TalentEgg Challenges are a fantastic way to gain experience that can help you find a job.
That’s one of the big goals of Challenges – giving you a way to stand out and impress top employers.
The latest Challenge is the CPP Investment Board Challenge! Check it out here.
If you’re wondering how completing a Challenge can get you noticed by employers, we’ve covered some of the top ways your participation will give each part of your resume a boost.
Your objective
Most people include a sentence or two on their resume that summarizes their employment goals.
It’s a great place to show potential employers that you have an interest in their company and the work they do.
When you complete a TalentEgg Challenge, you’ll have real-world experience to refer to when you’re talking about your professional goals.
It means you can truthfully say that you know you want to work in a certain field or on specific kinds of projects because you’ve already done it on a smaller scale and know enjoy it.
Your skills
Challenges help you to strengthen your existing skills and develop new ones.
Each Challenge will require you to be creative, think critically, do research and prepare a proposal based on your idea – all of which will look great on your resume.
You’ll also get a feedback report after you complete the Challenge, which will identify the specific skills you gained from that particular contest.
Plus, you can say that you’re responsible, ambitious and that you take initiative, because you seek out opportunities to learn and grow.
Experience
The first thing an employer will look at on your resume (second only to your education, perhaps) is your work and/or volunteer experience.
There’s often a frustrating catch-22 of needing a job to get experience and needing experience to get a job. Opportunities like TalentEgg’s Challenges are the best way to build up the experience section of your resume before you get a job.
And of course, the fact that you decided to enter a Challenge will demonstrate that you’re motivated, capable and ready to work.
Awards and achievements
Your resume is a great chance to show off any achievements that you’re proud of, or that are relevant to the job you’re trying to get.
If you complete a Challenge, you can list it along with any other credentials or awards you’ve collected up to this point – particularly useful if you’re a top performer, finalist or winner.
Participating in multiple Challenges is a great way to build up a body of experience and give you more to share in an interview or on a cover letter.
Your portfolio
If you want to really impress a prospective employer, put together a portfolio when you apply to a job.
Include a cover letter, your resume, transcripts, certificates or awards, samples of your work and anything else you think might be pertinent to the position you’ve applied for.
Each time you complete a Challenge, print off the description, your submission and your feedback report and add them to your portfolio. It’s an easy way to show a potential employer that you’re able to follow instructions and think strategically to come up with a feasible solution for a real-life problem.
The verdict
As you can see, there are many ways that completing a TalentEgg Challenge can help your application stand out when you apply for a job.
Be sure to elaborate on your experience from the Challenge in your cover letter too, not just your resume.
Upon reading your application, a prospective employer should see that you already have valuable, hands-on experience and respect your commitment to improving your skills.