First Resume for Your Teen’s First Job

This week on Homeschool High School Podcast: First Resume for Your Teen’s First Job.

First Resume for Your Teen’s First Job

Many teens look for a first job sometime during their homeschool high school years. I have found that a good way to get the job-hunt process started is to help them develop their first resume.

When I tell teens that we are starting with developing their first resume, they sometimes reply, “How can I have a resume? I’ve never had a job?”

It is hard to have a resume showing your jobs if you have never had a job, and that is very true. However, our teens, by and large, have lots of resume-worthy experiences. Our high schoolers generally have:

• done volunteer work
• been involved in community organizations
• participated in sports and/or the arts
• served at church and the homeschool community

All of those things are experiences that demonstrate that they can do things that are attractive to an employer, such as:

• teamwork
• responsibility
• drive.

We can help our teens capture these activities on an experiential resume. This is not a job resume because they have not had a job. However, an experiential resume us useful and valid to show what kind of person your teen is.

An experiential resume

Let’s take a look at an experiential resume sample. (BTW- You can download a guide to help your teen develop their own experiential resume at 7SistersHomeschool.com)

The experiential resume captures your teen’s experiences rather than jobs. Remember, these experiences tell potential employers about your teen’s work ethic and character.

The resume includes:

• Student’s name
• Contact information (address, phone number, email)
• Skills section
  • emphasize
    • teamwork
    • computer skills
    • speaking and writing skills
    • time management skills
    • second languages spoken (check out our interviews with Karim Morato for ideas for learning Spanish, such as 5 Tips for Making Learning Spanish Fun)
• Experiences
  • Use a bullet-point format and list
    • The experience, contact or location information
    • “Job title”/what they did
    • Dates (nice but not 100% necessary)
    • List of tasks, accomplishments, or interesting experiences
• Education
  • List the homeschool or umbrella school’s name or simply write “homeschool” and projected graduation year
• Achievements and awards
  • This section is optional
• References
  • List two people as references
  • Give their job title or connection to you
  • Add their email and phone number
  • You can decide to simply write, “References provided upon request”
  • Have your teen ask the potential reference if they would be able to be called upon by the “powers that be”
  • Teens should ask permission before listing a person as a reference. Be sure your teen alerts the references to expect a call from the interviewers.
• Tips:
  • Keep experiential resumes to one page
  • Avoid using the word “I”
  • Use bullet points

BTW- 7Sisters Career Exploration textbook contains (note that it includes Successful Experiential Resume Writing):

• Step by Step Through Career Exploration (providing a basic checklist of steps for you to follow)
• Career Exploration Questionnaire
• Career Exploration Workbook (31 pages)
• Successful Experiential Resume Writing (to create a resume that captures worthwhile experiences BEFORE that first paying job)
• Successful Cover Letters (a first impression is SO important)
• Introductory Interview Skills for Teens (a practical and empowering 9-page resource)
• Writing Your Personal Mission Statement (14 page workbook)
• Career Exploration in the Bible (a fun look at David, Joseph, Mary…and yourself!)
• Collected Posts on Career Exploration from 7Sisters’ extensive blog post archive
• Collected Posts on Financial Literacy (an important part of preparation for adulthood)

Click image for full description.

For more help with the job hunt, check out this episode of Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Job Hunting Skills for Homeschool High Schoolers.

Fun tips about experiential resumes

Your teen’s experiential resume is good for more than just a job application!

Keep a copy for their portfolio (count it as a writing assignment).

Include it as part of your teen’s Career Exploration course (In fact, the Experiential Resume Guide is included in 7Sisters Career Exploration download. For those in states that reimburse for curriculum, 7Sisters has a version of Career Exploration that meets the requirements for reimbursement.)

Get your teen busy working on an experiential resume as their first resume for their first job!

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Also, thanks to Seth Tillman for editing, and thanks to everybody for being here with us!

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