For those looking to score a job at a hot tech startup or a coveted spot with a tech behemoth like Facebook or Square, the job search scene has an up-and-coming competitor to the traditional career fair: hackathons.
Readyforce, a career network for college students, aims to exploit hackathons for college job searches. The company streamlines the process of connecting students with companies and organizations recruiting those with computer science and computer engineering backgrounds. Readyforce’s new platform, HackerHub, launched this spring. Readyforce CEO Alex Mooradian hopes the hub will serve as a one-stop shop for student leaders and companies.
Hackathons are talent hunting grounds
Mooradian estimates around 20,000 students will participate in the about 45 hackathons this spring. These events typically cater to college students, but a select few are aimed at high school students. More still include high school participants on a case-by-case basis.
Hackathons are ideal hunting grounds for companies looking to score top talent straight out of school. They are often more appealing than a traditional career fair. Companies can send their engineers to an event and get a first-hand glimpse at potential candidates and their skills.
“There’s a wave of companies saying, ‘All we’re doing is hackathons; that’s the only thing that we care about right now because those are the students we know are going to make an immediate impact,'” says Mooradian.
Source: Mashable | STEPHANIE WALDEN
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