Bloomberg for Education Symposium

Last Thursday (20th Sept) I attended the Bloomberg for Education Symposium at Bloomberg L.P. Finsbury Square, London.

The theme of the day was the skills that graduates need for a career in finance, and how Bloomberg can help Universities to equip students for the world of work.

One key message is that you don’t have to do a finance/business degree to get a graduate position in finance.

What you do need is to demonstrate enthusiasm for working in the financial sector: your degree can do this but it is by no means the only way. Talent is useful, but remember that there are a large range of types of jobs and correspondingly a large range of appropriate talents. [I would struggle to get most jobs at Bloomberg because they and looking for business fluency in at least 2 languages and I don’t think English and Latin would be sufficient.] Finally, recruiters are looking for a willingness to work hard, since no matter how closely your studies match your first job you will always have lots to learn.

How can Bloomberg help?

You can use  Bloomberg Professional to demonstrate your interest in a career in finance. Using the same system used by professionals gives you a greater understanding of how professionals monitor financial information, and helps to bridge the gap between academic theory and current practice. Functions BU (Bloomberg University) and CHEAT (Cheatsheets) are good starting points for self-study.

Bloomberg are also promoting the BAT (Bloomberg Assessment Test). This is a standardised test that provides aspiring financial professionals with a measure of their strengths and weaknesses compared with the global average in a range of topics: economics, financial markets, verbal skills, analytical reasoning … There is also an optional feature that allows recruiters to search for matching candidates based on their scores in the various topics.

BAT website screenshot (click to enlarge)

In terms of using  Bloomberg Professional, Bloomberg choose to highlight the Bloomberg Industries (BI) function. This provides users with an industry view including key drivers, company comparisons and industry specific data. (See previous post on Mobile phone industry data on Bloomberg.