CV for a 16 year old: First CV Template

CV for a 16 year old: First CV Template

Whether you’re a school-leaver looking for their first job, or continuing study and looking for a part-time job, one thing is true. You need money. Your age and lack of experience limit you to a few particular choices, but also, limit your competition.

With this guide, you will be the most popular 16 year old in town. At least with shop and restaurant owners. You will learn how to display transferable skills to make sure your CV fits any job, and write a better CV for a 16-year-old than most 32-year-olds would do.

CV template for a 16-year-old

Aaliyah Lambert

49 Caradon Hill

Tytherington

SK10 5XF

07032104360

aaliyah@lambert.com

Personal Profile

Diligent and hard-working A-Level student seeking to leverage interpersonal skills and friendly demeanour to build lasting relationships with the clientele of John’s Newsagents. Aiming to study Accounting at University of Derby in 2022, I have an A* in Maths, and a keen eye for detail that will not allow mistakes to slip past. I am used to juggling multiple responsibilities at a time as the Women’s Football Sixth Form Captain, and having held a morning paper round since 2016.

Education

A-levels: Maths, Statistics, History, September 2020 — June 2022 (Expected)

Tytherington Academy, Tytherington, UK

9 GCSEs including English and Maths, June 2020

Tytherington Academy, Tytherington, UK

A* — English, Maths, History, Geography, Physics

A — Chemistry, Biology, Art, French

Skills

Microsoft Excel
Sage Accounting
Leadership
Interpersonal Communication
Team Work

Hobbies and Interests

Tytherington Academy Women’s Football Team Captain (2018-present)
Running for Charity: £2000+ raised for charities since 2016

Languages

French (Basic)
Italian (Basic)

That’s the best format of CV for 16-year-olds. Let’s write your own curriculum vitae:

1. Write a personal statement

Here’s something you may not know: The person reading your CV could spend less on reading it than you do viewing an Insta story. One study found that the average recruiter looks at a CV for 7.4 seconds. How to make sure you don’t get swiped left? Start your CV with a personal statement.

A solid CV personal statement is full of facts and ambition, not empty statements like ‘detail-oriented, punctual and reliable’. Put it at the top of your resume to capture the reader’s interest. Focus on your biggest achievements that are relevant to the role, or achievements that show maturity and work ethic, like sporting or hobby success. You can also write a CV objective presenting what you believe you can bring to the company.

CV for 16 year old personal statement example

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

2. Include an education section in your CV for 16 year old

Your education is about all you’ve got at this point, so make the most of it. List your grades above A, and in the case of you having a lot of lower grades, for example 4 passing grades, simply record it as ‘4 GCSEs’. If they include Maths and English, specify that, those are more important.

List the education you are continuing with an expected graduation date.

CV for 16 year old education section

Education

A-levels: Maths, Statistics, History, September 2020 — June 2022 (Expected)

Tytherington Academy, Tytherington, UK

9 GCSEs including English and Maths, June 2020

Tytherington Academy, Tytherington, UK

A* — English, Maths, History, Geography, Physics

A — Chemistry, Biology, Art, French

3. List your transferable skills

You are scarce on work experience, but you have been around. You have done things. Think about things you did as part of your school, extracurricular activities, volunteering or hobbies, that showcase the skills as you will be using in your new job.

Applying for a data entry job? Something as simple as playing a lot of computer games can be an advantage, if you take a typing speed test to prove it. If you have sporting achievements, they can show leadership and teamwork like no other.

Try to list a mix of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are teachable abilities such as IT skills. Soft skills are people skills such as teamwork or effective communication.

If you are really struggling to fill the page, consider adding a sentence of explanation of your achievements in those skills to each bullet point.

CV for a 16-year-old: skills example

Skills

Medical Record Entry: Over 5,000 medical records entered.
Scheduling: Over 400 appointments a month with 100% accuracy.
75 WPM Typing Speed
Active Listening
Teamwork

4. Add additional sections to your CV for 16 year old

Here is where you get to stand out a little bit. Most 16-year-olds will have no idea how to do this correctly. They will list a few words about their normal, kid hobbies. You must think about what shows the employer transferable skills and a strong work ethic.

Volunteering is something that 82% of managers consider in their choice. Awards show achievement. Sporting successes show teamwork. Languages are always good. All those things together show you can multitask.

Don't list references on your CV, though. Recruiters know they can ask for them.

CV for 16 year old additional sections

Volunteering

Volunteer Cook— High Street Initiative (2019-present)

Hobbies and Interests

Tytherington Academy Women’s Football Team Captain (2018-present)
Running for Charity: £2000+ raised for charities since 2016

Languages

French (Basic)
Italian (Basic)

5. Write a cover letter

A 16-year-old’s cover letter is never easy reading. It is either a copied basic cover letter template with the name scribbled on it, or a very worrying image of the chaos and inexperience of a 16-year-old. But it doesn’t mean you can’t do this right.

The first paragraph of your cover letter should hook them with your most important selling point. The middle paragraph should explain two or three additional arguments for why they should hire you, and the last paragraph should explain what you can do for them.

Remember: If you are sending a CV with no experience, this is your chance to highlight your transferable skills.

6. CV for a 16-year-old format

One more thing: most 16-year-olds CVs will be like their chat-up lines. Sloppy at best. Disgusting at worst. To at least appear organised, mature and reliable, follow these simple CV layout rules strictly:

Use an easy-to-read CV font. Arial and Calibri are classic. Didot is wild.
Use 1-inch margins on all sides.
Put bold, simple headings for each CV section.
Space sections out with lines to create a CV structure you can skim-read.
Unless told not to, save your CV in a PDF format.

Leave your contact details near the top of your CV. Don't list such details as your date of birth or gender. Make sure your email address looks professional.

Thinking of using free CV templates you found online? Make sure they are ATS-friendly. ATSs are those robots that scan your CV. And they usually don't like visual CVs.

When sending in your job application, don't use 'Please find attached my CV for your consideration / review / reference'. It's too vintage. Instead, try something that sounds more natural: 'I’ve included my CV below' or 'Please consider the attached CV'.

Remember that at this point of your professional life your CV should be one page long. Don't worry if you feel it's too empty. It's better to leave some white space than to lie on your CV. Recruiters don't expect long CVs from teenagers.

And that's it! Now you know what a good CV should look like. Go get them!

CR :: https://www.livecareer.co.uk/cv-examples/cv-for-16-year-old

22.4.22