Hackathons, ideathons and datathons require you to work on a real problem in a short time, build things as a team and explain the result to a jury. These are exactly the skills employers want to see, especially for internships and graduate roles. And the value of this experience isn't limited to teams that place.
In this guide we explain with examples how to present your competition experience on your CV, your LinkedIn profile and in job interviews.
Why is competition experience valuable?
- It shows that you've worked on a real problem; it's more concrete than most course projects.
- It proves teamwork under time pressure.
- It demonstrates your ability to learn fast: picking up a new tool, API or field in a few days.
- It gives you presentation and communication experience.
- It connects you with the industry: mentors and judges from sponsor companies can later become references or internship opportunities.
Where does it go on your CV?
If you have little work experience, feature your competition projects in the Projects section; for each one, write the competition's name, the date and your own contribution. If you placed, also list it under Awards and Achievements. If you've taken part in many competitions, describing your strongest two or three in detail works better than listing them all.
How to write an effective bullet point
A good CV bullet follows this order: action verb + what you did + how you did it (method, technology) + result. Make the result as measurable as possible: your ranking among the teams, a user testing finding or a model score. The competition names and numbers in the examples below are illustrative:
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Participated in X Hackathon. | At X Hackathon (48 hours, team of 4), built the back end of a web app forecasting city bus occupancy with Python and FastAPI; reached the final among 60 teams. |
| Gave a presentation at an idea competition. | At Y Ideathon, validated an on-campus second-hand marketplace idea for students through interviews with 20 students and pitched it to the jury; won the Jury Special Award. |
| Took part in a data competition. | At Z Datathon, developed a gradient boosting model for customer churn prediction; ranked 9th of 120 teams on the private leaderboard. |
If you didn't place
Not placing is no reason to leave the experience off. In that case, focus on what you built and what you learned: a working prototype, user tests, a technology you picked up. If you reached the final or passed a certain stage, say so. Avoid exaggeration; you may be asked about the details of any bullet in an interview.
Sharing on LinkedIn
- Add the project to the Projects section of your profile, link your teammates as contributors and add the demo or GitHub link.
- If you placed, add the competition's name, organizer and date to the Honors & awards section.
- Share a short post after the event: which problem did you solve, what did you learn, who do you want to thank? Tag your teammates and the organizer.
- Adding a team photo, demo video or screenshot to the post increases engagement.
- Connect with mentors and judges with a short note that reminds them what you talked about at the event.
GitHub and your demo
Tidying up the project repository after the event turns the bullet on your CV into proof. In the README, describe the problem, the solution, screenshots, the technologies used, steps to run it and the team members. Add the link to the demo video if there is one. List improvements made after the event in a separate section, to keep them apart from what was built during the competition.
Telling the story in interviews: the STAR method
Questions like "Tell me about a time you worked under time pressure" or "How did you resolve a disagreement in your team?" are ideal for talking about your competition experience. Structure your answer with the STAR method:
- Situation: The competition, the theme and the team, briefly.
- Task: What was your responsibility?
- Action: What did you do, and which decisions did you make? This should be the longest part of your answer.
- Result: What happened, and what did you learn from the experience?
Common mistakes
- Listing only the participation certificate without explaining what you did.
- Writing as if you did all of the team's work yourself.
- Giving long lists of technologies without context.
- Adding broken or private links.
- Describing the same experience on your CV and LinkedIn with conflicting dates or rankings.
Competition experience checklist
- For each competition, I can describe my role and contribution in one sentence.
- My bullets include a measurable result or a concrete output.
- The GitHub repository has a descriptive README and a demo link.
- The Projects section, and Honors & awards if applicable, are up to date on LinkedIn.
- I've prepared a short STAR story for each experience.
For the next experience to add to your CV, browse competitions open for applications. To stand out on the application form, read our How to write a competition application guide.
Ready? Now pick your competition
See competitions open for applications in a list sorted by deadline.