3-page-long resume, certain mistakes make really bad resumes. 

And, it goes without saying, that submitting such a resume can seriously harm your chances of getting hired, if not ruin them completely. 

To keep you from making such mistakes - and also give you a good laugh - we’ve put together some bad resume examples that you must avoid at all costs, as well as a thorough explanation of what makes a good resume and a bad resume. 

So, let’s dive right in! 

Good Resume Vs Bad Resume

Before we dive into the most common resume mistakes, we should cover a very important topic:

What’s a good resume, and what’s a bad resume?

Here are the qualities that differentiate the two: 

• Is easy to skim through 
• Can pass applicant tracking systems
• Is free of spelling and grammar errors
• Is ideally no longer than one-page 
• Is tailored to the specific job position
• Is focused on the applicant’s skills and achievements
• Uses a professional font and has a simple layout
• Includes a resume summary or objective
• Is disorganized and difficult to read
• Has spelling and grammar mistakes 
• Includes distracting graphics
• Includes an unprofessional email address
• Has long chunks of text instead of bullet points
• It is not tailored to the job position
• Is not matched with a cover letter 
• Is not tailored to the position
• Includes non-quantifiable achievements

10+ Examples of Bad Resumes

It’s one thing for someone to tell you about resume mistakes and another to see them in all their glory for yourself. 

To give you a better idea of how detrimental some mistakes can be to your resume, we’ve collected some of the “best” examples of bad resumes out there, starting with:  

#1. Uninspired Work Experience 

The work experience section is arguably the most important section of your resume, as it can effectively prove you’ve got the right experience and qualifications to do the job. 

For that to happen, however, simply listing your work responsibilities won’t cut it. On the contrary, your resume must be packed with as many data-backed achievements as possible. 

Well, the resume example above definitely fails to do that. Actually, it does the exact opposite - it’s an uninspired and overly generic listing of work responsibilities that recruiters already know. 

None of what this applicant has listed under their work entry demonstrates how they mastered or excelled at their job, giving recruiters zero incentive to call them back for an interview. 

For example, this entry here:

• Lead Generation

Gives the hiring manager exactly 0 information on what you did at the job. Sure, you generated leads, but how many? How often? Were they quality? 

If phrased like this, however:

• Ran Google Ads campaigns, generating over 200 leads per month for our in-house software.

Then the work experience entry becomes a lot more impressive.

If you’re having trouble writing an achievement-oriented work experience section, you can also follow the Laszlo Bock formula : “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].”

This is what this formula looks like in practice:

• Sourced qualified candidates utilizing various web technologies, social media, resume databases, and referrals from networking events while reducing hiring costs by 35%.

#2. Bad Spelling 

Spelling or grammar mistakes can be very, very harmful to your job search.

Such mistakes tell the recruiter that you either don’t know the language very well, don’t have much attention to detail, or you don’t care much about the job you’re applying for in the first place.

So, make sure to run your resume through a friend to catch any obvious grammar or spelling mistakes. 

We also recommend you try Grammarly , a very handy tool for catching mistakes.

#3. Wrong Design and Layout 

When it comes to your resume, looks matter.

Recruiters usually have hundreds of resumes they need to go through before deciding on whom to call back. The above resume example is so unimpressionable that, chances are, the recruiter won’t even notice it. 

Want to avoid making the same mistake? 

Follow these formatting tips:

• Font size. Your font size should be big enough to read but small enough so that the text doesn’t spill over on page #2. As such, 12 pts is usually a good font size for resumes. 
• Line spacing. The line spacing should be between 1 and 1.5 to save you space. 
• Section headers. To differentiate between sections, use headers for the section titles instead of using the same font size and simply bolding them (like the bad example above). That will only make all the sections look like they’re blended together, which is the opposite of reader-friendly. 

Now, the bad resume example we just covered made mistakes with all 4 of these. By centering their entire resume text, they’ve messed up with the margins, the section headers, and the overall aesthetic of their resume - something recruiters are bound to notice. 

If you never want to have to worry about any of these things, just use our resume builder ! It’s free, easy to get the hang of, and loved by recruiters worldwide!

#5. Unprofessional Fonts 

Take a long, hard look at the resume example above. 

In addition to being very hard to read, it’s also very unprofessional. If a recruiter sees a resume with a font like this, they’ll simply assume that the candidate is not serious about the job.

So, instead of experimenting with your resume, stick to tried-and-tested resume-friendly fonts like Ubuntu, Roboto, and Overpass.

#7. Too Many Graphics 

This infamous resume example uses so many graphics it simply becomes unprofessional (as well as unpleasant to look at)

Don’t get us wrong, creative resume designs aren’t all bad. Done right, they can help you stand out, catch the recruiter’s attention, and land a job you’ll love.

But even creativity has a limit. When you overuse creative elements on your resume you risk distracting recruiters from what really matters on your resume - your achievements, experiences, and most important skills. 

Want a creative resume that’s not too much? Consider using a pre-designed resume template . 

At Novorésumé, we offer a variety of templates to choose from that are creative, professional, and look much better than the average black-and-white template.

And the best part? Most of the are free! Head over here to browse our resume templates .

#8. Unimpressive Resume Summary 

The resume summary is the first thing recruiters see when looking at your resume.

If the summary matches what they’re looking for, they’re going to go ahead and read the rest of your resume.

If it doesn't, though, they’ll simply skip it.

As such, it’s important for your resume summary to be memorable and captivating - unlike the example that we showed you above.

Specifically, the resume summary above is wrong because it: 

• Is low-effort. It’s obvious that this candidate does not really care where they’ll get hired.
• Not tailored to the company or the role. Customizing your resume summary for the role means that you’re enthusiastic about working at this specific company, and aren’t just applying for random jobs.
• Is not specific enough. The resume summary does not include critical information like the exact years of experience, top skills, and biggest achievements.

To really drive the point home, let’s compare these 2 resume summaries:

Professional marketer manager with 5+ years of experience in digital marketing. Social media marketing experience, including Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn advertising. Experience in managing a Google Ads account with a monthly spend of $30,000. B.A. in marketing management.

Journalist looking to work for your newspaper and put extensive journalistic experience to use. Passionate about investigating and amazing with words.

If you were the hiring manager, which one would you pick?

#9. Unprofessional Headshot 

If you decide to include a picture on your resume, you’ve got to make sure that it’s actually a good idea in the first place.

Companies based in certain countries like the US , UK, or Ireland actively discourage candidates from using photos in their resumes because of anti-discrimination laws. 

So, if you’re based in any of these countries, there’s a chance that including your photo in your resume might just get your application discarded immediately.

In case you don’t live in any of these countries and still want to use a photo in your resume, then you need to make sure that it’s not something from your:

• Social media profiles 
• Old family scrapbooks
• High school yearbook  

Rather, the photo should be:

• High-quality
• Taken by someone else (not a selfie)
• Professional-looking. You don’t need to wear a suit and tie, but a shirt would do you good

#10. Longer Than One Page When Not Necessary

Unless you have over 5-10 years of super relevant work experience, there is absolutely no reason for your resume to be longer than one page. 

See, your resume should only include information relevant to the job you’re applying for. 

You can skip out all sorts of irrelevant details like your first internship, your part-time summer gig, where you went to high school, and so on.

If you do so, then chances are, your resume simply won’t exceed one page.

That said, if you DO have a lot of work experience, are an executive, or work in academia, then your resume CAN be longer than a single page.

FAQs on Bad Resumes

Do you still have some questions on exactly what makes a bad resume? 

We’ve gathered the most frequently asked questions (that we haven’t addressed yet) and answered them below: 

#1. What does a bad resume look like? 

While not all bad resumes look alike, some common qualities of bad resume examples are being messy, disorganized layout, being too long, using an unprofessional font, or simply having uninspired content.

#2. What are some common resume mistakes?

According to this study by CareerBuilder, the most common resume mistakes that make for instant deal breakers include typos or bad grammar (77%), unprofessional email address (35%), resume without quantifiable results (34%), resume with long paragraphs of text (25%), resume that’s not customized to the company (18%), resume longer than two pages (17%), and lack of cover letter (10%). 

#3. How do I know if my resume is good enough?

Some common traits of a good resume are a structured and organized layout, clear fonts, achievement-oriented work experiences, and a lack of obvious grammar or spelling errors.

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! 

After this article, you’ll know what a bad resume looks like when you see one (even if it’s your own). Before you go, here’s a quick recap of the most important points we covered in this article: 

• Your work experience section is one of the most essential parts of your resume. Make sure your experiences are achievement-oriented and in-depth.
• Make sure your resume is spelling or grammar-free by getting a friend to review it or using a tool like Grammarly.
• Keep your resume brief - one page is enough unless you’ve got a decade’s worth of work experience.
• Some common resume mistakes involve adding an unprofessional headshot to your resume, writing a generic resume summary, and lying about your achievements.  

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Resume Disasters: 7 Bad Resume Examples To Avoid

A good resume does more than list your skills and qualifications. It gives hiring managers and recruiters a clear picture of your potential, ambition, and experience. 

In a resume, content is king. But if good content is overshadowed by poor formatting, visual, and grammatical choices (among others…), it may affect your chances of being called for an interview.

Want to create a strong resume that doesn’t land in the rejection pile? Let’s explore excerpts from seven bad resume examples to help you identify and avoid some of the most common resume mistakes.

3 key takeaways 

• 7 common resume mistakes to avoid
• More effective approaches for potential resume blunders
• How Teal’s AI Resume Builder can help you build a better professional resume

1. Spelling and grammar mistakes

Stepping into a job interview wearing mismatched shoes can be a faux pas—kind of like presenting a resume or cover letter full of grammar and spelling errors. It can give off a negative first impression and may lead recruiters or hiring managers to assume that you don’t pay attention to detail.

Your resume and cover letter need to be cohesive and error-free. Even a small grammatical error or typo can overshadow your qualifications. Resume proofreading is important; remember to run it through a spellcheck program and manually review it for errors. It’s also helpful to have a friend, family member, or coworker scan it over to catch any errors you might have missed.

Results-driven Project Manager with 4 years of expereince leading and managing multiple projects simultaneously, developing and maintaining project timelines and budgets, and implementing project management methodologys. Successful track record of increasing project completion rates, acheiving cost savings, an ensuring timely delivery of projects.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Project Manager

3/2022 – Present

Universal Ventures

• Led and managed multiple projects simultaneously, resulting in an 15% increase in project completion rates.
• Developed and maintained project timelines, budgets, resulting in an average project cost savings of 20%.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Agile/Scrum Methodologys
• Project Planning & Execution
• Project Mangement

Master of Science in Project Management

Boston University

While some of these errors may seem insignificant, they can showcase a lack of attention to detail. Be sure always to double- and triple-check your resume for grammar and spelling errors before submitting it to a hiring manager.

Pro Tip: The Teal AI Resume Builder includes a free spelling and grammar tool to help you get it right—every word, every time. 

2. Showcasing a lack of work experience

The beginning of your career journey is both exciting and nerve-wracking—and an empty work experience section can make the job search even more stressful.

While a lack of work experience might imply that you're a novice without much to offer, that's rarely the truth for young professionals. 

Instead of emphasizing a short or irrelevant work history, choose the best resume format to showcase what you do bring to the table—highlighting achievements, academic projects, and transferable hard and soft skills—instead of your lack of experience.

Work Experience

1. Sales Assistant, Taluka Paper - June 2023 to August 2023

• Assisted customers with product inquiries and selections.
• Handled cash register operations and processed customer transactions.
• Communication
• Computer applications

Imagine this candidate is a recent graduate aiming for a role in SaaS customer success. Although these bullet points may be true to the position’s basic duties, they don’t speak much to the candidate’s value or the role they’re seeking. 

In this example, it would be better to focus on the transferable skills that someone in customer success would use. 

For example, instead of “Assisted customers with product inquiries and selections,” a more effective bullet point may be something like,  

“Increased monthly sales by 15% by assisting customers with product inquiries and selections, leveraging strong interpersonal communication and QuickBooks Point of Sale.”

Instead of “used the cash register,” the bullet point could focus more on the customer service aspect of the job to align with skills needed in customer success, such as,

“Handled cash register operations and processed customer transactions with a 99.5% accuracy rate, leveraging POS system operations and excellent customer relationship building—increasing customer satisfaction rate to 98%.”

3. Using unprofessional or hard-to-read fonts

Even in more casual or creative industries, your resume should look professional, so stick with a basic, readable font. Fancy, intricate fonts can make your resume hard to read, while casual fonts seem unprofessional.

And don’t go overboard with different fonts for headers, bullet points, and summaries. This can make your resume look chaotic and hard to follow.

4. Incorporating all you've ever done

While you want potential employers to get a clear, comprehensive picture of who you are as a professional, your resume is not an exhaustive memoir of your career. The job of your resume is to showcase the top 10% of your experience that’s 100% relevant to the role you’re applying for. It should be clear, concise, and impactful. 

Instead of taking a hiring manager or recruiter through all the twists and turns of your professional history, take a step back and review the job description to see what they’re really looking for in a candidate. Then, tailor your resume , prioritizing experience, accomplishments, and skills that are relevant to the position and cutting information and details that don’t demonstrate why you’re right for the role. 

1. Intern, TechPlace - Anytown, USA August 2011 - May 2012 (worked Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday)

• Assisted in software installations
• Participated in three team meetings
• Watered office plants

2. Junior Administrative Assistant, Office - Smalltown, USA June 2010 

• Photocopied 100+ pages daily, once helped with a 105-page document.
• Answered phones during lunch breaks, precisely between 12:15 PM and 12:45 PM.
• Refilled the coffee machine and restocked sweeteners.

A good guideline is to focus on the experience that is most relevant to the role you’re applying to. While you may have held brief roles like these, it’s best to focus on the experience that best highlights what you’d bring to the table in the potential new job.

5. Including unnecessary graphics or pictures

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when it comes to resumes, an unwarranted image might cost you your dream job—for a few reasons.

First, applicant tracking systems (ATS) can only parse text. So, for example, if you present your work experience section or skills section as a graph or image, the content won’t be searchable within the ATS. 

Second, hiring managers sort through potentially hundreds of applications. They want to quickly understand your skills, experiences, and unique accomplishments. Visuals can be distracting and make it harder to skim your resume. 

Third, biases are an unfortunate reality, whether they’re subconscious or blatant. While a headshot can help recruiters put a face to the application, it can also make the hiring process less objective.

It comes down to one simple rule: to get your application seen, you want to create an optimized resume for ATS that’s scannable—and this excludes using pictures and graphics.  

Imagine Claudia, a qualified software developer with five years of experience, is applying for a competitive role at a tech firm. Along with her detailed, well-formatted resume, she includes a headshot. 

The hiring manager, David, has an unconscious bias he's unaware of. Claudia looks a lot like someone he knew growing up, and based on her appearance, he makes assumptions about Claudia’s background, age, or even work ethic.

A few days later, another resume lands on David’s desk. This one is from Eldria, who has a similar skill set to Claudia. However, Eldria has not included a headshot. 

David, without any potential biases triggered by a photo, focuses solely on Eldria’s qualifications and experiences. So Eldria gets shortlisted for an interview, while Claudia (despite being equally qualified) does not.

Pro Tip: The free Teal AI Resume Builder offers four resume templates that can be easily parsed by an ATS and read by a human hiring professional. 

6. Poorly formatting your resume

A well-formatted resume isn't just about aesthetics—it’s about making sure that recruiters can easily understand your worth. 

Bullet points, headers, bold text, proper spacing—all of these resume design features help break up information and make your resume skimmable. 

Social Media Manager

Driven and successful Social Media Manager with 4+ years of experience developing and executing campaigns that have driven significant website traffic and generated leads, resulting in a 25% increase in followers and engagement, as well as a 20% increase in conversions across multiple platforms. 

White Mountain Holdings

Implemented a successful social media strategy resulting in a 25% increase in followers and engagement across all platforms

Developed and executed campaigns that drove significant website traffic and generated leads, resulting in a 20% increase in conversions

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop and execute social media content that aligned with overall branding and marketing goals

Social Media Strategist

3/2020 – 3/2022

Redshift Technologies

Developed and managed social media calendars, resulting in a 15% increase in engagement and followers

Collaborated with design and content teams to develop visually compelling and engaging social media content

Social Media Specialist

3/2019 – 3/2020

Summit Solutions Group

Assisted senior social media managers in developing and executing social media campaigns and strategies.

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to gather information and create social media content.

Skills and competencies

Social Media Strategy Development

Social Media Campaign Planning & Execution

Social Media Calendar Management

Social Media Content Creation

Social Media Insights & Metrics

As you can see, without using any bold, italics, underlining, or bullet points to separate sections of your resume, it can be tough to tell the difference between your resume title and your “Skills” section. Remember, recruiters see a lot of resumes, so make yours as easy to skim as possible!

7. Including too many buzzwords

"Synergy," "leveraged," "optimized." While these words have their place, overstuffing your resume with buzzwords can make it seem insincere. It's important to be genuine and use terms that truly reflect your experience and skills.

Experience:

Global Strategic Visionary MegaCorp Intl., Big City, USA - 2022 to Present

• Synergized cross-functional teams to elevate stakeholder engagement and maximize ROI.
• Leveraged state-of-the-art techniques to streamline, optimize, and reinvent the wheel of customer interface processes.
• Pioneered paradigm-shifting initiatives that transcended traditional business constraints.

Again, these buzzwords aren’t always bad—they have a time and a place. But in a resume, it’s best to use a balance of power and simplicity in terms of vocabulary. It may not be immediately clear what it means to “synergize a cross-functional team,” but it’s a lot easier to understand what it means to “collaborate with cross-functional teams.”

If vocabulary isn’t your forte, don’t worry—you’re not alone! The good news is that Teal’s AI Resume Builder has made it easy for job seekers like you to create powerful resumes that highlight your experience with all the right words. 

As a Teal member, you get real-time feedback and recommendations for how to adjust your resume’s wording to include optimal keywords and measurable descriptions. With Teal, it’s easy to accentuate your strengths and position you as an ideal candidate for the job.

Create better resumes with Teal

A well-formatted, professional, error-free resume is key for any job seeker—but that’s easier said than done! Fortunately, there’s Teal.

Teal's AI Resume Builder can help you build tailored resumes with optimized formatting, clean resume templates, and correct spelling and grammar for every job you apply for. 

Ready for a resume that shows you off as a professional? Sign up today and get started with Teal!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common design mistakes to avoid in a resume, how can i ensure my resume is tailored to the job i'm applying for, is it a bad practice to include personal information on my resume.

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20 High School Student Resume Examples Created for 2024

High School Student

Best for senior and mid-level candidates

There’s plenty of room in our elegant resume template to add your professional experience while impressing recruiters with a sleek design.

Resume Builder

Like this template? Customize this resume and make it your own with the help of our Al-powered suggestions, accent colors, and modern fonts.

High School Student Resume

• High School Student Resumes by Experience
• High School Student Resumes by Role

High school is one of the best times of your life, but it can also be one of the most difficult when looking for your first or second job. You’ve got to fill out applications, prep for interviews, and write your resume.

Using ChatGPT for resumes  is a cool idea, but can still feel daunting and overwhelming. We’ve all been there, and what you really need is a free AI resume builder and solid student cover letters to get you on your way.

We’ve analyzed countless high school resumes to discover  what would get students job interviews in 2024 . While you may want to start with a simple  resume outline , keep reading to find 20 high school resume samples (plus writing tips) that are jam-packed with essential techniques and tricks.

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• If you choose to use a template, make sure you adjust the  resume’s formatting  so that your text is big enough to read with one-inch margins on the side.
• However, you should write your bullet points like you would for a job. Highlight any responsibilities and accomplishments relevant to the job you’re applying for now.
• For example, if you’re looking for a job in sales, emphasize your ability to work in groups and create a good customer experience.

High School Student No Experience Resume

• If you don’t have work history, include projects and volunteer work instead. Treat them like a job and write bullet points according to your responsibilities.
• Make sure you start every bullet point with active verbs, and always double-check for typos. You’ve got this!
• Include your unique skills, your desired position, and the company you hope to work for to make your objective stand out from the rest!

Beginner High School Student Resume

• But here’s the deal, schools won’t provide funds like candy—so convey why exactly you need a scholarship using the career objective. In Morwenna’s case, her pursuit of gaining knowledge to make societal changes is a compelling argument that no school can ignore. Basically, make them think, “We need this future reformer in our school.”

High School Internship Resume

• You ideally want key industry-proof skills that can work in any internship such as Google Sheets, Adobe Lightroom, and Todoist. These also become a testament to not just your super-fast learning ability but also your tech-savviness with current software!

First Job High School Student Resume

• To remedy that problem, add a  skills section on your resume  to give hiring managers an important overview of your strengths.
• To really highlight your abilities, incorporate the same skills in your work experience, too. Demonstrate how you used your skills to better your workplace, and you can’t go wrong!
• Adding stylistic elements like color and different fonts can help you show a bit of your personality (and make your resume more fun to read). 

Experienced High School Student Resume

• Remember, your resume is a highlight reel, so you need to include what’s most important (like your achievements and relevant metrics). 
• You can adjust your layout, font sizes, and margins, but keep it easy to read. 
• Use a bit of color and some fun fonts, provided it still looks professional. You’ve got this!

High School Senior Resume

• This statement must align with the potential employer’s needs, proving you understand the job requirements and have gone the extra mile to address doubts about your capabilities. As for experiences that might have prepared you for the job, workshops and volunteering programs you’ve participated in are prominent candidates.

Out of High School Resume

• Leisure activities range from soccer, hiking, drawing and sketching, robotics, and photography to journalism. But how do they fit in the picture? Well, a penchant for drawing and sketching could reflect creativity and an eye for detail, while journalism stints could hint at strong communication and critical thinking.

High School Graduate Resume

• Right from the first line of the career objective, you can see the candidate’s passion and willingness to work in this field. Notice how Serai’s love for photography is clearly backed by a previous project for a school newspaper.
• These details will be perfect when Serai’s ready for the AI cover letter generator to bring her application to perfection.

High School Diploma Resume

• In the education section of your high school diploma resume, include your diploma, the school’s name, and your start and end date. Add some useful software skills to the mix to secure your seat in any undergraduate program.

Recent High School Graduate Resume

• Begin with clearing which stream and degree you want to pursue. Next, follow suit with your mission and what you hope to gain by completing the program. Try some more personalization by linking your career goal with the college’s agenda.

High School Student Scholarship Resume

• Your high school student scholarship resume should vividly show your positive contributions to noble causes, such as offering ADLs to seniors, and emphasize your impact on society.

High School Student College Application Resume

• Ensure your high school student college application resume shows your practical and classwork achievements that emphasize your grand vision to make a positive contribution to society.

High School Student for College Resume

• Before hitting “submit,” always  check your resume  for typos and other minor errors. It’s amazing what you can miss during your first few reviews.
• A good GPA can demonstrate, at least in part, your willingness to work hard. We’d recommend including your GPA only if it’s above 3.5, but anything above a 3 is a good average.

High School Student for Customer Service Resume

• Including projects, volunteer work, or club memberships is a great way to add value to your resume.
• Your resume should focus on your abilities and other activities you’ve engaged in that will show your value.
• Read the responsibilities and qualifications to look for key skills and tasks. Then, incorporate some of those skills and responsibilities into your high school student customer service resume.

High School Student Internship Resume

• For example, if the job description lists responsibilities like writing and analyzing data, include “written communication” and “data analysis” in your skills section.
• One easy way to customize your resume is by focusing your  resume skills  on things that apply to the internship. 
• Make sure you keep your resume professional and to the point. You don’t want to include anything too personal about your beliefs, religion, politics, or personal information.
• For example, you can list “volunteering at local church,” but avoid saying “fasting every weekend.” It doesn’t show off relevant skills and is a bit too forward for a resume.

High School Student Office Worker Resume

• Good projects include anything that demonstrates your leadership abilities or desire for knowledge. Senior projects, personal blogs, or even being on a sports team are all good examples to include!
• Add work experience directly under your contact information and name, then add any relevant projects if you’re low on space. 
• While there are plenty of  resume writing tips , your resume should be as unique as you. Don’t get so caught up in what you think you “should” do that your resume is bland and cookie-cutter. 

High School Student Sales Resume

• Numbers demonstrate your value, and they’re useful tools for the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) software that hiring managers use to sort through job applicants.
• Trust us, and incorporate metrics into at least 80% of your bullet points!
• For example, you know that different  resume templates  can change your resume’s appearance, but different templates can also stretch or streamline your content. 
• Mess with multiple templates to see what your content will look like—you may find a template that allows for more room, or one that allows you to highlight your skills better.

High School Student Athlete  Resume

• Think of a time you proved you were the MVP on your team—Did you lead your team to a championship? Perhaps you made the game-winning shot in a crucial, nail-biting game?

High School Student Music Resume

• When you include hobbies like songwriting or your interest in classical music in your high school student music resume , it conveys to your recruiter that you’re super dedicated and passionate about your craft.
• You can also include hobbies that are different, too. For example, if you enjoy experimenting with new recipes from around the world, that can show you’re ready to give new genres a whirl or that you understand that music—while art—is still supposed to be fun and adventuresome.

Related resume guides

• Entry Level