What goes in a resume at 16, in order
A first resume has the same parts as any other, in a slightly different order. With no job history, school and activities move up, and the page is built around what you have actually done rather than what you have been paid for.
| Section | What to put | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Full name, mobile number, a professional email address, your town or suburb. Not your age, date of birth or full home address. | Two or three lines |
| Objective (or summary) | The job you want and two qualities you can prove. Rewrite it for each job you apply for. | Two lines |
| Education | School name, the year you are in, your subjects, grades if they are good, awards, prizes, leadership roles. | Four to six lines |
| Experience | Any work, paid or not: babysitting, helping in a family business, a paper round, volunteering, a school event you ran, a club you lead. Newest first, each with one or two results. | Most of the page |
| Skills | Languages, computer skills, cash handling, customer service, a certificate (first aid, food safety, lifeguard), a sport or instrument if it shows discipline. | One short list |
| References | "Available on request", or one teacher or coach who has agreed to be contacted. Never a relative. | One line |
If your school system has an exam around 16, such as GCSEs in the UK, the SSC in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the BECE or WASSCE in West Africa, or the Junior Cycle in Ireland, say which you are working towards or have completed, and the year.
Turn what you have done into experience
The reason most 16-year-olds think they have nothing to put on a resume is that they only count paid jobs. Employers count anything where you showed up, did something, and someone relied on you. Write each one the same way an adult writes a job: what you did, for whom, and what happened because of it.
| What you did | How it reads on a resume |
|---|---|
| Looked after my neighbours' kids sometimes. | Babysitter for two families, 2025 to now. Cared for children aged 3 to 9 on weekday evenings, including meals, homework and bedtime; both families rebook every month. |
| Helped in my uncle's shop in the holidays. | Shop assistant (family business), school holidays 2025 and 2026. Served customers, counted the till at closing, and restocked shelves; trusted to open the shop alone on Saturday mornings. |
| I'm in the football team. | Captain, school under-17 football team, 2026. Led training twice a week for 18 players and organised transport for away matches. |
| Did a group project at school. | Led a team of four in a Year 10 science project that tested water from six local taps and presented the results to the whole year group. |
| Volunteered at church / at the mosque / at a community clean-up. | Volunteer, community clean-up, April 2026. Part of a team of 30 that cleared and sorted rubbish from 2 km of riverbank in one weekend. |
| I make videos / I fixed the school website / I built a game. | Built a working quiz game in Python (120 lines) for a school open day; 40 visitors played it. |
Begin each line with a verb (served, cared for, led, organised, built, counted, trained) and add a number wherever you honestly can: how many people, how often, how long, how much. Numbers are what make a line believable.
Everything on the page must be true, and you must be ready to talk about it in an interview. Do not round "helped once" up to "ran". Do not list a skill you cannot show on the spot.
A full sample resume for a 16-year-old
Amara is 16, in Year 11, and applying for a weekend sales assistant job at a sports shop that asks for "friendly, reliable, comfortable with customers and happy to learn the till". She has never had a paid job. Her one-page resume:
AMARA OSEI
07xxx xxx xxx | amara.osei@email.com | Walthamstow, London
OBJECTIVE
Year 11 student seeking a weekend Sales Assistant role at SportsLine. Captain of
the school netball team and a volunteer kit-shop helper, used to serving people
and handling cash, and quick to learn new systems.
EDUCATION
Walthamstow Academy, Year 11 (GCSEs in June 2027)
Subjects: Maths, English, Science, Business Studies, French, PE, History, Art
Predicted grades 6 to 8; Business Studies prize, Year 10
Form representative on the student council, 2025 to now
EXPERIENCE
Kit-shop volunteer, Walthamstow Netball Club Sept 2025 to now
- Serve players and parents at the club shop on Saturday mornings, around 30
customers a session; take cash and card payments and count the float.
- Reorganised the stock room so sizes could be found in under a minute.
Babysitter, two local families 2025 to now
- Care for children aged 4 to 8 on weekday evenings; both families rebook monthly.
Captain, school netball team (under-16) 2026
- Lead warm-ups for 12 players twice a week and organise the match-day rota.
SKILLS
Cash and card payments | Customer service | Google Docs and Sheets
Conversational French | Level 1 Sports Leaders award (2026)
REFERENCES
Available on request (netball club manager and form tutor).Notice what the page does. Every quality in the advert, friendly, reliable, customers, till, is answered by a line with a number or a fact behind it. Nothing is paid work except the babysitting, and nothing is invented. It is about 180 words and fits on one page with room to spare.
What to leave out
- Your age or date of birth. The employer will ask on the application form if the law needs it. The resume shows what you can do, not how old you are.
- A photo, unless the advert asks for one or it is normal where you live. In the US, the UK, Canada and Australia it is discouraged; in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa it is expected. Follow what is normal for the job you are applying for.
- Your full home address. Your town or suburb is enough, and safer when you hand the page to strangers.
- Primary school. Your current school is all that matters.
- Hobbies that show nothing. "Gaming, music, hanging out with friends" takes space from something useful. A hobby stays only if it proves a skill: an instrument you practise daily, a sport you compete in, a language you are teaching yourself.
- Empty adjectives. "Hardworking, passionate, team player" with no example behind them. One line of proof beats five adjectives.
- Anything untrue. It comes out in the interview or the first week, and it ends the job.
Layout, file and how to send it
- One page, one font. Arial or Calibri at 11 or 12 point, your name a little larger. Clear section headings, a blank line between sections, and no colours or clip art.
- Save it as a PDF. Named with your name and the word resume: "Amara Osei - Resume.pdf". A PDF looks the same on every phone and computer; a Word file may not.
- Read it aloud, then have an adult read it. A teacher, a parent or a coach. Spelling mistakes are the fastest way to the bin, and you will not see your own.
- Write a short message to go with it. Three or four sentences: the job you are applying for, where you saw it, one reason you fit, and that your resume is attached. For a longer letter, read How to make an application letter for a job.
- Hand it in the way the shop or advert asks. Many first jobs are still won by walking in at a quiet time, asking for the manager, and handing over a printed resume with a smile. Dress neatly, go on a weekday afternoon, and say which job you are asking about.
- Follow up once. If you hear nothing after a week, one polite call or visit: your name, the job, and whether they have had a chance to look. Then leave it.
Check the rules where you live before you apply. Most countries set a minimum age, the hours a 16-year-old may work on school days, and the jobs that are not allowed; a school careers teacher or the government's employment website will tell you in a few minutes.
Mistakes that get a first resume ignored
- A joke or childhood email address. Make a new one with your name today; it takes two minutes.
- Leaving the experience section empty because nothing was paid. Babysitting, a family business, sport, volunteering and school projects all count when written as results.
- One resume for every job. Change the objective and move the most relevant line up for each one. It takes five minutes and employers notice.
- Two pages. At 16 there is nothing that needs a second page. Cut until it fits on one.
- No phone number, or one that nobody answers. Give the number you actually carry, and answer unknown calls politely for the next two weeks.
- A reference who does not know they are a reference. Ask the teacher or coach first, and tell them which job.
- Giving up after no reply. Shops and cafés lose resumes. One follow-up a week later, in person or by phone, is normal and often works.
Your first resume checklist
- Name, mobile, an email made of your name, your town. No age, no photo (unless asked), no home address.
- Two-line objective naming the job and two qualities with proof. Rewrite it for every job.
- Education first: school, year, subjects, good grades, awards, roles.
- Experience: everything you have done for other people, newest first, each line a verb and a number.
- Skills the job cares about: languages, cash handling, customer service, computer skills, certificates.
- References: "Available on request", with a teacher or coach who has agreed.
- One page, one font, saved as a PDF named "Your Name - Resume.pdf".
- Read aloud, checked by an adult, handed in the way the advert asks, followed up once.
Save this plan: print the page or save it as a PDF from your browser's menu, or keep the plain-text version.
Frequently asked questions
What do I put on a resume at 16 with no work experience?
Your contact details, a two-line objective, your education (school, year, subjects, grades, awards, roles), then everything you have done for other people written as results: babysitting, a family business, a paper round, volunteering, sports teams, clubs, school projects and events. Finish with a short skills list and "References available on request".
Should I put my age on my resume?
No. Employers ask for your date of birth on the application form if the law requires it; the resume itself shows what you can do. The same goes for a photo: leave it off unless the advert asks or it is normal for jobs where you live.
How long should a 16-year-old's resume be?
One page, between 150 and 250 words. A first resume with two pages tells the employer you could not decide what mattered. Clear headings and white space make a short page look confident rather than empty.