5 Reasons Why Hackathons Is Ideal For Hiring Data Scientists

Data Science is a specific field where an individual has to have a certain set of skills. These skills not only involve a lot of learning but also need hours of practice. With the trend of storytelling through data, almost all the organisations are shifting towards emerging technologies, which is why data science jobs top the list as the most wanted jobs of the 21st century. 

Hackathons play as one of the top-rated platforms to demonstrate skills while competing with the best programmers in the domain. This platform is a 24-48 hours event, which provides an innovative environment where participants analyse and visualise using different tools to win the code race. With the rise in demand for data scientists and analysts in the field, organisations have started to determine and gain such talents through collaborating and conducting hackathons. 

One such platform is the MachineHack by Analytics India Magazine. This online platform hosts the toughest business problems which can be solved using Machine Learning and Data Science techniques. The ML hackathon platform at MachineHack is currently running a women-specific hackathon. Besides this, there are also practice sessions where an enthusiast can practice important Machine Learning algorithms like Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Regression, Naive Bayes, Extreme Gradient Boosting Classification and other such.

In this article, we list down 5 reasons why hackathons should be the medium for hiring data scientists.

1| Reduces Time To Shortlist

For a traditional in-person interview method, whenever an individual goes through some job requirements, it has been noticed that recruiters seek candidates who have the ability to work within dedicated timelines as well as have the ability to do multi-tasking. Sometimes it consumes more than expected time to recruit the right candidate. However, through Hackathons, an organisation has the opportunity of sourcing the right candidate within a week.

2| Testing The Hard Skills On-Spot

Hackathons are the best platform to test the skills and capabilities of candidates. In a traditional in-person interview process, the recruiters only get a chance to ask a limited set of skills, which are already there in the requirement list. But in the case of hackathons, there is no limit to the set of skills one must-have and a participant gets the opportunity to showcase the talents and solve the given problem within a limited period of time. 

3| Proving Skills Out of Comfort Zone

During hackathons, the work ethics of a candidate can be witnessed clearly. The prize for hackathon contests may include job offers, cash, among others but the zeal to prove the best one among the best coders are way different from what one finds in a traditional in-person interview. The candidates get out of their comfort zones in order to prove their worth and passionately finish the problem within a few hours. 

4| More Valuable Than A Traditional One

When an organisation opens up for a certain in-person interview, the HR department has to go through the thousands of resumes. In a traditional in-person interview, choosing the best of the best candidate is an intricate part. This not only stresses the company resources but also the candidate who has applied for a certain position. While hackathons are smart in that case, there will be a lesser number of candidates as compared to in-person interviews, and only a few aspirants apply who have the capability to strive in a challenging environment.

5| Filters The Best

Through hackathons, filtering the best candidate has become more accessible. Candidates who usually participate in a hackathon have the enthusiasm of working in a challenging environment within a limited amount of time. These candidates have the capability to go the extra mile in order to fulfil their dreams and are always ready to accept any challenge that may come in their way. Hackathons have become a prominent platform where the best coders, developers, among others, unite to create something innovative.