How to smash a Hackathon!
Applying for your first hackathon can be a slightly nerve-wrecking process. Especially as a student. However, the payback makes it worth the effort. Doing well in your challenge could land you your first job and expand your network.
The key to winning lies in strategizing and having an inventive and pro-active approach.
If you are thinking of participating in a hackathon, here’s all you need to know to succeed and make the most of the experience.
Prepare
Preparing an idea is perhaps the most important tip of all. You don’t need to have everything figured to the last detail or a full-fledged plan with powerpoint slides but you should come to the hackathon armed with some basic knowledge and a plan of how to execute your idea.
Get a good night’s sleep
Hackathons will test your endurance and speed. They could last anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. Therefore, getting a decent amount sleep before the start of the event is highly recommended.
Catch up on some coding / designing / soft skills lingo
Although hackathons extend to many different professionals other than coders and developers, it is still a good idea to learn some of the basics of their work. You don’t need to be able to write code but its always a good idea to be aware of the lingo behind building a product or service.
This will allow for better communication within your team members and prevent unnecessary confusion or wastage of precious time in learning common terminologies during the challenge.
Keep it simple
The aim of a hackathon isn’t to create a complete and elaborate app. There isn’t enough time for that. Instead, it is to create a functional product that addresses the problems you set out to solve. Not only does this approach make things easier for you, it is also easier to sell to the judges who are looking for how well your skills were applied to the product.
Communication
Last but not the least, communication is key. You will be working with a group of diverse people in a short period of time so you can’t afford lengthy arguments, long explanations or miscommunications.
This means you will have to be able to communicate clearly, practice patience and understand each other’s ideas.
Our Managing Director, Sarah Landry has some words of advice for participants regarding the importance of solid communication:
“Having a diverse team from multiple disciplines that interacts with each other is key, understand each person’s role thoroughly, spend time on the importance of why?
Dig deep into the purpose of the challenge and how your product or service will genuinely make a difference to peoples’ lives. Remember a success solution is not based on the Output it is based on the Outcome.’’
Now that you know how to hack your way to a win, sign up for our Virtual Hackathon- Interns & Graduates Recruitment Drive, happening on May 22nd-24th. This hackathon is beginner friendly and for participants new to coding or hackathons. However, any and all levels are welcome. Don’t have a team? No problem - You'll get opportunities to network and connect with like- minded people in our community before any hacking begins.
Form a team (we can help with this), solve a problem, create something amazing, blow us away with the presentation and get the opportunity for a summer internship, a graduate scheme admission or even a job offer!