As GW students search for summer internships, writing a resum? becomes a vital task.

Sophomore Adam Laitman first started writing his resum? in high school.

I’ve been kind of prepping it as time goes on, Laitman said. I add everything that is worth adding to it each year.

Those applying for jobs are often required to submit both a resum? and a cover letter to potential employers.

Laitman said when he compiles his cover letter, he tries to explain what qualities he could add to a company. But when he creates his resum?, Laitman said there are limits.

As much as you want to stand out, you still have to show organization, and that leads to a conservative style, Laitman said.

Students learn the format for writing their resum?s using resources such as the Internet or books. The GW Career Center offers information for format and also offers drop-in critiquing.

Because resum?s sometimes lack creativity, sophomore Aaron Brachman chose to write his resum? on colored paper.

Once students submit their applications, the fate of resum?s remains a mystery in the eyes of students.

I think every company at least glances over it, and if the top thing doesn’t catch their eye, they’ll at least glance over it, Laitman said.

According to a Jan. 9 article in The Arizona Republic, companies review resum?s in their own ways.

The Intel Corporation stores resum?s in a central searchable database to find key words that will find suitable candidates.

But other organizations still use the old-fashioned system. At Banner Healthcare, an intern recruiter spends hours reviewing 250 resum?s each week.

According to the article, all recruiters agree on one point – that spelling errors are sure to land an application at the bottom of the pile.

References are another element for resum?s.

I don’t think there’s a set quantity (for references), Laitman said. It just matters where it comes from.