Virtual Hackathons: All You Need To Know
A version of this article has been published on The HackerEarth Blog.
A Gartner report states that IT executives list talent shortages as the most significant barrier to the adoption of 64% of emerging technologies; which is why recruiters need to find ways to tap into unconventional sources of tech talent. Enter virtual hackathons! They are more popular than ever now. It happens to be among the best ways of discovering the best tech talent.
There are several types of hackathons from external to startup hackathons, there are many. Furthermore, the pandemic forced companies to put virtual hackathons into place and now they’ve become a huge part of the tech recruitment sphere.
Virtual hackathons: what are they?
To give you a good idea, virtual hackathons are like group projects where people within the tech field come together to solve problems or generate new ideas. This is done to get a good idea of who your next employee could be.
Virtual hackathons are the same as above, the only difference being that it all takes place online on platforms like Google Meet or Zoom.
Benefits of virtual hackathons
It goes without saying that there are tons of benefits to virtual hackathons, let’s take a look at them:
- It will help you save a lot of money. The money you might have spent on hosting a physical hackathon. this includes the elimination of paying rent for physical venues, food, event settings, and much more. Moreover, this makes it much easier for the candidates as well, as they can attend the hackathon from the comfort of their homes.
- The number of attendance at a physical hackathon may be restricted due to a number of reasons. On the other hand, hosting a virtual hackathon enables more people to attend the event. Anyone can join in as long as they have a good internet connection.
- It helps attendees work in a pressure-free environment. Although they would be interacting with others, they will be doing it in an environment where they are comfortable. This helps them bring out the best in themselves!
- It also helps in building team-building skills. Virtual hackathon imparts knowledge on how to work as a team when working remotely, from communication to the assignment of tasks, it helps in building important skills.
Running a virtual hackathon
We know it sounds interesting and it is. If you’re looking to host a virtual hackathon, follow these steps below:
- Announce your hackathon. When you’ve got the entire gig planned out along with the dates. Make sure you give your potential attendees ample time to plan and keep themselves free from the same. At the same time, let it not be announced way too far ahead of the set date, it could cause them to lose interest over time.
- Make use of the hackathon management platforms. Although, you could use simple platforms like Google Meet or Zoom. It would be best if you could use a platform meant for hackathons like HackerEarth, it’s a great platform with great features that help drive innovation. Platforms such as these have a lot of features to offer in terms of hosting hackathons and helping make the entire event smooth.
- Make sure you also organize everything beforehand. From registration forms to everything else. Keeping things streamlined will help you host a smooth event.
- Explain the objective. Let your attendees know what it is exactly about. You could even create an FAQ sheet for everyone to go through. Also, have in place a few mentors. This way attendees can clear their doubts.
- Make sure, you promote your hackathon as much as possible, only then will you be able to garner a lot of attendees for your hackathon event.
These are, of course, simple steps but let’s forget that they are the most effective as well. The above-mentioned pointers are a great way to ensure you host a successful hackathon.
Things to be avoided
Here are a few things that you should avoid/keep in mind while hosting a hackathon:
- Make sure you promote the hackathon. Try not to leave any stone unturned. If you do not communicate about the same effect, there will reduce the number of attendees.
- A lot of people do not make use of hackathon hosting platforms and that is quite a big mistake. We suggest that you do, the benefits associated with the same are quite immeasurable to the regular online communication platform.
- Always make sure there are rewards for your attendees. You want them to attend your future hackathon events as well and for that, they should feel appreciated and rewarded for their work.
These are a few simple pointers that you ought to keep in your mind. You can host a great hackathon event just by following everything that is mentioned above.
Final Word
Hackathons can help you find the best talent, for sure. But you too need to put some effort into hosting a great virtual hackathon and this article will help you with the same, there is no doubt about it.
So don’t wait, start planning your hackathon now! We suggest you give our hackathon platform a try, it’s great. Just to start off, why don’t go ahead and give the free trial a go?
