As a programmer at some point in your career, you must have heard about  hackathon. It is an event that is held on weekends where a large number of software professionals come together to create something innovative and unique in just about 24-48 hours. 

It gives an excellent platform for participants to interact and connect with experienced professionals and experts from across different fields and areas. If you have a passion and the skill to conceptualize unique ideas and a keen desire to display your coding talent, then a hackathon is just right for you. But before enrolling for your first hackathon, here are some tips that will help first-timers survive and have a great time. 

• Go with a plan

The first and most important tip – have a goal and participate with a specific plan in mind. This will go a long way as basic ideation is always helpful. Going with an interesting idea will help you to connect with the right teams working towards finding a solution. 

• Have confidence in your ability

Hackathons are for everyone, freshers as well as experienced software professionals. It is a wonderful platform for every IT professional to strengthen their skills and work on their weaknesses. Do not forget, it is a collaborative event and participants have plenty of scope of learning new skills while working with teams. 

• Keep your product simple

Another helpful tip to survive your first hackathon is to create your product simple. Remember, hackathons are time-bound and anything complex can take a lot of your efforts with no product. Keep your product or application simple with limited features with your complete focus towards solving a particular problem. 

• Work, Eat and Relax

The best way to make the most out of a hackathon is to work, binge and rest whenever your mind gets tired. As this is a time-bound event, you might get stuck at some point but if you manage all three effectively, you will see your productivity improving. 

• Interaction

In a hackathon you work in teams hence intra-team communication is very important. Remember, you are working with completely new people so do not hesitate to discuss when confused, put your point forward and do not engage in unnecessary talks.