The world of education has become more competitive than ever before. Employers today look for fresh graduates who can ‘gel in’ well within an organization. While screening candidates, they browse through the resume trying to look for various things that an applicant can offer to the organization.
If we go one level down into the academic race, graduate schools worldwide look for undergraduate students who can contribute to the classrooms. When admitting students, undergraduate colleges consider what extracurricular activities their potential candidates have been a part of. Taking part in academic competitions is thus strongly recommended by experts to students who wish to become a prestigious institute in the future.
One of the best ways to showcase your talent to your interviewer is to talk about how many academic or extracurricular competitions you have been a part of and what you learned from them. This helps a recruiter understand that you have the ambition and drive they are looking for in a potential candidate. One myth that plagues the academic world is that you lose the chance for an interview if you lose a competition. That is not quite true.
In fact, if you can convince your interviewer that you learned from all the competitions you have taken part in, then you have a good chance to land your dream job.
Tips for winning students arm race
Here are some useful tips to win student competitions and prepare a portfolio of successful competitions for your next academic or professional interviewer.
Start preparing ahead of time.
To come out as a winner in any academic competition, you need to start preparing yourself ahead of time. The sooner you start for the competition, the more time you will have to grip the subject.
What judges usually look for when you enter the competition is how well you have prepared for the subject and how well you apply your knowledge to the practical world. When you start preparing ahead of time, you can carry out thorough research on the internet and scour through many different books and resources, click resource.
Manage time effectively
Since the internet is accessible to virtually everyone on the planet, competitions today usually take over the internet. This means that you might be competing with thousands of students from all over the world.
All of them would have access to the same material over the internet as you do. Some might even be more equipped than you, but what will set you apart from the rest of the crowd is time management. Prepare a daily schedule based on how much time you want to dedicate to your competition, how much time you want to allocate to your homework, and how much time you need to relax.
Look for mentors
Did you know that some of the most successful people in any field have always had a mentor who guided them to success? Hence, to achieve success, you need to find someone who has already trodden your path and achieved success.
A mentor helps you see things from multiple perspectives and guides you to become a better person and be more competitive than you currently are.
Practice
Once you have started to manage your time more effectively and have someone to guide you at every step of the way, you should start practicing for the contest. Look for sample questions or case scenarios that will prepare you for the big day.
Solve as many questions, quizzes, or practical case scenarios as you can. As you start solving more and more quizzes or tests, you will feel more confident and competitive than before. It does not matter if you win a competition or not as long as you learn from the experience.
Never give up
Losing a competition is not the end of the world. When you sit in front of an interviewer, they might be looking for a person who has the courage to learn from failures and look ahead for more challenges. Hence, it would help if you never stopped participating in competitions as each test prepares you for the next one.
As you start taking part in more competitions, try to make a story out of your journey that you can share with your interviewer. If the person who is interviewing you is impressed by your dedication and persistent attitude, they might choose you even if you have never won a single competition!
Things that you should never do to win an ‘arms race.’
There are a few things that you should never do, no matter what, in an arms race. It would help if you never lay or cheat because that will always go against you in the long run. Never lose your nerve during the competition.
You should always try to remain calm and take a deep breath if there is too much pressure on you. If you are working in a team, try to listen to everyone’s perspective before giving your own verdict. Being a good listener is one of the best qualities you can have to be a winner in every walk of life!
Competitions are a great way to develop your experience and prepare a story that you can tell your interviewer at any stage of your academic and professional career. If you prepare hard and keep yourself open to learn with every passing competition, you should succeed in every walk of life!
