A first-job resume for a teenager works when it treats babysitting, chores, volunteering, and school activities as real experience — not filler around an empty work-history section. If you're under 18, check whether your state requires working papers before you apply, keep the resume to one page, and lead with what you're reliably available to do.
What Counts as Experience at 15-18
At this age almost nobody has a traditional paid job history, and employers hiring teenagers know that. What they're actually checking is whether you show up, follow through, and can describe what you did in plain terms. That means the following all belong in your experience section, listed the same way you'd list a part-time job — with a title, a rough timeframe, and 1-2 bullet points:
- Babysitting or pet sitting — name the recurring nature of it ("weekly, for 2 families") rather than "sometimes."
- Yard work, snow shoveling, or odd jobs — especially if you did it for multiple households or had repeat customers.
- Tutoring or helping younger kids with schoolwork — even informal, unpaid tutoring for a neighbor or sibling's friend.
- Volunteering — a food drive, animal shelter, place of worship, or community cleanup.
- School clubs, teams, or student government — especially any role with a title (team captain, club treasurer, event committee).
- Chores with real scope — managing the family garden, cooking dinner for the household several nights a week, or similar recurring responsibility.
For the general version of this approach — useful past age 18 too, for anyone with zero paid work history regardless of age — see our no-experience resume example.
Working Papers and Age Constraints
In many US states, minors need a work permit — often called "working papers" — before an employer can legally put them on the schedule. The exact age this kicks in, which industries are exempt, and how many hours you can work on a school night all vary by state. Some states require the permit only under 16; others require it up to 18. This is not something a resume can settle for you — it's determined by your state's labor department and sometimes your school.
Check before you apply, not after you're hired
Search "[your state] minor work permit" on your state's official Department of Labor site to confirm the age threshold, hour limits, and how to get the permit (often through your school). Getting this sorted before you apply means you're ready to start immediately once an employer says yes — a real advantage over another applicant who has to go get paperwork first.
You don't need to put your permit status on the resume itself. If it comes up in the application or interview, simply confirm you have (or can quickly get) any required working papers for your state.
What a First Employer Actually Reads For
Managers hiring teenagers for entry-level retail, food service, or seasonal roles are not scoring your resume against a college graduate's. They're scanning for three things, in this order:
1. Availability
Can you work the shifts they're short on — weekends, after school, school breaks? If your target job posting mentions specific shift needs and you can meet them, say so directly in your summary or cover letter.
2. Reliability, shown through anything recurring
A babysitting gig you kept for a year, a volunteer shift you never missed, a club role you held for two semesters — recurring commitments are the closest thing you have to a reference for "shows up on time." Lead with whichever activity you did the longest.
3. Basic professionalism
A clean, one-page resume with no typos and a readable layout signals you took the application seriously. That's a low bar to clear, but it's one a surprising number of applicants miss — so clearing it puts you ahead.
Before / After: A Worked Example
The fix is almost always the same: name the recurring nature of the activity and give it a number, instead of describing it as a one-off favor.
Babysitting
Before: "I babysit sometimes for people in my neighborhood."
After: "Babysitting — Provided regular after-school and weekend childcare for [number] families over [X months/years], including meal prep and homework help for children ages [X-X]."
Yard work
Before: "Mowed some lawns over the summer."
After: "Lawn Care — Maintained weekly lawn mowing and yard cleanup for [number] repeat customers each summer, managing my own scheduling and collecting payment directly."
School club
Before: "Member of the yearbook club."
After: "Yearbook Club, Layout Committee — Designed [number] spread layouts per issue and coordinated photo submissions with [number] classmates ahead of each deadline."
The bracketed numbers are placeholders — fill in your real counts. Don't invent a figure you can't stand behind if asked about it in an interview; a reasonable estimate from memory ("about 3 families" or "roughly every weekend for a summer") is fine and expected at this stage.
How to Structure the Resume
One-page layout that works for a first resume
- Contact info — name, phone, email, city/state (no full street address needed).
- Short summary — 2 lines: your school year, your availability, and one strength (reliable, good with kids, fast learner).
- Skills — a short list: customer service, communication, time management, whatever tools you're comfortable with (POS systems, basic Excel, social media).
- Experience — babysitting, yard work, tutoring, volunteering, club roles — each with a title, timeframe, and 1-2 bullets.
- Education — your school, expected graduation year, and any honors or relevant coursework.
Once you've built the structure, start from a clean layout rather than a blank page — our free resume builder for students gives you an ATS-friendly one-page template you can fill in directly.
See a full first resume, filled in
For a complete, filled-out example built the same way — real section structure, sample bullets, and a copy-paste bullet bank — see our no-experience resume example. It's written for any age, so use it alongside the teen-specific guidance above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as experience on a teenager's first resume?
Babysitting, yard work, tutoring younger kids, volunteering, school clubs, sports team leadership roles, and any recurring chore or task you did for someone outside your immediate family all count. List each one with a rough timeframe and 1-2 bullet points describing what you actually did — treat it the same way you'd list a part-time job.
Do I need working papers to apply for a job as a teenager?
In many US states, minors under 18 (often under 16) need a work permit or 'working papers' before an employer can legally hire them — rules vary by state and by the employer's industry. Check your state's Department of Labor website for the exact age and hour restrictions before you apply, and mention on the resume or in the application that you can provide working papers if required.
Should a 15 or 16-year-old's resume look different from a college student's?
Yes, mainly in what it leans on. A college student's resume can point to coursework, internships, and campus organizations. A 15-17 year-old's resume leans harder on babysitting, chores, volunteering, and school activities, since there's usually less to draw from — but the structure (summary, skills, experience, education) stays the same.
How long should a teenager's first resume be?
One page, and it doesn't need to be full. A half-page resume with 3-4 well-described activities reads better than a padded page trying to stretch thin content. Employers hiring teens for entry-level roles expect a short resume — the goal is showing reliability, not a long history.
What do first-time employers actually look for on a teen's resume?
Availability (can you work the shifts they need), reliability (did you show up consistently for whatever you've done before), and basic professionalism (a clean, readable resume with no typos). Retail and food service managers hiring teens are usually not evaluating your resume for polish — they're checking whether you can commit to a schedule and communicate clearly.
Should I list my age or grade on my resume?
It's optional and not required. Your school and expected graduation year in the Education section already signals your age range. If a job posting specifically requires a minimum age, the application form will usually ask directly rather than relying on your resume.
The Bottom Line
Your first resume doesn't need a work history to be good — it needs to show you're available, reliable, and take the process seriously. Name the recurring babysitting gig, the yard work customers, the club role, the volunteer shift, with real timeframes and rough numbers. Check your state's working papers requirement before you apply. Keep it to one page. That's enough to get a first "yes."