Title – Resume Writing for Teens

By – Jennie Withers

Primary Subject – Other

Secondary Subjects – Language Arts

Grade Level – 8-12

Optional Resources:

• 
  
  Hey, Get a Job!
  
  
  available at
  

  http://www.heygetajob.com

  
  (optional, but very helpful)
  

• 
  Free resume template
  
  s for teens at
  

  http://www.heygetajob.com

  
  (if unavailable, try MS Word or Publisher resume templates)

Duration:

2 50- minute class periods

Day 1:

Objective:

• 
  Students
  
  learn the purpose of a resume and
  
  the basic rules for writing a resume
  
  . They will then begin to create a resume of their own. (Section 3 – Hey, Get a Job!)
  
• 
  Language Arts
  
  teachers may choose to have students write a resume for a character in a novel or story instead or as a warm-up for students writing their own resume. For example, what if Beowulf had to apply for a job? What would his resume look like?
• 
  Social Studies
  
  teachers might assign students the task of creating a resume for an historical figure at a certain time in their life. They could compare resumes of presidents before they were elected. What famous person was a haberdasher and who was a house painter before they stepped on the world stage?

Materials:

• examples (both good and bad)
  
• a worksheet or questionnaire to get them started on their own resumes

Procedure:

• List what a resume is used for:
  • getting a job
  • college applications
  • scholarship applications
  • to give to those you would like to write letter of recommendations for you

• Hand out or project resume examples:
  • Discuss which are good and which are not.
  • There are some good ones from teens on www.heygetajob.com on the resume templates link. This should lead into a discussion of the
    
    basics of resume writing
    
    .
    • Resumes must be typed
      
    • Print resumes on high quality paper – office supply stores call it resume paper
      
    • Keep your resume to one page
      
    • Use a proper format – use a template
      
    • Write in the active voice
      • No: I have written
      • Yes: I wrote
    • Focus on these three skills – point out to students that even if they have no work experience, they should have skills to put in a resume
      • communication skills
      • problem solving skills
      • technical skills
    • Pay attention to words
      • Brainstorm a list of words with students to use on resumes.
      • They should come up with 25-50 to get the idea of work-oriented action words.
      • Some examples:
        assisted, implemented, contributed, organized, planned, trained, supervised, selected, earned, presented, mediated, taught, represented
    • Tell the truth – that includes exaggeration
      
    • References – this is often times not on a resume, but they need to understand they will need to have contact information for the standard three references
      
    • Customize the resume for the purpose – a job resume is going to be different from a resume for a college application.
      
    • Check, check and double check and then have someone else proof it

• Create a worksheet or some questions that include things teens can put on a resume. It’s a way to get them writing and it is a lot less intimidating than giving them a template and telling them to plug it in. Things to be included:
  • 
    Objective
    
    – one sentence that states why you’re sending the resume to them and it’s a worthwhile place to plug some positive characteristics.
    
  • Challenging or relevant workplace oriented
    
    classes
    
    they’ve taken in school. Their
    
    GPA
    
    , if it’s good.
    
  • 
    Work experience
    
    if they have any. Most recent job, what they did and for whom, list of duties (remind them of the words you brainstormed earlier).
    
  • Volunteer or
    
    community service
    
    .
    • Stress the importance of this, particularly if they have little to no work experience.
    • List their title or roll, what they did and for whom, list of duties.
  • 
    Talents or skills
    
    they have that would be relevant.
    
  • 
    Honors and awards
    
    (academic, athletic, community)
    
  • 
    Extra-curricular activities
    
    – clubs, associations, activities outside of school, hobbies and interests.

Day 2:

Objective:

Students will

create professional resume using a template

. (Free templates that were designed for teens with little to no work experience are at


http://www.heygetajob.com


. If this resource is unavailable, MS Word and Publisher have basic templates that could be adapted.)

Materials:

• computer and printer
  
• resume template

Procedure:

• Show students the templates available to them.
  • They need to choose the template that works best for them.
  • For example, if they don’t have any work experience, they don’t want to choose one that highlights work experience.
• Students need to copy and paste the chosen template into a word document. They can make changes on a web template, but they can’t save it.
  
• Input the information they wrote in the previous class, print and turn it in.

Notes and Suggestions:

• I go through my students’ resumes and then they revise and turn back in.
• The second time I have volunteers from the business community look at them and write on the resume whether they would interview the teen or not.
• My students love this because it makes the experience more real and more meaningful to them.

E-Mail

Jennie Withers

!