Stock picking is obviously the central job of an equity research analyst. This is one of the reasons why most equity research job interviews involve asking the candidate for a stock pitch.
For those of you that really enjoy picking stocks, investment competitions can be a good way to test your ideas. If you are interviewing, it can be a way to practise and keep your skills sharp.
Here are some stock picking competitions that might be interesting:
Market Folly: Email your idea to marketfolly@gmail.com
Wall Street Journal: the most recent deadline has passed, but maybe there will be another competition.