Hired

At Hired, we’re big hackathon fans. They allow creative teams to solve problems in a very short amount of time. Recently, we’ve gotten excited about the idea of a virtual hackathon. Unlike their traditional counterparts, virtual hackathons don’t require participants to be tied to a real location in order to come together to solve big problems. They level the playing field and allow talented individuals from all over the world to participate and showcase their skills.

This is why we’re excited to share that we’re partnering with Koding on its upcoming Global Virtual Hackathon, which takes place February 20–21. The event builds on last year’s event where more than 60,000 developers from all over the world participated and took home over $35,000 in prizes! This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, including a whooping $100,000 grand prize. Apply to enter, and in the meantime, read on for some tips on making the most out of of a virtual hackathon.

1. Keep An Eye Out for Professional Connections

There are few better work connections than those forged by working on a hackathon project with someone else, even if it’s someone you merely meet online. Once you work with that person, you’ll get a deep sense on how you can work on other projects together in the future. What’s better? You’ll now have a project to show off and post on Hired.

2. Know the Rules of the Game

It’s always important to read over the rules and FAQs at a hackathon before you dive into building your project. The more you know about the hackathon’s goals, the more you can use this to your advantage. Build with their suggested sponsor APIs, make sure to follow the theme guidelines and build something that meets the judging criteria. You’ll probably make the judges/hackathon producers even happier if you tweet about your progress and experience with the event, and show that you’re passionate about your project or at least programming in general.

3. Market Your Results

When at an in-person hackathon, you’ll present to a few hundred people at best, however imagine being the touted winner at an online hackathon, where audiences can be much, much larger. If you play your cards right, you can use your win to enhance your professional reputation. Be sure to blog, tweet or share whatever you built. Most hackathon producers have their own blogs and social channels as well, so be sure that they promote your project and link back to you.

Sounds great, right? Apply now to Koding’s Global Virtual Hackathon and get started!