RESUMES
What is a resume?
A resume is a summary of yourself that includes things like your education, achievements, work experience, and skills. It's often sent with job applications for an employer to review and is necessary to have if you want to secure an interview. Your resume is meant to sell yourself to an employer, so it's basically an advertisement for yourself.
WHERE DO I START?
Know what a good resume is.
Gordon Brown, a Talent Development Specialist for OneStop Career Center, advises that resumes should answer "How much?" "How often?" and "With what result?" Brown says that "anyone can state on a resume that they waited tables - to set your resume apart, write down how many tables you served in a night, on the weekends, [or] on the lunch rush." In addition, simply stating that you "answered the phone" or "greeted customers" can come off as bland, but describing how often you did can add a hardworking quality, such as "frequently answered phones" or "consistently greeted customers." Lastly, Brown stresses that showing how a company benefited from your actions is crucial to making your resume stand out. For example, instead of "provided customer service," you can say "provided exceptional customer service that resulted in repeat business."
Know what employers want.
The biggest challenge that teens face when applying to their first job is that they lack the experience employers want. Job applications often require you to list your past work experience, and if you're applying to your first job there won't be anything to put. The best way to work around this is to use your lack of experience to your advantage. Having no experience makes you teachable, trainable, and enthusiastic to learn more. Know the type of person employers are looking for and match your skills to it.
RESUME BUILDER
Fill in the form to generate a personalized resume. Remember to use proper capitalization and grammar. Click here to see a preview of the resume.
Please enter your first and last name.
Make sure to use a professional email address, not sk8r999@gmail.com.
This should be the best number to reach you at, and it better not be your mom's.
Write a short statement that clearly outlines who you are, what you're applying for, and what value you'll bring to the company. Ex) Dedicated and motivated engineering graduate with proven leadership and organizational skills seeking entry level assistant manager position with Dino Co.
What technical or leadership skills do you possess?
Start with your most recent job.
See what Gordon Brown suggests above.
Weighted or Unweighted, up to you.
Have you taken any AP or technical classes? You can also list your current math class to show employers your capabilities.
Have you received any awards or recognition? What about a special project you've worked on and its outcome? Ex) Trained as lead cashier, balancing cash drawer with 95% accuracy
Here you can list any clubs or extracurriculars you were involved in. You can also name any leadership positions you've held in projects.
Describe any service projects you've been involved in or volunteer positions you've held. You can list anything you've done with your CTSO club.