Resume Format for Teenagers

For a teen's resume, even a little experience is better than nothing.

Developing a resume for a teenager is good idea. It allows teenagers to think about their professional goals and attributes, giving them a basic resume on which to build as they become more experienced. Although a teenager's resume is formatted similarly to a more experienced resume writer, the details that the teenager must emphasize will be slightly different.

Function

For the teenage resume writer, the goal is not to show competency in a particular field or to show extensive work history; the purpose of your resume is to show your positive attributes and how you have demonstrated those attributes. You must pull from all of your experience in high school and, to a much larger degree than with more experienced resume writers, you much demonstrate your potential.

Types of Resumes

While the resume writer with more work experience might benefit from using a "chronological resume" which focuses on work history in a particular area, you will want to use a "functional resume" that highlights your skills and attributes. With the functional resume, you should consider what skills your experiences demonstrate. If you are a leader, strong academically, engaged in community activities or part of a team, you can structure your resume around these attributes with resume categories such as "Leadership Skills," "Academic Achievements" and "Reliability." These categories will stress your positive attributes and will appeal to a wide range of readers (college admission officers, restaurant managers, etc.).

Features

Once you decide on the skills you want to highlight (try to list three), you must support those skills with elements of your personal experience. Under "Leadership Skills," for example, you might state "Elected class president in my junior year" or "Chosen team captain of my track team." Under "Academic Achievements" you might list honors you hold and other formal acknowledgments of your accomplishments in school: "Was on honor roll two years in a row" or "Valedictorian of my senior class." Again, the purpose of the teenager's resume is to show that you have attributes that will be applicable in a variety of situations.

Professionalism

A resume should not draw the wrong kind of attention. Although all your friends may know that you are big fan of a particular cartoon character, the resume is not a place to "feature" that aspect of your personality. A resume should be professional-looking, printed on high-quality paper (at least 25 percent cotton), and should be a standard, neutral color (white, off-white or beige). A florescent orange resume may grab the reader's attention but not in the way you might think.

Warnings

Resumes should be only a page long. Occasionally, a more experienced resume writer with years of experience might have a two-page resume, but for a teenager, one page with concise information is adequate. Also, while you should be creative in terms of what your experience is and how it fits into your skill sets, always be honest; do not "stretch" the truth of your accomplishments.

References

• Quintessential Careers: Teen Resume Writing Worksheet
• Chicago Public Library: Teen Resumes