Secret interview with hackers: Hire from competitions

Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter

EP 3077 Are you working on getting technical interviews? Is there no luck to send my resume? The show reveals a powerful, often overlooked strategy to improve your interview opportunities: take part in a hackathon or coding competition! With endless apps, participating can bring you more interviews. Stop waiting and start coding your next job!

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OK, let’s go straight in. We’re going to talk about a secret weapon, a tiny hack that will get you to the attention of big tech companies. Trust me, it has nothing to do with adjusting your resume. You know that feeling, right? Too frustrating. You spend all this time polishing your resume. You fire and you distribute cricket. Just silence. You know you already have ribs, but how do you prove it when you have only one name in hundreds of oceans? Well, that’s the tough part. The reality is that in today’s technological world, your resume is a bit like a black and white photo in the IMAX theater. This is static. It is flat. Frankly, that’s not enough. If you really want to stand out, you have to do something. Now show what you’ve made here.

So, what is this big secret? What is a hacker? Indeed, this is a simple idea. That’s the transition from telling recruiters your skills to actually showing them what you can do and what you personally do. OK, the answer is Hackathon and coding competitions. Now, if you’ve never been, imagine it. It’s like a live stage for your brain. A super high energy activity where you can build cool stuff, solve real problems, and show your talent as the clock ticked. But why are these things so effective? Well, that’s because they flip the script completely into the entire work hunt. You know, you’ll get from being this passive person just to be the active player in the game.

Here, this is the core of it. Think about it. The resume is just about what you have done in the past. But a competition, it shows people what you can build now. You are exchanging the claim on paper for actual concrete proof. For a recruiter, it’s gold. So let’s put you on the spot. Imagine you participated in one of these activities. You’re not only going to solve some random brain trailers. No, you are busy with other really smart people solving problems facing a real company. You are showing everyone how to deal with stress and how to collaborate. And, the best part is that recruiters, hiring managers, they are actually watching from the sidelines, just looking for someone to shine.

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OK OK, I can hear you thinking now. This sounds very stressful. This is a game. What if I don’t win? What if I bomb completely? A total fair question. But that’s what makes this strategy so good. Winning is just the icing on the cake. Real prizes, real value is what you will get anyway. Just see how this breaks down. Suppose you do a good job. At the best case scenario, you are one of the top finishers. You are shaking hands with recruiters and maybe even walking out with a job opportunity. Amazing. But let’s look at the so-called worst-case scenario. You don’t win. so what? You will still be left with a brand new and impressive project to slap your github. And, you have an amazing story to tell in your next interview. A story about how you solve your tough problems under stress. This is a win-win situation. There are actually no drawbacks here.

So, well, let’s talk about competitive advantage. How does the entire experience really make you stand out from the crowd? The Secret Sauce is actually very simple. The reality is that most people just don’t. They don’t. While everyone else just submits and crosses your fingers on their resume, you’ll instantly get this extra positive step to get you stuck in a different alliance. That’s the effect here. Literally, you pull yourself out of the vast ocean of ordinary applicants and enter this more obvious exclusive pond. By showing up and participating alone, you prove that you are proactive. You have proven that you have the skills and are officially no longer just another line on the recruiter spreadsheet. This is what separates you from your backpack. This is your key difference. I mean, imagine a hiring manager sifting a hundred resumes that look the same. Then it’s yours. Your story comes with a story. A story about taking responsibility, meeting challenges and delivering under pressure. That’s the resume pulled out of the pile.

So it’s actually time to stop the phone and wait, hoping your resume will lay off employees. You have to control your story. Go out there and show them your life in public places and under stress. Trust me, that’s what makes all the difference in the world. Look, it’s not just about providing you with information. This is to inspire you to take action. So I’ll leave you this final idea, and it’s a question. What are you going to build? What competition do you want to participate in? What are you going to do to prove your skills and get the job you want?

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