This is great advice. As a person that is normally labelled as a job hopper (6 in the past 5 years) I finally settled down and got into tech by attending hackathons and helped ship apps (mostly android) it has given me the opportunity to work for a YC company and I am very happy here. It's just ironic that startups have been the most stable positions rather than corporate or bigger tech companies.
Hackathons are relativity cheap (time wise) investments, but make you stand out from the crowd.
It sounds like you are pretty savvy at getting hired. I am a computer science student who is graduating this December, and I would love to get hired as soon as possible! Do you have any tips for someone like myself? The only experience I have is interning at a very small shop where I build custom Google maps for other schools and companies.
I'm helping running this hackathon that is live right now: hackerrank.com/thanksgiving, show off your skills and get noticed. It ends today @ midnight PST and the winner gets a meeting with a YC Partner and Thanksgiving meal delivered to their door.
Hackathons are relativity cheap (time wise) investments, but make you stand out from the crowd.