WASHINGTON - A young girl offered US First Lady Michelle Obama her father's resume at an event on Thursday attended by children of White House employees.

During the question-and-answer session, while other children asked Mrs Obama about her favourite food or colour, 10-year-old Charlotte Bell handed the First Lady a piece of paper and said: "My dad's been out of a job for three years and I wanted to give you his resume."

Mrs Obama gave the girl a long hug, US media reported.

Explaining to the other children, Mrs Obama said: "It's a little private, but she's doing something for her dad."

When the event ended, Mrs Obama took the resume, BBC reported.

The First Lady plays host to children of White House employees on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day every year.

Charlotte's mother, an Obama administration employee who did not want to be named, told the Associated Press news agency her husband had worked for the Obama campaign in 2012. He had been looking for a policy job since then.

Charlotte's family had joked over the weekend about making a job pitch to the First Lady, but her parents didn't know she would give it a try, her mother said.