Others have discussed if it is a good idea to participate in screenwriting contests. So I did a simple check.
I chose one of the best known screenwriting contests, a decade ago. 12 persons who had written the 10 finalist screenplays. I compared this with the information about these persons at IMDb before and after their participation.
The result :
4 encouraging cases
4 cases with no effect
4 discouraging cases
12 persons is too small a sample, but I am not the only scientist here, so it would not surprise me if somebody else has performed a better investigation.
I am not surprised. If the judges have little time to read each screenplay, they may have a tendency to choose those which are fun to read. I mean, neglecting what can give problems during filming.
What would an optimum contest be? I don't know, but I can imagine that it would be a contest with adaptations of famous plays. Many plays are so old that they are no longer copyright protected. I have myself twice used such plays as starting points for my screenwriting.
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Contests and working for tv & film business is two different worlds. Not sure what you want to hear but every pro occupation where the field is crowded, the best of the best will always get jobs, rise above average talent.
Two successful screenwriters with a huge podcast following, Mazin & August, don't believe in contests. But they're over 60 and established careers before internet script service boom.
My writer-friend from Baltimore is making huge moves as a tv staff writer. Back during covid 2020 when everyone was home, her spec pilot landed in the hands of tv showrunner who was bored at home. Showrunner loved her spec, passed to manager, manager signed her after one phonecall. She got staffed within a year to a streamer tv show 12-eps. Now she is staffed on network primetime tv, 18-22 episodes. Double the work, stress but double the salary.
Two good reasons to participate in a singing contest. 1. If you sing like Elvis. 2. If you think you sing like Elvis and truly don't.