Updated July 2026. Reviewed by Maya Robinson, CPRW.
A 16 year old with no job history should write a one-page resume with four sections: contact details, a two-line objective, education with GPA and relevant classes, and a skills and activities section. Babysitting, lawn care, sports teams and school clubs all count as experience. Leave off your full home address and your birthdate.
This page is for the first-job situation at 15, 16 or 17. If you want the broader version, see our full resume for high school students guide, which covers older teens and more advanced sections.
Full Sample Resume for a Teenager or 16 Year Old (Copy-Paste)
Replace the bracketed parts with your own facts. Keep it to one page.
Sample: 16-year-old, first job
Riley Carter
Denver, CO | (555) 018-2244 | riley.carter@email.com
OBJECTIVE
Responsible 16-year-old sophomore with strong time management and customer service skills seeking a part-time crew member role to provide friendly, dependable service on weekends and after school.
EDUCATION
West Denver High School, Denver, CO
Expected graduation: June 2028 | GPA: 3.6
Relevant coursework: Business, Public Speaking, Intro to Accounting
SKILLS
Customer service, Cash handling, Reliability, Teamwork, Time management, Basic Spanish, Google Workspace
EXPERIENCE
Babysitter (Neighborhood families) | 2024 to Present
- Care for 3 children ages 4 to 9 for up to 6 hours per weekend.
- Plan meals, homework help, and activities, keeping the same 4 families for over a year.
Lawn Care (Self-employed) | Summer 2025
- Mowed and maintained 8 regular yards, earning 100% repeat customers across the season.
- Scheduled jobs and handled cash payments independently.
ACTIVITIES
- Junior Varsity Soccer, West Denver High (2 seasons)
- Volunteer, Denver Food Bank, 40+ hours sorting and packing donations
Teen Resume Template (Copy, Paste, Fill In)
Blank version of the same layout. Paste it into a document and type over the brackets.
Blank teen resume template
[First Last]
[City, State] | [Phone] | [Email]
OBJECTIVE
[Grade level] at [School] with [two strengths] seeking a [exact job title] role, available [days and hours].
EDUCATION
[School Name], [City, State]
Expected graduation: [Month Year] | GPA: [X.X]
Relevant coursework: [Class], [Class], [Class]
SKILLS
[Skill], [Skill], [Skill], [Skill], [Skill], [Skill]
EXPERIENCE
[Babysitting / Lawn care / Tutoring / Volunteering] | [Year to Year]
- [What you did] for [how many people or yards], [how many hours] per [week or month].
- [Result with a number: dollars handled, repeat customers, hours logged].
ACTIVITIES
- [Team, club, or volunteer role], [School or organization] ([how long])
- [Team, club, or volunteer role], [School or organization] ([how long])
What to Write in the Objective (3 Examples)
At 16 the objective is the only thing at the top of the page, so it has to name the exact role you want and when you can work.
Retail
Reliable high school sophomore with cash-handling and customer service experience from school fundraisers, seeking a part-time sales associate role. Available weekends and weekday evenings after 4pm.
Food service
Punctual 16-year-old with two seasons of team sports and a perfect attendance record, seeking a crew member role. Comfortable on my feet, fast to learn a POS system, available Friday through Sunday.
Camp or childcare
High school junior with 18 months of babysitting for four families, seeking a summer camp counselor role. CPR certified, comfortable supervising children ages 4 to 10 for full-day shifts.
Turn "No Experience" Into Resume Bullets
You have more to work with than you think. Match each thing you have done to the section it fills.
| What you did | Resume section | Bullet you can write |
|---|---|---|
| Babysat for two families | Experience | Supervised two children ages 4 and 7 for 6 hours weekly over 18 months. |
| Mowed lawns for neighbours | Experience | Managed 6 recurring lawn-care clients, scheduling and invoicing independently. |
| Ran the school fundraiser table | Leadership | Handled $400 in cash sales across a 3-day school fundraiser with no shortages. |
| School project | Activities | Led a 4-person group project and presented to a class of 28 students. |
| Sports | Activities | Practiced 8 hours a week for 2 JV soccer seasons with perfect attendance. |
| Volunteering | Experience | Sorted and packed donations for 40+ hours at the local food bank. |
Do this now: write down every regular thing you do outside class, then put a number on each one. Hours, people, dollars, or weeks. That list is your experience section.
What a Teenager Should NOT Include
- No photo. Employers do not want one, and it can cause bias issues.
- No references on the page. Here is how to list references on a resume the right way, on a separate sheet, for when they are asked for.
- No Social Security number or full home address. City and state are enough.
- No fake experience. Informal work counts, so use it honestly instead of inventing jobs.
Want more first-job help? See our resume for your first job guide, our resume with no experience examples, resume summary with no experience lines, and the first job cover letter with no experience template.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I write a resume for a 16 year old with no experience?
Lead with a short objective, then education, then skills and activities. Fill the experience section with babysitting, lawn care, tutoring, volunteering, and school projects, each written with a specific number. No paid job history is normal at 16, so treat unpaid and informal work as real experience, because employers do.
What should a teenager put on a resume?
Contact details, a one-line objective, current school and GPA, skills, and any activities or informal work like babysitting, lawn care, sports, or clubs. Add anything that shows reliability, teamwork, or responsibility. Keep it to a single page and use real numbers instead of vague words like helpful or hardworking.
Do you need a resume for your first job at 16?
Often yes. Many retail, food service, and summer jobs ask for one, and having a resume ready makes you look prepared even when it is optional. A one-page resume with school, skills, and informal work sets you apart from other teens who show up with nothing written down.
What is a good objective for a teenager's resume?
Name your grade level, one or two reliable traits, and the exact role. Example: Responsible 16-year-old sophomore with strong time management and customer service skills seeking a part-time crew member role to provide friendly, dependable service on weekends and after school.
What should a 16 year old put on a resume with no experience?
Put your education first, then activities that show reliability: sports teams, clubs, volunteering, babysitting, lawn care, tutoring. Add a short skills list with things you can actually demonstrate, like cash handling, customer service, or basic Excel. One page, four sections, no filler.
How do you make a resume for a teenager?
Start with the template on this page, fill in your name, school and graduation year, then write two or three bullets for each activity you have done. Each bullet needs a number: how many hours, how many kids, how much money handled. Save it as a PDF named FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.
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