
16+ Creative Resume Templates & Examples
You're a creative soul craving a creative resume. Something pretty, but professional. A template that seductively whispers into a recruiters ear: I'm the one.
Being a teen is a whole mood. Teens who want to add a job on top of that deserve respect. Sadly, they often don't get it from recruiters who think that the words "teenage" and "drama" are synonyms. Some simply toss teenage resumes out the window and ghost the applicants.
Stay on top of the game. Vibe with our teenager resume examples with no work experience and follow our advice to write a teen resume that hits different.
This guide will show you:
Teen resume examples better than 9 out of 10 others.
How to write a resume for teens that gets more interviews.
Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a teen resume.
How to make a teenager resume with no work experience and get any job you want.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.
Need more tips on writing a resume? These articles may help you to write the best teenager resume you can:
Are you looking for some job-specific resume examples? Check:
Let me share some savage news: according to our HR statistics report, hiring managers spend all seven seconds glancing at resumes. Seven seconds!!?? That's hardly enough time to read your contact info! But if you know how to make a resume for teens, you slay.
First, you must understand one thing about making a resume with no experience: hiring managers look for specific things in a resume for teens. So, choose the best resume format that fits your profile and divide your teen resume into the right resume sections:
The next thing you can do is make sure your resume looks awesome. Here’s how you should format your teenage resume template:
You have two choices: use some ready-made teen resume templates or spend hours in Word or G Docs to create a neat resume layout.
It can get messy if you have a lot of things to add to your teenage resume. Using resume templates will half the work you’d have to put in. Just pick a template, follow our advice, and you’ll have a perfect resume in no time!
Check out these resume templates for teenagers:
That’s three. But there’s more where that came from! The Zety resume builder features 20 templates that make great teen resumes. Simply pick a resume template and build a teen resume here.
Let's put you behind the driver's seat so you can nail down every section of your resume for teens.
Pro Tip: Should you send a teenage resume PDF or Word Doc? Everyone says PDFs confuse the hiring software. Guess what? Modern PDFs are machine-readable. As long as they're allowed by the job ad, go for it.
Imagine putting a lot of work into writing your teen resume just to realize that you forgot to add your email address and phone number. You’d want just to shrug and think, “no worries,” but in fact, you’d be all worries.
Listing contact info on a resume is pretty much the easiest part of writing a job application. Show you’re the main character by following these steps:
Check the news. You’ll find a story about someone who said the wrong thing on social media and lost their job. Supercharge and protect your online presence with our guides: How to Check Your Online Presence Before Recruiters Look You Up and How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Summary & Profile to Get Jobs
“We MUST interview this one.”
Start a resume for teens right, and you’ll get that response.
Use resume profiles such as an objective or a summary to introduce yourself.
Teens should go for a career objective—it allows you to show your best qualities and state how valuable you are for the job. A resume summary is recommended only for experienced job seekers because it highlights work achievements.
See these two very different teenage resume objective examples to get a clue:
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Enthusiastic waitstaff applicant with no experience yet but very willing to learn and work really hard. I could use this job so please hire me. You won’t be sorry. |
Yo, this won’t help you get that job. Or any job, ever. Employers don’t care about what you want—they care about what you can do for them.
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Hard-working waiter seeking to use proven customer service skills to foster dining excellence at the Last Unicorn Restaurant. Commended 5x by management at Devin Shiro's Country Club and St. Ann's Soup Kitchen. Eagle Scout. Received Beacon of Hope Award. |
This one will leave the hiring manager amped. It includes relevant experience and impressive accomplishments that really sell a teen resume. They offer what the manager wants: a hard-working teen who cares about doing a good job.
But wait—what if you’re writing a teenager resume with no work experience? Instead of talking about previous jobs, highlight your knowledge and experiences from school, personal projects, interests, freelance gigs, and even family life.
Check this teenage resume example for inexperienced candidates:
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Personable high school student looking for a part-time waitstaff job. Enthusiastic about helping the patrons of Rainy Day Comfort Food have an enjoyable dining experience by recommending suitable menu choices and serving their orders in a pleasant atmosphere. Passionate home cook. Won a school contest for the best homemade chocolate chip cookies. |
See? You can impress recruiters even without work experience!
Pro Tip: Resumes for teens need short and sweet objective statements. Stick to 60 words. Need more space? Write a great teenage cover letter. Even with no experience, you can make one that gets interviews. We’ll show you how later on.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
What’s your best asset as a teen with no experience? Nope—it’s not your collection of animated GIFs. It’s your education; even if you’re not an overachiever who can add a degree to a resume at 16 years old, low-key hate school, and don’t have straight As.
The education section in a resume for teens needs:
Let’s see that working in two more resume examples for teens:
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Central Islip High School, NY 2014–2018
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That’s so basic, really. Even the most brilliant teen will have a hard time getting a job highlighting so little next to a high school diploma on a resume.
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Central Islip High School, NY 2014–2018 (Graduating in May)
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Now we’re talking. When a recruiter sees this, they’ll have a hard time keeping their cool.
Want some resume advice? Teen resume examples like that aren’t out of reach. It just takes a little head-scratching.
There’s more to WOWing the hiring manager with your education section. Want your teenager resume to turn some heads? Use our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]
“But I don’t HAVE experience!”
Of course, you don’t. You’re writing a teen resume. But try to show some kind of experience. The good news? It doesn’t have to be work-related!
Here’s what you can put on a teenager resume with no work experience:
These teen resume examples light the way:
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Volunteer Food Server Food Unites, Provincetown, MI June–September 2021
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The first of our teenage resume samples blows the doors off. So please don’t do it like the next of our example teen resumes without experience:
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Experience: None yet since this would be my first job apart from babysitting, but everybody says I’m really easy to get along with and I’ll work hard. |
That is not how you put babysitting on a resume. Mention it like a real job: add how many hours you spent doing it, what responsibilities you had, and what you accomplished.
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Personal Projects
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The candidate above has no work experience—only personal projects to talk about. But it’s easy to see that they have valuable skills they can use for a variety of jobs!
Pro Tip: Still don’t have enough experience? Get some! Even a couple of days of volunteer work are a solid teen resume builder that will supersize shrimpy resumes.
There are pros and cons to holding a job while studying, but you’ve decided to go along with your plan. So, how can you convince recruiters to hire you? Well, one of the ways is to show that you’ve got the skills they need.
Follow these steps to create an impressive skill section for a teen resume:
These two example teen resumes show how to do it:
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Skills: MS Office, strong work ethic, teamwork, customer service, organized, adaptable, friendly, honest, physically fit… |
These skills aren’t all bad, but they look like a random collection. It’s also better to list skills in bullet points.
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Now we’re talking! Looks much more professional and relevant to a specific job, like waiting at a restaurant.
Remember that you can also add your skills to other sections of your resume, such as education and experience. For example, by mentioning that you helped your neighbors to babysit their children at short notice, you can show your flexibility and reliability.
A good skills list is a must on any resume for teens. Want more options to make the hiring manager start looking for your contact info? See our guide: 90+ Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)
Maybe you don’t like being extra in life. But flexing on a resume is a good thing. It can help convince the hiring manager that you’re the right choice for the job.
Now that the key parts of your resume are ready use additional information to fill the space on your resume. That can prove you’ve got certain abilities and knowledge needed to work. See what we have in mind:
These resume examples for teens provide a map:
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Additional activities: Watching YouTube, Making memes |
While this example is honest, it doesn’t sound very professional.
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Experience
Eagle Scout Boy Scouts of America January 2018–Present
Award
Additional Activities
Certification
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This teen will impress recruiters. That’s for sure and certain.
Pro Tip: You don’t have to list every activity. Keep your resume to one page, and just list things that fit the job.
Wait, aren’t cover letters for people who grew up with rotary phones? That’s what many experts say. But they’re talking about generic cover letters. Nobody needs a cover letter that just says, “Here’s my resume.”
You need to make the recruiting committee want to read your resume. So:
Listen, we get it. Most teenagers don’t write cover letters. You don’t want to do that either. But writing one will make your teenager resume stand out!
This tl;dr cover letter for teenager first jobs shows how:
Earning my Eagle Scout Rank was hard but worth it. I developed several qualities I think would make me a great waiter at Last Unicorn Restaurant. I’m hard-working, dedicated, and I get along well with everyone I work with. My Eagle Scout Project fed 40 homeless people, along with...
(This kid makes me feel FOMO for not being a scout in my teenage years.)
Need more detailed info to write the perfect teenage cover letter with no experience? This guide has your back: Cover Letter for a High School Student
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Pro Tip: Most teens don’t know to follow up on their job applications. A nudge a few days after you send your teen resume and cover letter can put you on the map at the right time.
You’ve got a toolkit now to make the best resume for teens. Remember these key steps to write the best teen resume that lands you the job fast:
When you are done, head on over to Jobs for Teens: 30 Best Teen Jobs and How to Find the Ones Near You
Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for a teen? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements on a teenager resume with no experience? Give us a shout in the comments! Let's get you that job.
The article provides an example and tips for creating a resume for a teenager looking for their first job. The example resume includes sections for personal information, education, relevant coursework and skills, volunteer experience, and extracurricular activities. The article also advises on how to tailor the resume to the specific job being applied for, how to highlight relevant skills and experiences, and how to make the resume visually appealing and easy to read. Additionally, the article offers tips on how to handle the lack of work experience typical for teenagers and emphasizes the importance of using action verbs and quantifiable achievements to make the resume stand out to potential employers.
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