Perhaps the backbone of a student’s efforts in finding the perfect internship is preparing and presenting a flawless résumé that will pique the interests of employers.

Résumés are a condensed form of a student’s successes and attributes, highlighting strengths and abilities one can bring to a company.

“Everybody has something in their life that is unique and needs to get across,” Robert G. Huffstutler, senior coordinator of the NIU internship program said. “Sell your wow factors or those things that show your traits and capabilities to the best of their abilities.”

In an article on jobweb.com, Carol Dedrick, manager of college relations at National Starch & Chemical Co., said the most important thing that needs attention in a résumé are the attributes that set one person aside from the rest of the applicants.

“I think the highlight is to interpret what you think your strengths are, what you bring to the table,” Dedrick said.

Preparing a résumé from scratch is a difficult process at times, but as Jeff Nardo, career services coordinator at Coastal Carolina Community College said in the same article, the mind set shouldn’t veer from a format students are familiar with.

“A résumé is like a final term paper,” Nardo said. “You have to put [forth] the same energy, attention to detail and focus.”

With that in mind, students should attack their résumé with a sense of awareness of certain technical aspects of their college careers and life that will appeal to potential employers.

“Show your transferable skills to the person reading the résumé,” Huffstutler said. “Technical skills or concepts that apply to that particular job, the jargon, tools, all learned and adopted from your education are what employers are looking for.”

Generally a résumé is a page in length with the exact format varying depending upon the amount of information and how it is presented. The main idea in terms of presentation is giving the employers something that is a smooth read and not overly literate or verbose.

“I basically just put down my experience and GPA,” said junior early childhood studies major Natalie Givens . “I wrote what was necessary and that’s about it.”

Huffstutler agreed that a résumé should be kept condensed and to the point.

“A résumé should be something somebody could read within 30 seconds,” Huffstutler said. “Think of the résumé as being a biography more so than a brochure.”

Marcia Merril, career adviser at Loyola College in Baltimore, added in the article that students mistakingly may try to present their lives in a philosophical manner.

“Some students look at the objective as a statement of what you want to do with your life,” Merril said. “Employers get a lot of ‘continue to learn and grow in a nurturing environment.’ You can probably say it in a different way.”

A couple key ingredients to keep in mind, according to Huffstutler, include not making the résumé either too short or too long. He said most employers will skim the résumé over, reading from left to right, not necessarily maintaining a uniform system of reading a résumé that may only take employers ten seconds to skim.

“That being the case, it’s important not to focus solely on the important information being placed at the top,” Huffstutler said. “Spread it out, keeping important pieces both on the top and the bottom.”

Importance also should be placed on the appearance of the résumé, that is, how it’s typed, and how the initial structure presents itself.

“Sure, an employer may immediately turn a student away who presents a poorly organized résumé,” Huffstutler said.

Overall, Huffstutler emphasizes the importance of knowledge regarding the overall internship process that will boost a student’s hiring potential above all else.

“If you understand how people get hired, you’ll be on the right path of impressing an employer,” Huffstutler said. “It simply is what you can do to stand out.”