High school jobs on resume? Forum

[rinkrat19]

Yes, I know this has been asked eighty-seven times, but none of them seems to quite apply to me. Apologies if I missed one that did.

I've been out of UG for 8 years. In that time, I've had 2 "real" long-term jobs, plus 1 volunteer position and 1 "fun" part-time job.

In addition, I've had summer jobs almost every year, dating back to sophomore year of high school. Should I include only the college summer jobs on my resume, or also include the high school jobs? These are not fluffy retail or fast food jobs; they're actually somewhat related to what I do now. I grew up with CAD software on my home computer (thanks, dad), so I've been drafting since I was 15. Obviously, the descriptions of more recent jobs are more impressive, since I do have more engineering responsibility now.

I can't tell if it looks like "my god, she's still basically doing her high school job" or "damn, she's been doing grown-up work since before she could drive."

I already removed all the HS achievements/awards, but wasn't sure what to do with WE.

[WestOfTheRest]

I would remove them.

[frost]

I've been out of UG for 8 years.

If it's been 12 years since hs, there is absolutely no reason why anything related to hs is even on your resume. If you really want to talk about what you did then and how that motivated you to choose law 12 years down the road, find some way to bring it up in an interview. But even then, your interviewer probably wants to hear about more recent experience, relevant or not, rather than your life as a tween.

[chadwick218]

Unless you are applying to law school from high school, then no.

As an aside, please don't put your SAT/ACT score on your resume. I do realize that some I-Banks/Consulting firms will ask for such information, but if it is not explicitly requested then I would not include it. I summered at a large firm this summer and was discussing with the hiring partner all of the resume drops that they had received. She indicated that anyone who felt the need to put their LSAT/GMAT score on their resume was auto-dinged.

[rinkrat19]

Thanks, all. I'll take 'em off.

(I'd be hard-pressed to REMEMBER my SAT and ACT scores at this point, so no danger of me including them.)

[WestOfTheRest]

Thanks, all. I'll take 'em off.

(I'd be hard-pressed to REMEMBER my SAT and ACT scores at this point, so no danger of me including them.)

I'd also suggest no kindergarten awards, unless it's best finger painter, then you should def add that shit.

[rinkrat19]

Thanks, all. I'll take 'em off.

(I'd be hard-pressed to REMEMBER my SAT and ACT scores at this point, so no danger of me including them.)

I'd also suggest no kindergarten awards, unless it's best finger painter, then you should def add that shit.

Fuck fingerpainting, by Kindergarten I was internationally ranked in Coloring Inside The Lines. That's like half of the 2nd page of my resume, right there.

[applepiecrust]

If you have been out of high school for 12 years, and have had summer jobs since you were 15, in addition to the 4 regular jobs you listed, and listed them all, how long would your resume be? Five gazillion pages?
Unless you held the same summer job for 7-8 summers (high school and UG, and perhaps beyond as well), in which case I suppose the start date could begin when you were still in high school.

[Total Litigator]

I disagree, I went straight to law school from undergrad. On my resume there is a short section called "other summer employment" and I have received positive feedback from several interviewers that those jobs made me seem like an interesting person. I think if you worked the drive-through at McDonalds it could be left off, but some of the highschool/college summer jobs that I have kept on my resume (only in a brief list format, nothing formal or long) are lifeguard, house remodeler, wildland firefighter, freeze dry factory production operator, and CUTCO knife salesman. At the very least they provide a basis for friendly conversation if your interviewer has ever done anything similar.

[rinkrat19]

If you have been out of high school for 12 years, and have had summer jobs since you were 15, in addition to the 4 regular jobs you listed, and listed them all, how long would your resume be? Five gazillion pages?
Unless you held the same summer job for 7-8 summers (high school and UG, and perhaps beyond as well), in which case I suppose the start date could begin when you were still in high school.

I did work the same summer job for 4 summers, during college, so that saves some room. My whole resume (with the HS jobs) is 2 pages, plus the separate 1/2 page of references.

[WestOfTheRest]

If you have been out of high school for 12 years, and have had summer jobs since you were 15, in addition to the 4 regular jobs you listed, and listed them all, how long would your resume be? Five gazillion pages?
Unless you held the same summer job for 7-8 summers (high school and UG, and perhaps beyond as well), in which case I suppose the start date could begin when you were still in high school.

I did work the same summer job for 4 summers, during college, so that saves some room. My whole resume (with the HS jobs) is 2 pages, plus the separate 1/2 page of references.

That's way too much.

[JurisDoctorate]

I'm sorry, can I include a job as a legal secretary - if it's in my senior year of high school?

[rinkrat19]

If you have been out of high school for 12 years, and have had summer jobs since you were 15, in addition to the 4 regular jobs you listed, and listed them all, how long would your resume be? Five gazillion pages?
Unless you held the same summer job for 7-8 summers (high school and UG, and perhaps beyond as well), in which case I suppose the start date could begin when you were still in high school.

I did work the same summer job for 4 summers, during college, so that saves some room. My whole resume (with the HS jobs) is 2 pages, plus the separate 1/2 page of references.

That's way too much.

Prevailing wisdom seems to be that limiting resumes to 1 page is no longer the 'thing,' especially if you're not straight out of UG. The HS jobs are a half-page total and removing them wouldn't bring it under 2 pages.

[URMdan]

I won the Word Master award in freshman year of high school. Should I include that in my resume under awards?