Bloomberg BAT - now available 24/7 online

The two-hour Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT) is now available 24/7 online, conveniently plugging into your busy schedule with no session sign-up needed. The BAT provides students and recent graduates with a direct pathway to a career in finance. After taking the BAT, test takers’ scores are anonymously entered into our database, available to all 315,000 Bloomberg Terminal subscribers worldwide – the world’s financial elite.

As an added benefit to taking the BAT this fall, all test-takers will receive a complementary 6-month subscription to a bundle of Bloomberg Briefs. This bundle includes the following four newsletters:

  • Hedge Funds
  • Private Equity
  • Mergers
  • Economics

In addition, Bloomberg is promoting the top global test-takers to all Bloomberg Terminal users.

Want to work on the buy-side? See how the BAT can help.

 

I took the BAT around when it first came out. It's a test you're not supposed to study for, and I showed up to the computer lab hungover on a Saturday morning, took it because I was offered extra credit in class just for sitting through it, and think I scored something just shy of 90 percentile among those early adopters. But I just logged in to check my old score, and by now, it appears that enough freshmen, who can't tell revenues apart from operating profits, have taken the exam that I've been boosted up to 99 percentile.

Did I get any job offers via the BAT? Well, a small CRE fund in NYC reached out, and I think a few other tiny outfits too. But clearly, the test still hasn't evolved to the point where it's something you put on your resume and try to get a job with...and especially now that it's available 24/7, it sounds like they've completely given up on the test's legitimacy.

 

Hi Jake - I work on the BAT team and wanted to ensure you that the 24/7 availability of the test does not deteriorate the legitimacy. Our online sessions are proctored by a live person via a webcam. The proctor is able to monitor the testing environment and the test taker's desktop to make sure there are no other applications running. We have seen that being able to take the BAT from home at any time has helped students fit the test into their busy schedules.

 

I remember seeing this BAT thing for the first time and simply just laughing.

I see all of these non target kids names on the list as 'high achievers' and thought how many people have listed it on their resume thinking it would get them a look...

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 
Best Response

Billy - as one of those "non target kids," I'd challenge the presumptions underlying your assertions. Don't be so quick to dismiss someone just because they didn't go to Harvard or Wharton. It's certainly true that, broadly speaking, candidates from target schools will outperform candidates from non-target schools, but it doesn't mean that individual students from non-target schools can't run circles around individual students from target schools. There are plenty of students with the qualifications and intellect to go to a target school, but finances, family matters, and other constraints often lead to them choosing a different school. That clearly puts them at a disadvantage in the recruiting process, but doesn't mean they have less intrinsic capability than kids from Ivies. It's not where you went to school that makes you special; it's what you're capable of accomplishing.

And that's why I really only have positive things to say about the BAT - it's a purely meritocratic way of determining financial aptitude. I have a laundry list of accomplishments and experience, but as a student at a one of those non-target schools (UT-Dallas), one of my major obstacles was getting in touch with elite firms. I had a pretty thorough plan for networking, but the BAT simplified - and dramatically accelerated - those plans.

As a result of receiving the world's top score on the June 2013 test, I received a congratulatory phone call from McKinsey's Director of Global Recruiting; I also received a connection request from Goldman Sachs via Bloomberg's database. The score also garnered a substantial amount of attention from my current clients as well as professors, which has led to a number of other potential opportunities (IB, hedge funds) that I'm not yet at liberty to discuss specifically. Essentially, it's a great conversation starter, and regardless of which opportunity ends up being the best fit for me, I think the BAT will have played a sizable role in it.

To be fair, I don't have the experience of the "average" student taking the BAT, since my score wasn't average - but I do think the model is solid. If you don't do well, the anonymous nature of the database and connection request system ensures that nobody will ever know, and the score will actually benefit you by pointing to areas you may need work on. Conversely, if you do really well, the opportunities are limitless. My former roommate put it quite eloquently and succinctly: "it's probably the best two hours you've ever spent." It's pure optionality: the downside is limited to the opportunity cost of two hours, which, unless you're Batman, is likely not very high - and the upside is potentially enormous. Taking the BAT is a no-brainer, ESPECIALLY if you go to a non-target school. It doesn't make sense for elite employers to spend time and money recruiting from those schools because the overall hit-rate won't be high enough, but that doesn't mean they aren't interested in talking to the best and brightest - you just have to prove yourself.

As a final note, I think Bloomberg's put together an excellent team. I found everyone I communicated with to be very professional and friendly, and Rob Langrick, the head of the Bloomberg Institute, has gone out of his way to help - he's taken a great deal of time to provide me with career advice and guidance. From what I've heard, they're very serious about continuing to expand the BAT's reach and name recognition. Given the number of doors it's opened for me despite the test still being relatively low-profile (versus names like the SAT and GMAT that literally everyone knows), I have no doubt future test-takers will be even more richly rewarded.

In summary - if you haven't taken the BAT yet, go do it. No reason not to.

 
alphasammy:

Billy - as one of those "non target kids," I'd challenge the presumptions underlying your assertions. Don't be so quick to dismiss someone just because they didn't go to Harvard or Wharton. It's certainly true that, broadly speaking, candidates from target schools will outperform candidates from non-target schools, but it doesn't mean that individual students from non-target schools can't run circles around individual students from target schools. There are plenty of students with the qualifications and intellect to go to a target school, but finances, family matters, and other constraints often lead to them choosing a different school. That clearly puts them at a disadvantage in the recruiting process, but doesn't mean they have less intrinsic capability than kids from Ivies. It's not where you went to school that makes you special; it's what you're capable of accomplishing.

And that's why I really only have positive things to say about the BAT - it's a purely meritocratic way of determining financial aptitude. I have a laundry list of accomplishments and experience, but as a student at a one of those non-target schools (UT-Dallas), one of my major obstacles was getting in touch with elite firms. I had a pretty thorough plan for networking, but the BAT simplified - and dramatically accelerated - those plans.

As a result of receiving the world's top score on the June 2013 test, I received a congratulatory phone call from McKinsey's Director of Global Recruiting; I also received a connection request from Goldman Sachs via Bloomberg's database. The score also garnered a substantial amount of attention from my current clients as well as professors, which has led to a number of other potential opportunities (IB, hedge funds) that I'm not yet at liberty to discuss specifically. Essentially, it's a great conversation starter, and regardless of which opportunity ends up being the best fit for me, I think the BAT will have played a sizable role in it.

To be fair, I don't have the experience of the "average" student taking the BAT, since my score wasn't average - but I do think the model is solid. If you don't do well, the anonymous nature of the database and connection request system ensures that nobody will ever know, and the score will actually benefit you by pointing to areas you may need work on. Conversely, if you do really well, the opportunities are limitless. My former roommate put it quite eloquently and succinctly: "it's probably the best two hours you've ever spent." It's pure optionality: the downside is limited to the opportunity cost of two hours, which, unless you're Batman, is likely not very high - and the upside is potentially enormous. Taking the BAT is a no-brainer, ESPECIALLY if you go to a non-target school. It doesn't make sense for elite employers to spend time and money recruiting from those schools because the overall hit-rate won't be high enough, but that doesn't mean they aren't interested in talking to the best and brightest - you just have to prove yourself.

As a final note, I think Bloomberg's put together an excellent team. I found everyone I communicated with to be very professional and friendly, and Rob Langrick, the head of the Bloomberg Institute, has gone out of his way to help - he's taken a great deal of time to provide me with career advice and guidance. From what I've heard, they're very serious about continuing to expand the BAT's reach and name recognition. Given the number of doors it's opened for me despite the test still being relatively low-profile (versus names like the SAT and GMAT that literally everyone knows), I have no doubt future test-takers will be even more richly rewarded.

In summary - if you haven't taken the BAT yet, go do it. No reason not to.

Good gawd homie, you wrote a 5 page essay on the benefits of BAT?!?! I dont even need to say it but- TL;DR.

It is clear that you work at Bloomberg, so you need to go to your pantry and grab one of those free snacks they give out- because you are clearly suffering from low blood sugar or something. BAT? hahaha

"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
 

Ipsam tempore nulla natus et aspernatur qui. Numquam quia tempora sint cupiditate quo tempora. Vero tenetur dolorem aut amet odio ex. Illo corporis optio quia nemo temporibus recusandae. Eius nam autem odit ut. Odio voluptate expedita similique rerum fugit voluptate rerum eius.

Sit omnis ut ex dolorum saepe ab. Corporis natus ad ipsum aliquam natus. Voluptatem omnis ducimus voluptatem a beatae repellat officia.

Sequi odit dolores minima delectus perspiciatis rerum. Aut perferendis omnis cum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”