How to Make a Resume for Your First Job (A Fill-In Template and Two Examples)
Build a first-job resume with a fill-in template, two fictional examples and ways to describe real school activities, volunteering and informal work.
On this page
A first-job resume can show contact details, education, relevant activities or informal work, and skills you can demonstrate. A short objective or availability line can help when it answers a question in the posting. You do not need to invent paid work to fill the page.
Choose examples that show what you did: a school project, regular volunteering, club responsibilities or appropriate informal work. Write the action, useful context and a supported result or scope. This guide gives you a fill-in template, an activity-to-resume table and two fictional examples to adapt.
Copy this fill-in template
Copy the structure below and replace every bracket with an accurate fact. Delete sections that do not apply. A focused page is often enough for a first application; follow any employer instructions and keep the text readable.
Contact details
- [First and last name]
- [City or region] | [phone number] | [professional email]
Use contact details you check regularly and proofread them carefully. You do not need a full street address or sensitive identifiers on a general resume.
Objective
- [Target role] at [company]. [One supported strength and the experience behind it.]
An objective is optional, and it can be useful at different career stages when it clarifies the target. An illustrative first-job line is: "Seeking a cashier role, with cash-handling experience from school concession volunteering." Use only a claim you can support. See the objective examples for other structures.
Education
- [School or training provider], [location]
- [Completed credential or expected graduation month and year]
- [Optional relevant coursework, activities, honors or verified GPA]
Education can sit near the top when it is your strongest relevant evidence. Label an unfinished program accurately and include coursework only when it helps show readiness for the role.
Experience and activities
- [Role or activity], [organization or appropriate description] | [accurate dates]
- [Action + task + relevant context]
- [Supported scope or result, with a number only if reliable]
School activities, volunteering, projects and informal work can demonstrate relevant skills. Identify the type of experience clearly; do not label every arrangement self-employment or present unpaid work as employment. The UC Davis resume guide includes relevant projects and transferable skills among the evidence candidates can describe.
Skills
- [Relevant skills the posting asks for that you can demonstrate]
Match the wording only where it accurately describes you. A short list of supported technical, language or service skills is more useful than copying requirements you have never performed. There is no fixed skill-count rule.
Availability
- Available [days and hours you can genuinely work]
Include availability when the role needs it, especially for shift or after-school work. If you are under 18, check the permitted duties, hours and any work-permit requirements with the employer and the relevant labor authority. U.S. federal and state youth rules can differ.
Turn everyday experience into resume lines
The hard part of a first resume is not the format. It is believing that what you already do counts. It counts when you write it as an action with a scope: what you did, how often, for whom, and what came of it. Every example below is fictional; swap in your own numbers and names, and only numbers that are true.
| What you did | How to write it on your resume |
|---|---|
| Captain of a school sports team | Team captain, varsity soccer (Aug 2024 – present). Led warm-ups and drills for a 20-player squad twice a week; coordinated carpools and equipment for away games. |
| Volunteered at a church or community event | Volunteer, St. Anne's food drive (Nov 2024 – present). Sorted and packed donated food one Saturday a month and helped set up distribution tables for 100+ visitors. |
| Helped in a family business | Weekend assistant, family store (Jun 2024–present). Stocked shelves and bagged purchases under supervision, keeping aisles and displays organized. |
| Held a role in a school club | Treasurer, Spanish Club (Sep 2025 – present). Tracked dues and event spending for a 25-member club and reported the balance at monthly meetings. |
| Pet sitting or dog walking | Pet-care helper, private clients (May 2024–present). Followed owners’ written feeding and walking instructions and kept agreed visit records. |
Each fictional entry identifies the role, context and dates, then describes something the person actually did in that scenario. In your own version, use accurate role labels and include only duties you were permitted to perform. A specific description is enough without an invented performance figure.
Example 1: a 16-year-old applying to a grocery store
This is a complete first resume for a high school junior with no prior retail role. It is illustrative: every name, place and detail is fictional, so model the structure, not the content.
Maya Torres
Riverside, CA | (951) 555-0142 | maya@example.com
Objective: Courtesy clerk position at FreshMart on Magnolia Avenue. I've kept a twice-monthly volunteer shift at a food pantry for over a year, and I'm comfortable helping strangers find what they need.
Education
- Riverside High School, Riverside, CA. Junior, expected graduation June 2028
- Honor roll, fall 2025. Relevant coursework: Intro to Business
Experience and activities
- Volunteer, Riverside Community Food Pantry (Sep 2024 – present). Sort and shelve donated food two Saturdays a month, about 30 boxes per shift. Greet visitors at check-in and walk them through the pickup process.
- Babysitter, private families (Jun 2024 – present). Care for children ages 4 to 9 for two regular families, handling meals, homework and bedtimes. Trusted with house keys and emergency plans by both families.
- Yearbook Club, Riverside High School (Sep 2025 – present). Photograph school events and deliver edited photos by weekly layout deadlines.
Skills: Friendly, patient communication · Reliability (no missed pantry shifts since starting) · Basic math · Google Docs and Sheets · Conversational Spanish
Availability: Weekday evenings after 4 p.m., weekends, summer availability subject to applicable youth-work rules
The fictional example links real kinds of activities to the role: sorting donations, answering questions, keeping appointments and meeting project deadlines. Your version should be just as specific while using your own work, dates and availability. Be ready to explain any line without copying the sample’s achievements.
Example 2: an 18-year-old applying to a restaurant and a retail store
Jordan’s fictional example shows two possible target objectives using the same factual background. Only one objective belongs in each application. The work entries may also need reordering or rewriting when the jobs have different requirements; swapping the objective alone is not a universal tailoring rule.
Jordan Avery
Columbus, OH | (614) 555-0188 | jordan@example.com
Objective (restaurant application): Host position at Maple Street Diner. Two school years of taking orders and handling cash at a busy concession stand taught me to stay calm and friendly during a rush.
Objective (retail application): Sales associate position at Oakwood Outfitters. I've handled cash and kept lines moving at crowded school events, and I learned to manage my own schedule running a summer lawn care round.
Education
- Columbus East High School, Columbus, OH. Graduated June 2026
Experience and activities
- Concession stand volunteer, Columbus East Athletics Boosters (Aug 2024 – May 2026). Took orders, handled cash and made change at home games, working a two-person window through halftime rushes. Counted the cash box with the booster treasurer at the end of each shift.
- Lawn care, self-employed (summers 2024–2026). Built a round of eight weekly clients through flyers and word of mouth. Scheduled jobs around weather, collected payment, and kept every client across three summers.
- Student council member, Columbus East High School (Sep 2025 – Jun 2026). Co-ran a two-day bake sale fundraiser, reconciling the cash till against the sales sheet each evening.
Skills: Cash handling and counting · Customer service in crowds · Self-managed scheduling · Teamwork on shared shifts · Clear, polite communication with customers and clients
Availability: Open availability, including weekends and holidays
The example emphasizes cash handling, scheduling and teamwork. Those details are useful only where they match the posting and are true of the applicant. In a real resume, keep the evidence you can explain and tailor the emphasis to each application.
Before you send it: a five-minute check
- Ask permission before listing a reference and keep their contact details separately unless the application asks for them. A teacher, coach or volunteer supervisor may be appropriate.
- Check phone, email, dates and organization names against your records.
- Ask a trusted reader to check clarity, accuracy and formatting.
- Follow the accepted file type. Inspect the exported pages and any application fields instead of assuming PDF or DOCX will parse perfectly.
Two follow-up reads if your situation needs more: our resume for teens example walks a full teen resume line by line, and how to write a resume with no experience covers the same problem for adults and recent graduates. For the references question in detail, see should you put references on a resume.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I include if I have never had paid work?
Relevant school projects, volunteering, clubs, appropriate informal work, education and skills you can demonstrate. Label each experience accurately and describe your contribution. Do not invent employment or fill the page with unsupported qualities.
- How do I make a resume for my first job as a fresher?
Start with contact details, education or training, relevant projects and activities, and supported skills. Add a short objective when it clarifies the target. Use the posting to select evidence and keep unpaid, informal and paid work clearly identified.
- What are good skills to put on a resume?
Skills requested by the job that you can demonstrate, such as relevant software, languages, teamwork, organization or customer service. Support the important ones in an activity or work example, and leave unfamiliar requirements off your list.
- How do I get a resume if I've never had one?
Start in a blank editable document or a suitable template and fill it with your own facts. A school counselor or career center may offer feedback. Save an editable source and export the file type the employer accepts, checking the result before you submit.
- Do you need a resume for your first job at 16?
It depends on the employer. Some require an application form rather than a resume. A short resume can help organize your details, but it does not replace the required form or youth-work eligibility checks.
- Does a first job resume have to be one page?
A focused page often works for a short history. There is no universal rule: follow the employer’s requirements and use enough readable space for relevant evidence. Avoid adding unsupported material merely to fill a page.
Your next step
Use an editable document or a resume template to organize your own activities and evidence. A free Roleframe account can create a resume and export PDF; live checks have a finite free allowance. Whatever tool you use, verify the wording, dates, eligibility and final file before submitting it.
Ready to start your new resume?
Writing a resume takes time, and even a polished one can miss what a hiring manager is looking for. Roleframe helps you build a clear, ATS-safe resume in minutes and tailor it to the job you want.
