Searching for an internship has become my full-time job. I’ve spent countless hours perfecting my resume, pressing my suit and practicing my elevator pitch. It’s exhausting. Recruiting practices are outdated and need to change in order to fit the lifestyle of the current generation.

Currently, the process goes something like this: kiss up to any and all recruiters that you know at the company, hand off your resume and then attend companies’ information sessions. Finally, hope that out of hundreds of resumes, yours is good enough to get you an interview.

This process is unnatural. What if you’re a qualified candidate but don’t have time to talk to all of these companies? Then you’re automatically at a disadvantage.

Companies looking to recruit at colleges need to focus on developing deeper relationships with students instead of just meeting a handful of them at career fairs.

At career fairs, we put on an imitation of ourselves. We fake smile and fake laugh. This is not a good way for companies to see whether students fit their criteria.

Even if you work for years getting your dream internship or the perfect full-time job, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. For example, Target recently rescinded full-time job offers for its entire class of new hires, saying it needed to cut costs.

Some may argue that age-old recruiting practices work — they force students to become the best versions of themselves and show a competitive edge.

It is almost impossible to determine what the right way to approach recruiting season. Each college at the University of Minnesota takes different approaches to career fairs. It’s no small wonder that many feel lost during this process.

Companies need to look past the resumes to truly get to know students that are interested in the company. After all, you are more than your GPA.