HOW DOES IT WORK?

Challengest is a great platform, which connects companies with young people in an innovative way. Student has an opportunity to work on concrete tasks, train his hard skills, develop himself and earn money. Challenge solver is also closer to job interview, even he doesn't have any working experience. Solving challenges open doors also to those, who want to change their job/major field. Company has opportunity to develop active relationship with young people, gain "out-of-the-box" solutions on their problem and can save time and use challenge as assessment center. Also company can find potential employees through real solutions, not only through written CV.

So far I’ve learned that every challenge is always a positive experience. We will learn something which will help us in further development and growth or it will open another door for us. I wanted to study English language but ended up studying Economics, so I did my best and became student assistant at English Language classes at my uni. It helped me gain new friendships and created new opportunities such as writing content for a uni blog. Through all that I learned I’m capable of much more than I’ve ever anticipated. It’s making something out of nothing that’s a challenge. And we all start out with nothing. We need to push our limits, our creativity and knowledge which is where Challengest comes in. It’s a perfect solution for using our creativity and knowledge and it can be a new learning experience or even a job opportunity!

First time I heard about the Challengest in March 2017, while I was surfing the Internet. I saw Challengest site and I noticed that several challenges were raised. I uploaded solutions just to try it, not expecting anything special. But I won the third place in first challenge I solved. After that, I accepted Challengest as a part of everyday life and it became my habit to open the Challengest page every day to see if a new challenge was published. In solving challenges, I like the opportunity to apply everything I've learned so far and my creative skills.

Challengest is a great way to get out of your comfort zone, experience new adventures, and see things from a different point of view, you have never thought or imagined to do so. I believe that it not only connects people and broaden your knowledge, but is also a great opportunity to express yourself. So far, I have been part of the summer challenge and with sending my text and photo about my experience with jumping out from an airplane, I was able to make the second place. I am happy that I could convince the jury with my story and share it with the whole community. In my opinion, this community is a great basis for not only job-related network, but for your personal enrichment. I will definitely take part in much more challenges, and cannot wait to get more involved over the time. I am looking forward to the evolvement of this platform and want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of this amazing team.

Thanks to Challengest I got experience, knowledge and money. I have met many inspirational people and obtained useful references. I would surely recommend Challengest, because it gives great opportunity for young people. Chance to work with big and influential corporations. That's why I accepted two challenges already and I hope and believe, that those two were not my last challenges. First challenge was from Tatra banka. The goal was to create a scenario for short video, that will attract young people. My solution got to the finals, where I competed with 3 finalists. We presented our ideas in front of a jury consisting of Tatra banka employees. In a strong competition of perfectly prepared students I managed to win and get new experience and skills. A bonus was the prize of 300 euros. After short break I saw "Young Vibes challenge 2017" from ČSOB Poisťovňa. The challenge was almost identical – to find a way of communication on young people about insurance. I created an application that got me to the finals in ČSOB HQ in Bratislava. The most valuable was the challenging discussion with the Board of directors and employees of ČSOB Poisťovňa. They have challenged details of my concept. Despite my stress and delay, I won again. This challenge gave me incredible experience and also I earned 350 euros. After that I continued to the finals of "ČSOB Poisťovňa Inovation 2017" where I could won the realization of my idea. There I competed with employees of ČSOB Poisťovňa.

Every relationship has a beginning. Relationship between me and Challengest started 4 years ago, in the autumn of 2013. I remember seeing a short promo video on Facebook and I was hooked with the concept immediately. I signed in and started exploring the website. The timing was great, since that year was in a spirit of student-related competitions for me. The very first challenge I took part in was to create a logo for Funfón – I wasn’t successful, so I tried another challenge aaaand that wasn’ t successful either. It was not disappointed for me, yet I wanted to prove myself I can do better. So, I kept going until it happened – I won my first challenge with “Swiss RE in 5 minutes.” – it felt great – but this is not where it ends. By this time, I managed to be awarded as a winner for 8 times (5 x 1st ,2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd). I visited the headquarters of the companies, spoke with the managers and board-members, presented my solutions, I even flew from my stay in Amsterdam to present my winning solution in CSOB challenge. Looking backwords, I feel like I have been living - #bethechallengest – and I am grateful it all happened. Thanks to Challengest, I have read books I might not have read otherwise, tried concepts I only heard of, became curious about solving the problems, and realised I can be creative. For more about me, read the upcoming blog. Cheers :)