How to Write Your First Resume (With No Experience)

What to Include Instead of Work Experience

No paid work experience? No problem. Employers hiring teenagers are looking for potential, not a work history. Here's what you can include instead, and why each one matters.

School Achievements and Subjects

Your school performance tells employers a lot about you. Good grades show you can follow instructions and meet deadlines. Even if your grades aren't amazing, you can highlight subjects you're strong in or genuinely interested in. Applying for a retail job? Mention if you're good at maths. Going for a cafe job? Talk about food tech or hospitality studies if you take them.

Include any awards, certificates, or recognition you've received. This could be academic awards, perfect attendance, or being selected for any school programs. These show you stand out in some way.

Volunteer Work

Volunteering is real experience, even though you weren't paid for it. This includes helping at school events, volunteering at local charities, assisting at sports clubs, helping at your place of worship, or participating in community clean-up days. If you committed your time and worked alongside others, it counts.

When describing volunteer work, focus on what you actually did, not just where you helped. "Helped set up and pack down equipment for school sports carnival" is better than just "Volunteered at school."

Sports and Extracurriculars

Being part of a sports team shows you can work with others, follow instructions from a coach, commit to regular practice, and handle pressure. Team sports are especially valuable because most jobs involve working alongside other people.

Other extracurriculars matter too. Drama club shows communication skills. Debating shows you can think on your feet. Music shows discipline and practice. Scouts or Guides shows responsibility and leadership. Even gaming clubs can demonstrate teamwork and strategy if you frame it right.

Skills From Hobbies

Your hobbies develop real skills, even if you don't realise it. Building things (Lego, models, crafts) shows attention to detail. Cooking or baking shows you can follow instructions precisely. Gaming can demonstrate problem-solving, teamwork in online games, and communication. Social media management, even for personal accounts, shows digital literacy.

The key is connecting your hobby to skills an employer values. Don't just list "gaming" on your resume. Instead, mention the skill: "Strong problem-solving and team coordination from online gaming."

Informal Work

Babysitting, dog walking, lawn mowing, car washing, helping neighbours, or working in a family business all count as experience. These jobs show you understand what it means to do work for someone else and do it well. They demonstrate reliability, responsibility, and the ability to complete tasks independently.

When listing informal work, treat it professionally. "Babysitter for neighbourhood families (2022-present)" looks better than just "babysitting." If you have regular clients, you can mention "regular clients" or "repeat bookings" to show people trust you enough to hire you again.

Resume Structure

A first resume should be simple and easy to read. Here's the order of sections that works best for teenagers with no formal work experience.

1. Contact Details

Put your name in a larger font at the top, then list your phone number and email address. Include your suburb and state (you don't need your full street address for privacy reasons). Make sure your email address sounds professional. If your current email is something like "soccerking2009@gmail.com," create a new one using your name.

2. Objective or Personal Statement

This is 2-3 sentences at the top explaining who you are and what you're looking for. Keep it simple and genuine. Something like: "Year 10 student at [School Name] looking for a casual role where I can develop customer service skills. Available weekends and after school. Reliable, friendly, and eager to learn."

Customise this slightly for each job. If you're applying to McDonald's, mention you're interested in the fast food industry. For Woolworths, mention retail. This shows you actually want this specific job, not just any job.

3. Education

List your current school, the year you're in, and your expected graduation year. If you have good grades, mention them. Include any relevant subjects, especially if they relate to the job. Awards or achievements go here too.

4. Skills

List 4-6 skills relevant to the job you're applying for. Think about what the employer needs. For most teen jobs, good skills to include are: communication, teamwork, time management, reliability, customer service, cash handling (if applicable), and basic computer skills.

Only list skills you can actually demonstrate. If they ask about a skill in an interview, you need to be able to give an example of when you've used it.

5. Experience and Activities

This is where you list everything from the "What to Include" section above. Put your most impressive or relevant items first. For each item, include what you did, where, and when. Add 1-2 bullet points explaining what you learned or achieved.

6. References

Either include 1-2 references with their name, relationship to you, and contact details, or write "References available on request." Good references include teachers, coaches, parents of kids you've babysat, or family friends who can speak to your character. Never list family members as references.

Tips for Each Section

Making Your Contact Details Professional

Your email address matters more than you might think. Employers form impressions quickly, and a silly email address can work against you. Create a free Gmail address using your name, like "firstname.lastname@gmail.com" or "firstnamelastname@gmail.com". Check this email regularly, as employers will use it to contact you.

Make sure your voicemail greeting is appropriate. If an employer calls and hears a joke greeting or loud music, they might not leave a message. A simple "Hi, you've reached [your name], please leave a message" is fine.

Writing an Objective That Stands Out

Avoid generic statements that could apply to anyone. "Hardworking student seeking employment" tells employers nothing. Instead, be specific about what you offer and what you want. Mention your availability, as this is crucial for casual work. Employers need to know you can actually work the shifts they need filled.

Describing Skills With Evidence

Anyone can claim to have good communication skills. What makes your resume stronger is briefly showing where those skills come from. Instead of just listing "communication," you could write "Communication: developed through school debating and customer interaction during school fundraisers." This is more believable and memorable.

Formatting for Readability

Use a clean, readable font like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica. Font size should be 10-12 points for body text, slightly larger for headings and your name. Use consistent formatting throughout, meaning if one heading is bold, all headings should be bold. Leave some white space so the resume doesn't look crammed. Save and send as a PDF to preserve formatting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the errors that make hiring managers put your resume in the "no" pile. Avoiding them puts you ahead of many other applicants.

Spelling and Grammar Errors

This is the number one resume killer. A resume with spelling mistakes tells employers you don't pay attention to detail and didn't care enough to check your work. Use spell check, then read your resume out loud, then ask someone else to read it. Fresh eyes catch mistakes you'll miss.

Lying or Exaggerating

Don't claim to have skills or experience you don't have. Employers will find out, either in the interview or on the job. Being caught in a lie means instant rejection or getting fired. It's fine to present your genuine experience in the best light, but outright fabrication will backfire.

Being Too Vague

"Helped out at school events" is vague. "Assisted with setup and pack-down at three school sports carnivals, including coordinating equipment for 200+ students" is specific and impressive. Use numbers when you can. Specific details make your experience feel real and substantial.

Using an Unprofessional Email Address

We mentioned this above, but it bears repeating. Take five minutes to create a professional email address. It's free and easy, and using a silly address makes you look immature before the employer even reads your resume.

Making It Too Long

Your first resume should be one page. Employers spend about 30 seconds on each resume, and they will not read a second page from someone with no work history. Cut anything that isn't relevant or impressive. Quality over quantity.

Forgetting to Include Availability

For casual teen jobs, your availability is crucial information. Mention in your objective or in a separate section when you can work. Be honest about school commitments, sport schedules, and any regular activities. Employers would rather know upfront than find out you can't work their busiest shift after they've hired you.

Resume Examples by Job Type

Different jobs value different things. Here's how to tailor your resume for the most common first jobs.

Fast Food (McDonald's, KFC, Hungry Jack's)

Fast food restaurants want to know you can work in a fast-paced environment, follow procedures, and work as part of a team. Emphasise any experience working under pressure, like school exams or sports competitions. Mention if you're good at following instructions precisely. Food handling certificates or hospitality subjects at school are a plus. Highlight that you're available for peak times like weekends and school holidays.

Retail (Woolworths, Coles, Target)

Retail jobs focus on customer service and reliability. Emphasise any experience dealing with people, even if it's helping customers at school fundraisers or front-of-house work at school events. Mention maths skills for handling money. If you've ever organised or sorted anything (your room, a collection, files for a teacher), that shows the organisational skills needed for stocking shelves.

Casual Work (Cafes, Cinemas, Local Businesses)

Smaller businesses and casual roles often value personality and reliability over specific skills. These employers want to know you'll show up on time, be pleasant to work with, and learn quickly. Emphasise your enthusiasm, your connection to the local area if relevant, and any experience showing initiative. Personal recommendations matter a lot for these jobs, so mention if a current employee referred you or if you're a regular customer.

Getting Started Checklist

Ready to write your resume? Work through these steps one by one.

• 1.Create a professional email address - If you don't have one with your name, set up a new Gmail account now. It takes two minutes.
• 2.Make a list of everything you've done - Write down all school achievements, sports, hobbies, volunteer work, and informal jobs. Don't filter yet; just list everything.
• 3.Choose what's most relevant - Look at the job you want and pick 4-6 items from your list that best show you have what they're looking for.
• 4.Open a blank document - Use Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or any word processor. Start with a simple template or just a blank page.
• 5.Fill in each section - Follow the structure above. Contact details, objective, education, skills, experience/activities, references.
• 6.Check for errors - Use spell check, read it aloud, and ask a parent or teacher to review it. Fresh eyes catch mistakes.
• 7.Save as PDF - When submitting your resume, save it as a PDF so the formatting stays intact. Name it something like "FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf".
• 8.Customise for each application - Tweak your objective and highlight different skills depending on where you're applying. One generic resume works, but a tailored one works better.

Next Steps

Once your resume is ready, you'll need a few more things before you start applying.

• Apply for your Tax File Number (TFN) - You'll need this before you start working, and it takes a few days to arrive.
• Check if you need a work permit in your state - Some states require permits for under-15s. See your state guide for details.
• Prepare for interviews - Once employers see your resume, they may call you for an interview. Think about common questions and practice your answers.