Reminiscent of locksmiths, students mold, carve and cut their achievements, experiences, course load and skills to create the perfect key — one that will possibly open one door, but may open multiple.

However, this key is not like any normal key — it takes the form of a resume.

And the door this key opens is not physically tangible — it’s an internship or job.

Carol Schroeder, the Career Center’s director, said resumes not only allow students to present their abilities to a potential employer, they also allow self-reflection.

“You are going to spend a lot of time and energy to create the resume,” she said. “Do some for yourself, too. It helps you analyze your own background, and that’s very important. If you’re at a career fair and introduce yourself, what are you going to say next? If you’ve really thought about yourself, the words are going to come far more easily.”

Megan Henley, a sophomore in biochemistry and chemistry, said her current resume took a couple of days to make and organize — it totals four pages in length.

“I covered the board for different types of things,” Henley said. “I showed my diversity through the resume — lots of academic achievements, extra-curriculars, community service. I showed my versatility.”

Going into one-on-one personal interviews, phone calls and e-mails is something Henley said she’s encountered several times — her experience with interviews and her parents’ practice questions prepare her for what to expect in almost any interview, she said.

“I try and make myself unforgettable if it’s something that I’m passionate about,” she said. “I’ll try and make myself stick out — whether it’s how I appear to them or how I converse with them on the phone.”

And Henley doesn’t allow herself to be forgotten on paper either.

“I looked for [experiences] that would seem impressive to an employer or a director or whoever I was talking to,” Henley said. “I included things that would show the breadth of what I can do, things that would contribute most to the particular organization that I’m dealing with.”

Rene Norman, a sophomore in psychology and Spanish, said she believes her extra-curriculars are what show her off to prospective employers.

“My academics, community service — they’re different aspects of my personality and I’m showing that to whoever reads my resume,” Norman said. “Basically, what I wanted to do was try to show how well-rounded I am — to show that I’m diverse.”

However, Norman said she thinks the interview process is a more suitable environment in which to show off her achievements and personality.

“I kept my resume pretty basic because I actually think that during the interview process I could show who I was more by telling them instead of writing it down on paper,” Norman said.

Norman advises anyone who needs help with his or her resume to use the services the University offers.

“Try and use as many resources as you can — the Career Center’s Web site has so much you can use. Go in and ask them to look [your resume] over — that really helps,” Norman said. “You’re in college, you’re paying for it. Use the resources that are available to you.”

Schroeder said it is best for students who have any concerns about their resumes to come in and speak with career counselors before sending it in to employers.

“A lot of times, students e-mail their resumes and ask me if it looks OK, and sometimes it looks just great,” she said. “But I don’t know the student and I don’t know how to improve the content without knowing the student.”

Early Aug. 24, Schroeder said she had an appointment with a student who essentially worked as a floater within her company.

“One of her challenges was going to a different business and fit in, work with customers,” Schroeder said. “She had developed a very good understanding of the industry by doing all these different things. She had really missed an opportunity to really say something significant. We used that to put a little zing in her resume — everyone else’s looks the same.”

Schroeder said since a resume’s content is ranked in order of most to least important, students should focus on the objectives and make sure they change them for each employer.

“Put down that you want a position in a certain industry, and also include the skills that you bring to it,” Schroeder said. “You want to do it from the standpoint of what the employer needs.”

Debbie Gordon, Oberlin and Glenwood Animal Hospitals’ administrator, said the objective should show a passion for the prospective employee’s field of work.

“I like to see a nice objective, and I think the objective should be suited to the position the candidate is applying for,” Gordon said. “When the objective doesn’t match, it doesn’t show that [the resume] is applicable to the position for which they are applying. In the same way, you would never write a college essay that says, ‘In my lifelong dream of attending MIT’ and then send it to N.C. State.”

Gordon added she looks for experience that proves the stated objective — not only should the objective be field-oriented, but additionally the volunteer work, course load and hobbies should be aligned with that field.

“If someone wants to go to vet school, it’s nice to see that when they were 16 years old they volunteered for the animal shelter in their home town, did in-home pet-sitting, did volunteer work for Second Chance Adoption so that they’re following their passion with both their studies and their objective on the resumes,” she said. “Those [resumes] where they have done volunteer work or community service for animals — those are the ones that stick out to me.”

And the resume is not always enough.

“The resume is one thing, but for someone to get noticed, they should follow up with a phone call and another phone call and another phone call and another phone call to try to be in the right place at the right time,” Gordon said. “If somebody is that interested, that draws my attention to them.”

During an interview, Gordon said she looks for an applicant who is interesting, personal and has a propensity for customer service.

“We welcome with open arms enthusiastic, customer service-oriented individuals who have strong aspirations to do things like go to Vet school or gain experience before re-applying — we are looking for a couple of those people now,” Gordon said.

To Gordon, the resume isn’t the most important aspect of a prospective employee.

“We can train technical skills, but I fail miserably in trying to train someone to be nice,” she said.