We’ve already talked about why you should put competitions on your resume – but how do you actually find competitions to participate in? In this blog we’ll provide some tips and resources to help you find competitions to enter.
Where to find competitions
Before you can enter a competition, you need to find them first. Here are some great places to start:
Search engines
As with most things, jumping into a search engine (like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo) is a great starting off point. In your search, make sure you include what kind of competition you’re looking for (e.g. art, debating, maths, etc.), and consider adding things like whether or not you’re a student and the country or state you’re in.
For example, you might find that searching “art competitions for high school students in Australia” will net you more useful results than just searching “art competitions”.
Online databases
There are lots of sites out there that do the hard work for you, finding competitions and listing them in one easy to access place. Here are some we’ve found to get you started:
- Australian Writers’ Resource – lists a variety of writing competitions from both Australia and overseas
- ArtsHub – lets you search for arts awards, prizes and competitions, from film to performing and visual arts
- Aussie Educator – has a great database of student competitions
- Study Work Grow – we have our own competitions database, packed with opportunities of all kinds
Ask your school
Lots of great competitions, particularly in areas like debating, STEM, and languages, are organised through schools instead of students signing up directly. It’s always worth asking your teachers if your school will be participating in any competitions – and if you’ve found one that looks interesting, you could pitch the idea and get your school to participate.
What should I look for in a competition?
If you think you’ve found a great opportunity, don’t just blindly sign up. There are a few things you should check first:
- Read eligibility criteria carefully – ensure you’re the right age, from the right country, etc.
- Do some research – see if the organisation offering the competition looks legitimate
- Entry fees – though many competitions are free, some might require you to pay an entry fee to participate
- Closing dates – make sure you’ll have enough time to submit a worthwhile entry
If you’ve done all this and it all looks good, then all that’s left to do is enter – good luck!