Writing a first résumé is hard for teens because they don't think they have anything to put on it. A planner helps them see that they do. In this activity, students fill in a visual résumé planner, one section at a time, before they type a real résumé. Each section has a small picture and a prompt, so students think about what goes there instead of copying a template's wording.
The example is Jordan's planner for the TagBack job. It shows how school, clubs, and helping at home turn into real résumé content. The planner can be completed in Storyboard That or printed as a worksheet.
| SECTION | WHAT GOES HERE | EXAMPLE: JORDAN |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | Name, city, phone, and a professional email. | Jordan Rivera, Springfield, jordan.rivera.jobs@email.com |
| Objective | One sentence: the job you want and what you offer. | To join TagBack as a part-time order assistant and bring my experience keeping a busy store organized. |
| Skills | Three to five skills that match the job. | Customer service, cash handling, careful packing, clear writing, Google Docs and Sheets. |
| Experience | Jobs, volunteering, and responsibilities, with action verbs. | School Store Cashier: handled cash and card sales twice a week; restocked shelves; trained two new volunteers. |
| Education | School, grade, and any relevant classes or awards. | Lincoln High School, Grade 11; Intro to Business; Honor Roll. |
| References | Two adults who know your work (ask them first). | Ms. Park, School Store Advisor; Coach Ellis, Track Coach. |
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Plan your first résumé using the visual résumé planner.
Students brainstorm jobs, volunteering, clubs, sports, and responsibilities at home.
Each experience becomes one or two bullets that start with a verb such as organized, helped, or led.
Students complete contact, objective, skills, experience, education, and references in the planner.
A partner circles every action verb and suggests one detail to add.
Students turn the planner into a one-page résumé for a specific job.
Plan before typing. Have students list everything they have done, turn each item into an action-verb bullet, and fill in a planner one section at a time: contact, objective, skills, experience, education, and references. Then they type the résumé from the planner. Separating thinking from formatting keeps students focused on content instead of fonts.
Volunteering, babysitting, pet sitting, yard work, tutoring, clubs, sports, school leadership roles, and family responsibilities all count. Each shows reliability or a skill an employer wants. In the example, Jordan's experience is running the school store register, which shows cash handling, customer service, and responsibility without any paid job.
For a first résumé, a one-sentence objective helps, because it tells the employer which job the student wants and what they offer. It should be specific to the job, such as "To join TagBack as a part-time order assistant," not a generic line that could go to any employer. Students should rewrite it for each application.
Photos, age or date of birth, Social Security numbers, and unprofessional email addresses. References should appear only after the student has asked permission. Students also shouldn't exaggerate: anything on the résumé can come up in the interview, so every line should be something they can explain with an example.
Give points for completeness (every section filled), for quality (each experience starts with an action verb and includes one detail), and for fit (the skills and objective match the job the student chose). A quick peer check, where a partner circles every action verb, makes grading faster and improves the final résumé.