Free guides · Students · Grades 9–12 and early college

How to write your first résumé as a teen (with no work experience)

You do not need a past job to write a good résumé. Employers hiring teens know you are just starting. What they want to see is that you are reliable, can learn, and have done something with your time.

What to include

• Contact details: your name, phone number, a professional-sounding email address and your town or city. You do not need your full home address.
• A short summary (optional): one or two lines, such as 'Reliable Grade 10 student with experience in customer service through school events, looking for a part-time role.'
• Education: your school, expected graduation year, and relevant courses. Include your GPA only if it helps you.
• Experience: paid work, volunteering, babysitting, tutoring, pet sitting, family business help, and lawn care all count.
• Activities and leadership: clubs, sports, music, community groups, and any roles with responsibility.
• Skills: languages, software, first aid certification, typing, cash handling, social media, or a trade skill.
• Projects and achievements: a website you built, a fundraiser you ran, an award or competition.

Turn activities into strong bullet points

Start each line with an action verb and, where you can, show a result. Compare these:

Only use numbers you can stand behind. If you do not know the exact figure, describe what you did.

• Weak: 'Member of the environmental club.'
• Stronger: 'Organized a school recycling drive with 12 volunteers that collected 300 kg of paper.'
• Weak: 'Babysitting.'
• Stronger: 'Cared for two children weekly for a year, including meals, homework help and bedtime routines.'

Format and length

Keep it to one page. Use a clean, simple layout with one font, clear headings and plenty of white space. Save it as a PDF named with your name, such as 'Alex-Rivera-Resume.pdf'. Many employers use software to scan résumés, so avoid putting key text in images or complex tables.

Know the rules for working teens

Rules on age and hours differ by country and region. In the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, 14 is generally the minimum age for most non-farm jobs, and there are limits on the hours and types of work for those under 16. Check your local rules, and some places require a work permit from your school.

Common mistakes

• Spelling and grammar errors. Ask a teacher or parent to proofread.
• Exaggerating. Be ready to talk about anything on the page in an interview.
• Using one version for everything. Adjust the summary and skills for each job.
• Forgetting to update it. Add new experiences as they happen, not the night before an application.

A simple layout to copy

If you are not sure where to start, use this order from top to bottom:

Under each experience, write the role, the organization, the dates and two or three bullet points. Ask a counselor or a trusted adult to look at it with you, and keep a master copy with everything you have ever done so that tailoring it for each application only takes a few minutes.

• Name and contact details
• Summary (one or two lines)
• Education
• Experience, including volunteering and informal work, most recent first
• Activities and leadership
• Skills and certifications

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