Mere curiosity at the beginning turned into world success at the end. A few weeks ago, student of finance Matej Zabadal tried the prestigious Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT), which was taken by approximately two thousand people from all around the world. It was a great success right the first time and he made his way to the Hall of Fame on the fifth place in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. What is behind his success and what will it be useful for?
Matej is keen on finance, markets and investing. He actively tries to look for new information, broaden his horizons and gain new experience. He did not miss the opportunity to have himself tested at his faculty by a Bloomberg ambassador, who organized testing to assess students' aptitude for work in the world of finance. Matej had lacked the possibility to assess his abilities other than by school tests.
“It is very difficult to get feedback on one's complex abilities at school. When thinking about his or her career future, there is no chance to find out how we are actually standing. BAT is one of the possibilities to test comprehensively all knowledge in the field," explains Matej.
As he says, he had no expectations from the test. “I was rather curious what the form of the test would be, what the questions would be and how difficult it would be. I'm a very competitive person, so I said to myself: I'll try to achieve a good result," says Matej, laughing. “When I learned how I did, it was satisfaction for me that what I do is not in vain," he adds contentedly.
Matej's good result was facilitated mainly by analytical thinking, which is something he has been excelling at since he was little. “I really enjoy mathematics and what also helped me are activities in the Investor's Club, which organized a lot of lectures and workshops during the semester and which provided me with a lot of information. The test is not conceptually difficult but you need to understand the connections. And that requires certain knowledge in the field," the student explains.
Admission ticket to the labour market
He started thinking about how the test results can be used only subsequently. “I found that my result can help me more than I expected. It's not just a competition or comparison with others. It is a real entry in the CV, which distinguishes you from others. I can prove to employers that I have knowledge applicable in practice. When I apply for a job, it will make me different. It's important to stand out," Matej Zabadal adds.
His exceptional success brings the fruits already now. Thanks to his results, he is going to be an intern in one multinational corporation from February. Moreover, some foreign employers directly use the database of BAT participants and based on the results they select and contact their future employees. “Financial company Bloomberg has a great name abroad," the student explains.
However, Matej's natural competitiveness is keeping him up and he tried good luck in the test also for the second time. This time he was only one question away from the result he achieved in the first test. But that does not put him off. “The result could definitely be even better. Looking back, I feel like going for it again, there are still four more places ahead of me I can reach. Once you are among the best ones, you want to be the very best one. That's my big bad and good luck in life at the same time," Matej laughs.
Students can take the Bloomberg Aptitude Test free of charge again in the next semester in the Faculty of Economics and Administration.