BCG Pymetrics Games: How to Prepare?

Hi there,

I'll let others comment regarding the test format itself, however here are my thoughts on preparing for it, as well as a couple of other helpful Q&As.

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In essence, don't try to game personality/culture match tests.

Why?

1) Those tests are designed to measure fit. If you're cheating the game you're actually cheating yourself (hard to see when you're in it, but trust me, you don't want to go somewhere you don't belong)

2) You can't predict/outsmart these things. Given that, would you rather fail knowing you answered completely honestly and true to yourself OR, fail knowing you were ungenuine and just said what you thought they wanted? Imagine not getting in, based on answers that weren't you, and always wondering if you'd be in if you were just yourself!

Other Q&As:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/bcg-pymetrics-test-did-not-do-too-well-on-the-genorosity-test-since-i-misunderstood-the-game-will-it-hurt-my-chances-7795

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/pymetrics-test-altruism-9251

Hello there,

Pymetrics is utilized as a way for companies to assess prospective candidates' personalities and capabilities through neuroscience-based gamified tests.

The assesed soft skills garnered through the test is a crucial element of consideration which interviewers typicaly aimed to evaluate during the case interviews, as such the result themselves would be very important as an indicator for the firm .

The only question here is until what extent Pymetrics results has proven to be accurate.
Hence, the importance of cross-checking such findings with direct observations.

Based on my experience, looking at the equivalent PST from McKinsey and SHL tests from other firms, there is actually a vast room for discretion on the preliminary tests results.
It is used in combination with a prospective candidate's CV, which usually weighted much heavier than the online test.

Additionaly, Pymetrics results indicates one's soft skills capabilities such as the ability to concentrate, multi-task, or resolve conflict. There is no one preferred model throughout all the assesed elements as each people would have a unique set of combinations.

My advice here is to approach the test with a clear mind, aiming to do your best, without trying to mold yourself to a 'perfect consultant', as technically there is none. The firm requires different sets of skills to complement each other.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan

Hello!

 Not only in the German offices, this is pretty common - I did something very similar with Bain myself back in the day-. 

I would strongly recomment you practice it with the Integrated Reasoning part of the GMAT exam.

There are free exams in the internet that you can use for practice (the one of LBS MBA page, Verits prep, as well as some free trials for courses such as the one of The Economist (https://gmat.economist.com/)

The (old) McKinsey PST, BCG Online Test, Bain SOVA test, etc. are all quite similar so leverage resources across all of them.

https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/bcg-online/

https://www.shl.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests

https://www.psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

A few goos resources on this can be found here:

https://www.pymetrics.ai/

https://hackingthecaseinterview.thinkific.com/pages/bcg-pymetrics-test

Hi there,

interesting to see that these tests are rolling out. These are quite new (at least at Bain, don't know about Accenture), so I think even for the companies themselves it is still a testing phase where they are learning how useful and accurate these tests can be. Although they do attempt to map out psychological traits, there is of course not a 'standard model' of who you should be. Companies using those are probably themselves trying to understand what are the traits that can predict a good consultant.

Now some types of questions in there do score you on e.g. how good your memory or reactivity is (like some of those computer games that give you your 'brain age'). You can probably become better at them by playing those kind of game/tests, but in my opinion that will not be the best use of your time. If you want to 'game' part of the process, probably best to practice cases and quantitative tests ;)

So bottom line, and as you mention, it's not really something where you'll be right or wrong, and moreover it's not something that will really count vs. interviews and quant tests. Hope this helps a bit!

Hi there,

The test is taken seriously and it is an important step in the screening process. You cannot "fail" it an continue in the interview process. Just like you cannot "fail" HR screening etc.

That also being said, you can "mess up" certain sections and still pass...it's a holistic review.

There's a good recent Q&A on this here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/bcg-pymetrics-test-did-not-do-too-well-on-the-genorosity-test-since-i-misunderstood-the-game-will-it-hurt-my-chances-7795

Hi,

It's important. However, I recommend asking your classmates (ex MBB) to refer you to an on-campus recruiter. That's the best way to guarantee an on-campus interview.

Best!

Hi, I confirm it is important. For additional material to prepare it, feel free to text me

Best,
Antonello

Pymetrics is the test that not only Bain but in some offices use.

It's a kind of psychology/ psychometric driven test where your cognitive treats are tested. So the following aspects like your attention, how fast you make a decision, what is your risk tolerance, your judgment. Just an example, you will be shown different colored balloons, and when a green balloon is popped up, you do nothing and when the red balloon is popped up you press Enter, randomly these balloons will be popped up to see whether you would be able to focus. it's like 2-3 minutes games and 10-15 min depending on the test conducted in this kind of test.

There is no specific preparation required. It's a game test.

Was it helpful to you?
GB

Ping me a DM for some material. Warm regards, Frederic 

Hey there,

did you take the test? Cause I received an invitation for as well and wanted to know if you could tell me more about your experience

Hi there, 

The BCG Pymetrics test is a series of short games you can take on your smartphone (around 12 mini-games, 2-5 minutes each). The games are built in a way that there is no wrong answer. They help measuring candidates' traits such as cognitive flexibility, attention control, how they manage risk, and many more.

GB