Bloomberg Aptitude Test at VŠE

Miloslav Veselý, graduate of the University of Economics, Prague (VŠE), scored among the top five students in all of Europe, Middle East and Africa on the Bloomberg Aptitude Test.

The Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT) is an online test aimed for students wanting to pursue a career in the areas of business or finance. The test lasts two hours, is taken on campus in a supervised computer room, and evaluates students’ abilities on eight different finance-related subject areas – e.g. analytical reasoning, economics, global markets, investment banking, math, or news analysis. After completing the BAT, students receive their scores, which allows them to compare themselves to a talent pool of over 140,000 students around the world. On top of that, they can choose to enter a Talent Search database where they can anonymously market themselves to over 20,000 financial companies that use the Bloomberg Professional Service to find top new talent for their entry-level job opportunities.

Students at VŠE can take the test free of charge since academic year 2011/2012. Tests are run under the supervision of the department of business economics (KPE) and in cooperation with the student organization Investors’ Club (Klub investorů). Jiří Kotáb, Ph.D. from KPE says: “Since 2012, six tests have already been organized and more than 100 students tested. Among the key advantages for students is that they can identify their strengths, their career opportunities, and receive contacts for world employers; they can also be contacted regarding various job traineeships and internships by companies which also cooperate with Bloomberg.”

Miloslav Veselý, graduate of the Faculty of Economics at VŠE (September 2013), passed the test in November 2013. He scored among the top five students in the whole of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Thus he entered the Bloomberg Hall of Fame, next to students from the University of Oxford and the Technical University Munich. “I learned about the test from the regular Investors’ Club newsletter. I participated in it mostly out of curiosity. I liked the form of the test because, to a large extent, it focuses on a person’s innate aptitudes to work in a field rather than knowledge, which can be learned from books. In my opinion, a general understanding of economics and finance is crucial to successfully passing the test,” Mr. Veselý explains his experience with the test. He has no illusions about a rocket career but a note about an excellent result in the BAT in his CV could become an advantage in the labor market.

More information about the test at: http://about.bloomberginstitute.com/