Teens Need Resumes Too, Writing the Resume to Get You That Job

This article is meant to help those who have never written a resume before and need help getting started. While having a resume for teenagers is not necessary, it will help your application stand out from all the rest.

Here are some tips for writing a Resume
• Reread everything until you are sure that your resume has no mistakes. Also, have someone else read your resume to make sure that it is free of errors.
• If you don’t have work experience, list volunteer or school-related experiences, such as being a teacher’s assistant, decorating for a school dance or planning a school event.

There are many formants to use, but here’s a simple one:

Your Name
Street Address, City, State, Zip Code
Phone, E-Mail
Use a permanent address and phone number. Use an email address that sounds professional. FirstnameLastname@ is a good e-mail address to use. Do not use an e-mail address such as sexygirl@soandso.com

OBJECTIVE
An objective lets employers know your main goal. If you want a part-time job, you will need to change your objective to each, such as "To obtain a part-time sales position with Hollister."

SUMMARY of SKILLS
• List three to four skills or qualities about you that would be important skills for the job you are applying such as:
• “Good communication skills”, “Can work independently or part of a team”, “Friendly”, etc.

EDUCATION/ACADEMICS
• List the schools you have attended. Include your GPA if it is a 3.0 or higher.
• You can also list academic honors, awards, and/or recognitions that you have gotten such as honor-roll, essay-writing awards, etc.

RELEVANT EXPERIENBCE
Title of position, Name of Organization
City and state of work, dates of employment
• Give an overview of work/volunteer experience that has taught you particular skills.
• Use action words to describe your job duties, such as sold, created, processed, etc.
• Since many students do not have a lot of work experience, you can describe class projects in which you have learned important skills or even leave this section out and put more in the education and additional skills sections.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS/INTERESTS
• Include other things about you that don't fit anywhere else.
• You can include: special skills, leadership roles, volunteer experiences, participation in sports, band, yearbook, etc.

RERENCES
• Write "References available upon request," here. Don’t include references on your resume.
• A job reference is someone, not a family member, who will speak of your skills and abilities.
• Make sure to choose someone who will say something good about you.
• Ask people before you give your names out.

What to learn more?
There are many ways to write a resume. Find a style and format that works for you. The best way to get started is to look at what others have done. For a list of examples and help writing a great resume go to “The Resume Workbook for High School Students” and see pages 26-28 for examples: http://www.damngood.com/workbooks/highschool.pdf.