Two questions I’m often asked from first and second year students are “how do I level up my coding skills as a beginner?” and “how do I make my resume stand out with no work experience?” While there are many different ways to accomplish these things, what I always end up recommending is for these students to check out hackathons.
Participants form teams of 1-4 members, and bring a project idea to life for a chance to win money. Sometimes there’s a theme or a specific challenge, and other times it’s more open to interpretation. The reason why I always recommend hackathons to students is because they’re free, fun, and incredibly helpful in learning new skills. From attending workshops about new tech, to receiving advice from mentors, to connecting with your teammates, there are a TON of ways to learn new stuff at hackathons!
One of the cool things about hackathons is you can potentially use a hackathon in three different parts on your resume: you can list the project you built under “projects”, the hackathon itself under “competitions”, and any prizes you won under “awards”. Since MLH has hackathons every weekend, within the span of a month you can go from nothing on your resume to multiple projects and competitions!
Have I piqued your interest? Well, you’re in luck. The University of Windsor has its own hackathon - WinHacks! WinHacks will take place from March 25-27, and there will be plenty of workshops, events, and opportunities to win money! I urge everyone to apply for the hackathon here. Also to participate, you must join our Discord server. I look forward to seeing you all there!