Using AI Tools (Like ChatGPT) to Create Your High School Resume

We'll admit it. Writing a resume with limited experience can feel intimidating. That's where AI tools, like the very popular ChatGPT, come in. With the ability to understand natural language and generate highly readable text, AI can help you create a professional-looking high school resume in no time.

In this article, we'll briefly discuss high school resumes and then talk about using ChatGPT to write yours. But first, let's discuss the potential concerns surrounding AI tools like ChatGPT.

Using AI Tools, Like ChatGPT, Ethically & Responsibly

Sure, students can try to use ChatGpt to cheat on school assignments. But that only sets them up for failure because, eventually, they've got to write a paper or test without it. (Good luck taking the SAT or ACT if you've relied on AI to write your papers)

Instead, we're advocates for giving students an opportunity to use AI responsibly, like in this case. AI can be a valuable tool for learning and creativity. It can help shortcut research, fact-checking, and brainstorming ideas.

But it's essential for students to know the technology's potential biases and ethical considerations, which only come from access and exposure to it. 

The Basics of a High School Resume

The best resumes are only a page or two long and are carefully worded to show off your strongest attributes and experience. Once you draft your first high school resume, you'll be able to edit it and build upon it as you gain more and more education and experience. 

We've written a complete high school resume guide that you can read by clicking the link below. We recommend checking that out because it covers helpful things like the different formats you might choose and lists extracurriculars and activities you might not think of putting on your resume. 

Reasons for a resume in high school

Before creating your resume, you must reflect on your purpose and audience. We'll talk about the most common reasons you might want a resume next. But you have to think about the purpose and audience to tailor your resume for the reader.

1. For college or scholarship applications

Many colleges and universities will require you to submit a resume as part of the application process. Scholarships also might request one. In either case, a well-crafted resume can showcase your achievements and help you stand out among other applicants.

• For a job or internship application

If you want to apply for part-time jobs or internships, you'll definitely need a resume to present your skills, experiences, and qualifications professionally. 

1. For a school assignment

You might also have an assignment to create a resume for a class in school. If that's the case for you now, we recommend putting in your best effort because you'll be able to use what you create for many different things (ex: scholarships and jobs) in the future. 

Collecting & Organizing Information for Your AI-Generated Resume

Once you know your audience, you'll want to sit down and brainstorm the essentials to put on your resume. You'll also want to research and note some dates. Here are some tips or things to think about when gathering and organizing relevant information:

• Education: Make a note of the dates and location(s) of the high school(s) you've attended. Jot down the highlights of your coursework, including any AP and Dual Enrollment classes and academic honors or awards.
• Extracurricular activities: Brainstorm a list of any clubs, sports, or activities with which you've been involved with. Note the dates, if you've had any leadership roles, and what you were responsible for. 
• Volunteer experience: List any volunteer work or community service you've done with dates, locations, and complete organization names.
• Skills & certifications: Jot down any interesting skills you might have, like the ability to speak a foreign language, technical skills, or certificates.

Using ChatGPT to Create Your Resume

AI tools, like ChatGPT, generate content using statistical models that analyze and generate text that is similar to human language. Right now, ChatGPT is free for anyone to use. You've probably tested it yourself, so you know how intuitive it is. 

The input line is located at the bottom of the screen. To use it, you simply type in your question or statement and then press the enter or submit button. The output will be generated and displayed on the screen.

Getting the ChatGPT Prompt Right

Getting the prompt right is arguably the biggest challenge in using this technology. That's why it's essential to brainstorm and have everything ready to input, as explained above.

To use ChatGPT to help you write your high school resume, you'll need to provide the following input:

1. Your name and contact information.

2. Your high school attendance history and any relevant coursework or academic achievements (with dates).

3. Your extracurricular activities, volunteer work, work experience, or internships (with dates).

4. Any special skills or certifications you have (with dates for when you got them).

5. The audience or reason for creating your resume so ChatGPT can tailor it to highlight your relevant experiences and qualifications.

Share this information and ask ChatGPT to create a high school resume for you. If you're not happy with the output, refine your prompt until you are.

Generally, refining your prompt means sharing more details or information and being more specific. We provide more insight into this below. 

Editing Your ChatGPT High School Resume

One thing you'll always want to do is edit anything that's produced by an AI tool. 

While tools like ChatGPT can help generate text, you always need to review and edit the work to ensure it's right for the purpose and easy to understand.

Additionally, you'll usually want to sprinkle in a little personal voice so it's relatable to the reader.

Tips for editing ChatGPT-generated text:

1. Review the content for accuracy

Whether it's a high school resume or an outline for a research paper, you'll want to make sure the content generated by ChatGPT is relevant and accurate to the purpose of the piece. You should also double-check any dates or statistics- this is a must.

1. Check for grammar and spelling errors

As with any written content, check for grammar and spelling errors before finalizing it. We love Grammarly, a free tool that helps you nail the grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more in your writing. We use it for everything we write. Try it out if you haven't before. 

1. Tailor the content to the purpose and audience

Check to make sure the piece is tailored to the purpose and audience. We've mentioned this several times already because it's that essential. One thing to look out for is if the language and tone are appropriate for the context.

1. Check for repetitive sentences or phrases

You'll know that ChatGPT may generate repetitive sentences or phrases if you've used it before. So be sure to check for them and rephrase any you might find.

1. Avoid overly complex or technical language 

ChatGPT might also use complex or technical language, so check for that too.

1. Add a little personality

ChatGPT-generated text may sound generic or stiff. And it certainly won't sound like you. So make sure to add a personal voice so your high school resume sounds more like you. 

Common ChatGPT Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some ways people go wrong and end up with problematic content. 

1. Not being specific or providing enough context: If the prompt is not specific enough or does not provide enough context, the generated text may not be what you're hoping for.
2. Not reviewing the generated text: ChatGPT generates text based on patterns it has learned from the data it was trained on. But it is not perfect and may generate inaccurate information. So as we've said before, you must review and edit any AI-generated content. 
3. Not considering the audience: If you don't think the audience and share that with ChatGPT, you might end up with text that is inappropriate for the audience or difficult to understand.
4. Not being realistic: ChatGPT is a powerful tool, but it's not perfect. If you have unrealistic expectations of what it can do, you may end up disappointed. 

Formatting Your High School Resume

Once your content is edited and ready to go, you'll want to add the text to a resume template to make your high school resume as eye-catching as possible. 

It's easy to find free resume templates. They're accessible in Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Adobe, and Canva. Other sources like MyPerfectResume can be found by searching on Google. These websites usually have templates for different styles, situations, and jobs, and you can usually customize them to fit your needs.

Final Thoughts on Using AI to Create Your High School Resume

We talked a little bit about the ethical implications and uses for a language model AI tool like ChatGPT. If you still have questions or concerns, it's helpful to consider how we already use similar technology without knowing it. 

Chatbots on websites, automated email responses, and even some news sites use AI-generated text and have been doing so for years. CNET, Bankrate, and Creditcards.com all publish AI-generated content in mass. 

Also, jobs of the future will more fully rely on AI technology. From optimizing logistics and improving safety in the transportation industry to performing fraud detection and analyzing financial data in the financial industry, AI will continue to help us work smarter. Students who learn to use it responsibly now will be better positioned for the jobs of the future.

Of course, as we said above, we're not endorsing this technology for school assignments like papers and tests. But if AI can help you be more efficient in other ways, we're all for it.