A 14-year-old child may not have much of a job history behind him, but experience and teamwork skills can stand him in good stead.

If you want to help the kid write a CV for his first job, you can use all of these life skills to get him the part-time job of his dreams. Apart from the topics covered in the CV, the presentation skills are much the same as adult CVs, if perhaps simpler.

Discuss with the 14-year-old what sort of job he is looking for. Tailor his CV to a particular type of job so the potential employer can relate the skills of the job seeker to the role available.

Collect information about the kid's past experience at doing anything vaguely job-related. For example, if he helped his father tile the bathroom this can be useful for practical, hands-on part-time jobs. If the child regularly does household jobs for pocket money then this experience tells the potential employer than he is hard working.

Ask the job seeker for information about her hobbies. Hobbies fill out a CV and the kid can show leadership skills (if she is captain of a team), or teamwork skills (if she is part of one or more teams). Solitary hobbies like horse-riding or swimming may help get her a job in workplaces such as stables or gym complexes. Avid readers may swing a job in bookshops and games shop may hire computer gamers.

Collect information about potentially useful skills by asking the child what subjects he learns in school or what he spends his time doing after school. For example, computer skills he is adept at, such as e-mailing, using printers, scanners, or finding out information over the Internet, may be relevant to certain jobs such as office administration. Language skills that he gained from school may be useful in tourist-related areas of work like theme parks.

Help the child find two references to place in the CV. For a 14-year-old, these won't be ex-employers but can be family friends or authority figures such as sports coaches or schoolteachers. Referees should know the child well and be able to describe their strengths and skills to potential employers. Contact numbers are necessary for the referees so the child should ask the referee for permission in person, or over the phone, before putting his name down on paper.

Tell the child to type out the CV on the computer to make the reading easier. Allow her to write the CV in her own words but then correct grammar and spelling mistakes, as this shows she is capable of self-direction. Use a CV template option if available on the software. Place personal details such as name, address and contact number first. Then separate the remainder of the CV into sections. These are education, experience, hobbies, skills and referees.

Underline each section for clarity. Use bullet points to write each separate point, with the most recent event first. Keep the CV to one page if possible.

Read over the CV when it is complete. A 10 to 15 second skim of the CV should give the reader all of the most important points to remember.

Warning

Check the child labour laws in your state before allowing a 14 year old to do a particular job, or to work in the evening, in case the law prohibits it.