Resume Example for Teens + templates and tips

And by good, we don’t mean making it all fancy by adding your experiences to fit the job. Obviously, as a teen, you don't need to have all the experience in the world to land your first job. You may already have the skills required for the job; you just need to describe them in a way that pleases recruiters.

But don't worry about it! We're here to tell you just that with some tips, templates along with resume examples for teens (like you!) for you to land your first job and get your first paycheck.

Before we get into the writing tips to create your teen resume, let’s take a look at one of the teenage resume examples for teens below:

This is just one resume example for teens. If you want to see more, you can check out our other resume examples.

What to Put on a Resume for a Teenager

As a teenager, you don’t have to make your resume look like you’ve had all the experience to fit the job description. So, relax; we’ll show you how to write it outstandingly step by step.

You can add the following sections on your teen resume to attract employers:

• Contact Information
• Career Objective
• Education
• Volunteer Experience (Only if you’ve volunteered)
• Extracurriculars
• Achievements
• Key Skills

Here, instead of a professional work experience section, you can either add your volunteering experience or anything you've done so far, be it babysitting, hosting a birthday party, or anything. It doesn't have to be about professional office jobs, so take it easy.

If you haven’t volunteered anywhere, you can sign up for one. But if there’s a time constraint, you can omit that section in your resume, and it’s totally okay! But you need to add your contact information at the very beginning.

Here are two quick writing tips for writing a good resume to help you:

The layout for a Teen Resume (and how to make It appealing)

The layout of a resume is how you align your text and use colors. You need to make it visually appealing, as that's what grabs the attention of anyone. Well, even recruiters' attention! We’ll help you make a good first impression with your resume layout here:

Use numbers and bullet points

Resume for teens with pointers are easy to read, and it’s easy for recruiters to scan. Since recruiters don't spend much time reading every resume, having bullet points would be best for your future employers.

Don’t make the following mistakes:

• Adding sentences with more than two lines.
• Keeping the font size too small or too big.
• Not using numbers or numbering the lists wrong

Using flashy colors

Use subtle colors and standard font size so that it doesn’t strain the eyes of hiring managers. Don’t use flashy colors like red and neon as they may not look professional. Give attention to these little details to make them appealing.

A well-structured resume will make you stand out of the crowd.

The best resume example format

Formatting your teen resume is the next crucial step. There should be a flow in your resume for teens so that hiring managers don't have to take longer to look for relevant information. The three standard ways to structure your teen resume are as follows:

Chronological – In this type, your education comes at the top soon after your career objective, followed by your skills and volunteering experience. This format is used when you're new to the workforce. Functional – This format focuses more on the skills and achievements than your educational qualification and other things. This is also a good format to follow in your resume as a teenager. Hybrid – This is a combination of the two formats mentioned above. First, you will have to mention your skills and then add other sections in chronological order.

The best format for a teen is to go with chronological order, where you put your education details in the beginning.

Start with the Header

Let's jump into the basics of creating a teen resume now. It’ll be a great kickstart for your career with a good resume.

The header is the first line that your recruiter sees. Just like the way you clicked this article after reading the heading, your hiring managers will pick your teen resume if your heading is good.

A good & a bad header for teenagers

We’ve given here two resume examples for teens of an incorrect and a correct header to give you an idea.

As you can see in the resume examples for teens, the first header is unprofessional, and the email address is too. The second one is clear, and the professional email address looks formal too.

Another thing that most people get confused about while writing a resume is adding your photo or not. Well, the thing is, if it is mentioned in the job description, you need to addit. Otherwise, don't include it. Adding a photo can be a distraction and lead to discrimination which is why in the US and the UK, they reject your application right away if there's a photo in your resume.

About me: how to write a professional objective with no experience

This section is where you talk about yourself and your skills. You should not only add what you do but also add how you do it. It shows how you approach things and whether you're responsible enough to handle them independently or not. This example is perfect for teenagers to tell the hiring managers what they can without having work experience.

If you have any work experience like we mentioned earlier, you can add a professional summary instead of an objective. But, for now, you can stick to the objective to land your first job. To give you a clear picture of how a professional objective should be, here are two examples of the correct and the incorrect.

The incorrect one does not seem professional, and it just says you can take up marketing roles but nothing but what you have done previously to be best at it. However, the correct example shows your skills and the outcome of managing the drive, which is great.

It means you can take up any responsibility and produce better results. Keep it relevant to the job.

Experience (+ what to do if you have no experience)

You may have no experience or have little experience doing summer jobs. If you have done any, you can add it in this section. It's alright if you have no experience. You can add the little things you have done in your neighborhood and high school.

Likewise, you can add your hobbies and interests, extracurricular activities, babysitting experience, and volunteer work. Add what you did in your high school and focus on your cover letter.

Here is an example of a high school resume:

Resume Example of experience for teens

Highlight your education

The next section of the resume for teens is your education. You should add the high school you're studying in, your GPA, graduation date, and coursework here. If you have taken up any other courses online or elsewhere, you can include them too.

How to include your education

In this resume example for teens, here is how you write your education details with your high school:

Skills: best allies of teens with no work experience

Introduce the skills section and include both your hard and soft skills. Here is an example of it in our resume for teens. You can fill in as many you wish:

• Creative Problem Solving
• Customer Service
• Multi-Task Management
• Cheerful and energetic
• Computer Literate
• Team collaboration
• Resolution-oriented
• Weekly Payroll
• Team Leadership
• Approachable
• Flexible
• Excellent time management
• Cold Calling

What are the most sought-after skills for teenagers?

You need to add your hard skills like the software programs you’ve used in your high school or out of your interest and the soft skills in your resume.

If you've participated in a debate competition or any group project in your high school as a high school student, you can add communication and leadership skills too. To give you an idea, you can fill in the following skills:

Hard skills

• Research
• Microsoft excel
• Microsoft word
• Graphic design
• Public speaking
• Computer skills
• Coding skills
• Microsoft PowerPoint

Soft Skills

• Positive outlook
• Analytical
• Perfect attendance record
• Organized
• Dedicated team player
• Time management
• Reliable and dependable
• Excellent multi-tasker
• Professional and mature
• Detail-oriented

You should add skills relevant to the job you're applying to, as that's what the recruiters will be looking at. They try to map the skills to the job and see how well you can complete the assigned tasks. It's very important not to add skills that are not relevant for the job.

Additional Headings for your Accounts Manager Resume

In a student resume, you need to add a section with a few headings that we'll show you here. In this section, you need to add your interests, languages that you know, and the certifications that you have gained so far. As someone new to the field this section can give you an edge over others.

Say, for example, if you know multiple languages and you're applying for a customer support job, it will quickly catch the attention of recruiters, and you'll get a call for sure. So, this section is very important when you're writing a student's resume. We also have a resume template with this section where you can check out.

Computer skills and certifications

If you've worked on your high school projects or designed posters as a club member for fests, or if you have made a good presentation in your group project, then these are some of the skills that can be added. In our resume examples for teens, we’ll show you what to include.

It can be any software you've worked on. You can write you have photoshop skills, proficient in PowerPoint and Microsoft word or excel. Add them in this section to get a call from the recruiters. People who are hardworking are always preferred.

Interests

Here, you need to write about your interests and hobbies. Adding this section shows recruiters your interests beyond the job responsibilities and how you can contribute to the company with a broad range of skills.

Languages

Writing a resume is easy when you have a resume template with you. In this section, add all the languages that you know so far. Being multilingual is great in any workforce. It brings people together and helps you network with a wide range of people too in your career. So, this is a perfect addition to your resume if you know several languages.

Formation this section in the following way:

Computer skills

Microsoft Office, Microsoft PowerPoint, Photoshop, Microsoft excel

Hobbies and Interests

Blogging, child care, art, volunteer work

Languages

• English (Advanced)
• Spanish (Intermediate)

What other sections to include?

You can add references in a separate section after the additional section where you can ask the organization you've volunteered for referring to you. You can ask for references from all the places you've worked and add them in this section, so the hiring managers know how you work through them. You can write a great resume by adding this section. You can also write your accomplishments and certifications you’ve received or online courses you’ve done to make it more impressive.

After completing your resume, you can check out Job search sites (or job search engines) and start applying. You can also go through our resume template to finish writing your resume quickly.

Summary: Key Points for Writing a resume for teenagers (even without experience)

That’s about it! Now that you know how to create your resume, you should ensure it is not more than one page, and everything is to the point. Let’s take a quick recap here:

• Format your resume with professional colors and layouts
• Structure your resume in the chronological order
• Add a good resume objective
• Add your experience and the responsibilities held if you have volunteered
• Make use of resume templates to write impressive resumes
• Include both your hard and soft skills
• Write your achievements, languages are known, and certifications in the additional section.
• Don’t forget to add your contact information such as your phone number, email address, and social media handles (preferable LinkedIn)
• Add referrals in the end.

Write a Cover Letter that matches your resume perfectly

To win over recruiters, always add a complementary cover letter unless it's mentioned in the job description to not add it. Your cover letter should not be more than one page and should start with a short introduction about yourself, why you want the job, and the skills you possess. Do not deviate from the job description but only write what's related to it. In your cover letter, you can include your contact details, such as your phone number and email address.

If you want to know how to write one, you can check out a few resume samples of cover letters.

Have a look at the Best online jobs for teens and some of our templates to craft a good professional resume.

FAQs about resumes for teens