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First-time Teen Resume
Tips
Writing your first resume is something a lot
of teens worry about when they’re preparing to look
for their first job. But creating a resume doesn’t
have to be scary or difficult. All you have to do is remain
focused on the purpose of a resume, that is to get interest
and interviews, and the rest will fall into place.
This is your first job so all your resume has to do is
work to get you the interview that you need to get the job
that you want. All it has to do is answer the employer’s
question about whether or not you will be able to add value
to his or her company.
So make the goal of your resume to clearly communicate
your strengths to your prospective employer. This way you’ll
effectively answer the employer’s question and make
yourself a better candidate for the job.
Don’t worry that you might not have enough experience
to make an interesting resume. No one expects you to have
mounds of information or experience on your resume. Besides,
once you start thinking about it, you’ll probably
surprise yourself with the skills that you do have.
Your resume will be unique to you and depend on your interests,
your personality, and what you did before you started looking
for a paying job. A few things to put into your first resume
could be:
· any technical or computer skills you may have
· any major school accomplishments like a high GPA
· any work experience you might have, be it paid
or unpaid
Use action words, like organized and created, to describe
your work experiences. And if you can, get someone else
to critique your resume. It’s always very difficult
to find minor errors in your own work because you’re
so close to it. A fresh set of eyes will help you make your
resume as polished as possible.
Always type your resume on good quality white paper. Make
sure there are no ink smudges or dirt and creases on the
paper. Try to keep your resume to one page.
An eye-catching resume is as important as a resume with
great content. Remember, the employer will be looking at
possibly hundreds of resumes. He or she will be human if
his or her eyes get sore. So, many employers will immediately
toss away the resumes that look to cluttered, too difficult
to read, or are dirty and unprofessional looking.
You have approximately 20 to 30 seconds to entice the interviewer
to read your resume. So do your best to make yours stand
out without resorting to colored text or flashy paper. If
you can, avoid the resume templates in MS Word everyone
uses. Or if you need to use one of these templates, modify
it so that it looks different.
Always make sure you include all contact information on
every resume. Contact information like name, address, phone
number and email address are usually what employers look
for.
Some employers request references immediately. If they
do, go ahead and give the references as long as you’ve
already gotten the okay from the people you want as your
references. Otherwise, state that references are available
upon request.
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