Category Archives: competition

When is it a competition?

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The very idea of a competition can be seen all around us. There are competitions when playing games, running for elections, searching for a job, and many more instances. Also, within those instances are several variations of the task these people are trying to reach. This includes running for class president or class treasurer, playing video games or outdoor activities, trying to get a full-time position or internship, and many more examples. But what exactly is a competition and is there a common definition that everyone agrees on?

To solve this problem, it’s important to first understand the textbook definition of a competition. Here are a few examples I found in several different textbooks and dictionaries:

  • The effort to obtain something wanted by others; rivalry
  • A contest for some prize, honor, or advantage
  • Rivalry for supremacy, a prize
  • (Biology) The struggle among organisms, both of the same and of different species for food, space and other survival requirements
  • (Sociology) Rivalry between 2 or more persons or groups for an object desired in common, usually resulting in a victor and a loser but not necessarily involving the destruction of the latter

From these definitions, we can establish some key repeating points. Namely, a competition must involve at least 2 different parties made up of either an individual or a group, and there should be some kind of outcome that features a reward. The issue now is whether or not this applies to everyone’s personal definition. For instance, many people say they are competing with themselves in order to beat a previous record or high score in a game. Although it is a contest with a reward, there is still only one person involved and thus can’t really be defined as a competition. Another example would be when a gym teacher sets up teams in a competition and the final result is that everyone had fun. It’s true that everyone is facing each other and having fun, but if no winner is declared then there can’t be a reward, physical or abstract. Some would even say not giving recognition to the winning team is insulting, but that is more for the individual to decide.

Then there are times when a competition seems to one sided and then the definition seems flawed. A great example would be if two people were competing for a full time job. Person A would have a Masters Degree, be dressed well, have an excellent resume, and may even have nepotism within the firm. Person B would be dressed sloppily, have never prepared for an interview before, and may just have a high school degree and nothing beyond that. Now according to the definition there are two separate parties competing and there is the reward of receiving the position. However, the one with the degree and such will obviously be the victor and it seems rather pointless for the other guy. I’m not saying he shouldn’t at least try, but can it be called a competition if the winner can be found before the task is complete? The

Complex Competitions

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Last week I attended the STEMM job and internship fair on campus where I had the chance to meet with various companies in order to get a full time job or internship for the summer. Now of course there would be a lot of students their trying to apply for the same positions thus we are given crowded rooms and lines to wait on. However, that wasn’t the main issue I had with the event. The real problems came during the short time I had to meet with each company’s representative to try and apply for the position.

I understand that each company had very little time to talk with every student. After all there were a lot of people ready with many questions. But while I waited on line at each table I noticed that several students were asking the same questions time and time again. They would ask questions like where is the company stationed, do they have multiple positions to apply for, what does this company actually do (which is something they should have already researched), and several other questions. Even the representatives were asking the same questions over and over again like when can you get started, what is your GPA, do you have any questions, and so much more. It was at that point I realized that the students and representatives were just following the same pattern/formula over and over again. The problem with this is that it makes all the students seem common place or standard. If everyone sounds the same, then the companies won’t give much thought to some people and thus everything seems monotonous. The only cure, from what I can tell, is to ask the questions they teach you to ask in seminars while adding in some unexpected questions that companies won’t see coming. I believe this method could make you stand out above the rest while also showing how trained and professional you have become.

Another problem I noticed with this kind of job fair is the availability of some positions. For example, I am trying to become an actuary as my career goal, which is a very difficult job to get into given the amount of math and statistics someone needs to study. Throughout the whole job fair, there was only one company that actually listed actuary as an employment opportunity. The rest were looking for accounting and finance, which are similar but not quite the same. This meant that there would be a lot of competition for that one position, and that I may have to reconsider what to apply for. Now the obvious solution would be to attend a conference that specifically focuses on that particular job, which I have done in the city during winter break. The problem then is that there would be a massive crowd of people from all over the country trying to apply for those positions. Some of which aren’t even students, but rather older people who already have their masters and Ph-Ds in this field. This kind of competition will require more than just uniqueness since this is on a much more professional level than the job fairs on campus. Unfortunately, I can’t think of a better solution than to just improve your studies as of this moment.

Overall, I’m not saying competition is bad or something to be feared. I just feel that competition is more complicated than other people have us believe, and thus requires a unique twist on how it is tackled. What are your thoughts?