BCG Pymetrics Test: Guide and Tips 2023
Updated November 18, 2023
- What Is the BCG Pymetrics Test?
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- How Is the BCG Pymetrics Test Used?
- BCG Pymetrics Practice Test Questions
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- How to Prepare for the BCG Pymetrics Test in 2023
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
What Is the BCG Pymetrics Test?
The BCG pymetrics test is an assessment that is used in the second stage of the recruitment process for many roles at the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG).
It is a psychometric assessment that is designed to examine the soft skills of the candidate.
It is a gamified assessment, which is quite different from many of the pre-employment screening tests that you might be familiar with.
Why BCG?
BCG is known as one of the 'Big Three' management consultancy firms, along with Bain and McKinsey.
BCG employs 22,000 employees worldwide, with offices in the UK, the US and elsewhere.
Known for recruiting candidates for their graduate schemes from the top undergraduate colleges and business schools, there are job roles available across many business functions within BCG, including:
- Business operations
- Consulting
- Marketing and communications
- Research and insights
- Finance
- Legal team and risk management
Working for BCG comes with many benefits that you would expect from one of the biggest names in management consultancy, including a competitive salary, insurance and retirement benefits, hybrid and remote working, and other rewards like employee discounts and subsidized food.
Pymetrics
Pymetrics is a soft skills testing platform that works with many different industries using audited artificial intelligence (AI) assessments.
The gamified platform that pymetrics has developed is based on psychometric science and is designed to help a business to find candidates who have the right range of soft skills to be successful in the role that they are looking to fill.
The difference between the pymetrics system to other pre-employment assessments is that the tests are taking place as you play a series of mini-games.
These are like the games you might play in a ‘brain training’ app on your smartphone.
While you are playing, the AI is assessing your soft skills against 91 cognitive metrics to build a picture of how well you can deal with the needs of the role.
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Skills Tested in the BCG Pymetrics Test
The 12 BCG Pymetrics games assess nine different soft skills:
- Learning – The consultants at BCG need to be able to absorb new information, learn and adapt
- Effort – Consultants must put in long hours, but they are expected to use the 80/20 principle to ensure that they are making the most of it
- Risk Tolerance – There is a certain level of risk that must be accepted to make recommendations
- Decision Making – BCG consultants use data to make decisions
- Attention – Consultants need to be able to pay attention to conversations and data to be able to make the right recommendations
- Focus – Focusing on the research that the consultants have done with diligence will ensure that they can give the best recommendations to their clients
- Generosity – Consultants need to be generous enough with their time when it comes to dealing with clients, but not so generous that it costs the consultancy business money
- Fairness – Clients want fair and even-handed recommendations that put their business needs at the forefront
- Emotion – The consultant must be able to read body language and have enough emotional intelligence to be able to provide the right recommendations and support
Structure of Pymetrics Assessments
Each BCG Pymetrics game lasts two to three minutes, and the way the assessment works is to find whether the candidate has the inherent fit for the available role.
The results are evenly distributed with no bias on gender, socioeconomic status or race.
The whole assessment should take less than 30 minutes to complete, and once you have started a game, you need to finish it.
You can pause between games if you need to, but it is recommended that you try and get it all done in one.
The BCG pymetrics assessment is taken online, and you can use a computer or a smartphone to complete it. All you need is somewhere quiet to concentrate and reliable internet access.
How Is the BCG Pymetrics Test Used?
The BCG pymetrics assessment is used as part of the recruitment process for many different roles.
Unlike some other soft skills assessments, BCG states that they do not filter applicants based on their results on this test.
Instead, it is used to find out more about each candidate and the way they prefer to work.
With this in mind, it might not seem to matter if you score well on this assessment, but candidates have reported that they have not progressed further in the recruitment process at BCG following a poor response to the assessment.
Another factor to remember is that you cannot retake a pymetrics assessment within 330 days (basically 11 months) of your last assessment.
This means that even if you apply for another job at a company that uses pymetrics in that time, your previous BCG Pymetrics test scores will be shared with the recruitment team there.
Pymetrics work in partnership with many businesses across different industries, including:
- PwC
- AstraZeneca
- UPS
- JPMorgan
- Unilever
- McDonald’s
- Accenture
In essence, performing as well as you can in the assessment is necessary as you never know when you might need a good score in the future.
BCG Pymetrics Practice Test Questions
Knowing what each mini-game in the assessment is assessing is not simple; with 91 metrics being assessed and nine skills demonstrated, some of the BCG Pymetrics games might seem a bit random.
Pymetrics do not release their games or allow a preview, even for candidates that are taking the assessment to practice. However, we do know what skills they are assessing for in the BCG tests.
Having an idea of what the games might involve will help you feel a bit more confident when you are facing the games themselves.
Some of the games that have been released include:
Memory
How many digits can you recall from the previous screen?
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Focus
Several different colored shapes will appear and disappear on the screen, and you need to tap a specified key or area when you see a specific combination.
Emotional Intelligence
You will be shown pictures of different faces and need to match the face to the emotion that the face is showing.
It's this boy's birthday and he was expecting to go for a meal with his parents. His parents told him that they couldnt afford a big party this year. But when he got to the restaurant he saw that the room was full of all his friends and family.
What is he feeling?
a) Sad
b) Angry
c) Fear
d) Suprise
e) Confusion
This must be a quick reaction as there is not a lot of time available to process the information.
Risk Tolerance
This is perhaps the most well-known of the games – you need to pump up a balloon with the aim of getting the highest score – but it will explode at some point, and you will lose all your points.
The balloons are different sizes and colors, and that is what decides how quickly the balloon will pop when it is pumped.
You need to take some risks to get closer to analyzing the patterns and deciding when to bank the money you have collected.
Reaction
You will be asked to press a button repeatedly in a set amount of time.
This simple game is all about following instructions, starting at the right time and stopping exactly when you are told to.
Prioritisation and Effort
There will be two tasks and you will have to choose between them based on how difficult they are and what the payoff will be.
If the chance of winning is low, and the prize for the harder task is also low, then a good strategy would be to go for the easier task.
For example:
Problem Solving
The Tower Game is another rather famous game that many people will have played at one time or another.
You need to move objects from one tower to another in the right way in as few moves as possible.
For example:
The discs must be arranged to match the target image in the fewest moves possible. You need to match the colors in order.
Decision Making
You are presented with a certain amount of money now or the option to take a larger amount of money in a certain number of days.
Fairness and Generosity
You will need to decide how fairly an amount of money is distributed amongst a group of people, based on different parameters
There are two money-based questions that are quite similar, and they are both to do with being even-handed and fair, trusting other people and being generous.
Lengths Game
In the lengths game, you are shown different cartoon pictures and must decide if the picture has a short mustache or a long one.
What makes it particularly challenging is that the mustaches are similar, so it is hard to tell them apart.
How to Prepare for the BCG Pymetrics Test in 2023
Step 1. Be Open to Change
Soft skills are often described as the intangibles, but they are also important for success in any role.
While the pymetrics assessments are looking for specific soft skills, the actual mini-games themselves will vary depending on the way you play.
The audited AI used in the games adapts to the way you play – so even the candidates taking the test for the same role might face a different version of the assessment.
Part of the preparation needed for the pymetrics assessment should focus on leveling up your skills in general – don’t focus on your balloon-pumping ability, but think about what risk tolerance you have and what BCG is looking for in the soft skills of their candidates.
Step 2. Practice
Soft skills are inherent, but it is possible to improve them – and you can take practice tests for things like logic, problem-solving and decision-making online.
One of the best ways to practice for the BCG pymetrics test is by using a brain training game on your smartphone or tablet.
These are the most like the pymetrics assessment in structure and content and are an effective way to keep your mind ticking over before you take the real assessment.
Step 3. Read Instructions
Each of the mini-games will require different ways of answering.
Although the games are short, you should take the time to read the instructions carefully, as you do not want to make a mistake by not completely understanding what you need to do.
Reading the instructions will also give you an opportunity to get past any anxiety you might have.
Step 4. Hydrate/Eat
To make the most of your performance in the assessment, you need to ensure that your body and mind have the fuel it needs to be successful.
What this means is that you need to eat healthily in the lead-up to the pymetrics assessment. Ensure that you stay hydrated and get a good night’s sleep too.
Step 5. Prepare Your Tools
Taking the BCG pymetrics test takes just 25 to 30 minutes, and you will need a solid and reliable internet connection – and a working device to take the test on.
The test itself works on a PC, laptop, tablet or even on a smartphone, which makes the test easy to access.
If you have any technical problems, then the support team at pymetrics can help along with the BCG team.
The BCG pymetrics test is not hard, and the mini-games are fun and simple to play.
As the test is non-directional (there are no right or wrong BCG Pymetrics test answers), and BCG has stated that the results have no bearing on your success in the recruitment process, it is not too hard to pass.
Pymetrics do not release practice tests or questions to review, so it is difficult to find reputable online practice tests, but you can prepare yourself for the BCG pymetrics test.
Preparing for the test can be done using ‘brain training’ games on your computer or smartphone.
The BCG Pymetrics test questions are like the brain training games you might have played on your smartphone.
They are in the form of mini-games, and you will not necessarily know what soft skill is being evaluated for as the algorithms and the artificial intelligence match your actions and answers against 91 different soft skill-related metrics.
The BCG pymetrics test does not really have right or wrong answers like other types of psychometric assessments, which means that it is hard to know what counts as a ‘good score.’
Your score on the test is held by Pymetrics, so it is worth playing the games to the best of your ability, even if BCG does not use the results to filter out the applicants.
If you apply for a role at another organization that uses pymetrics then your results will be shared with them too.
The BCG pymetrics test is used by BCG to understand more about the candidates that have applied.
Other companies use pymetrics as a pre-employment screening assessment to narrow down a large pool of candidates which means that failing to meet the standards that are required for the role would mean your application would not be progressed.
In the BCG version, you cannot fail, although some candidates have reported that their application was not taken further following the pymetrics assessment.
Your BCG pymetrics test results are presented as a trait profile, and the recruitment team will have access to the results almost immediately.
Your recruitment contact will let you know what your results are in the BCG pymetrics test, so it is best to contact them and find out what the timeline will be if they do not let you know beforehand.
The 12 games in the BCG pymetrics test are:
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Balloon Game
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Money Exchange Game (1 and 2)
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Arrows Game
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Keypress Game
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Digits Game
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Cards Game
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Faces Game
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Hard or Easy Game
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Tower Game
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Stop Game
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Lengths Game
The BCG pymetrics assessment is followed by the interview section of the recruitment process.
Once you have completed the test, the recruitment team will use your results to help them get to know you better before you progress to telephone, face-to-face, and case interviews.
The whole BCG pymetrics test is not timed, but each mini-game has a time limit of between one and three minutes.
You can pause the assessment between tests, but once you have started a game, you need to finish it.
If you complete the games in one sitting, it will take you between 25 and 30 minutes.
Final Thoughts
The gamified approach of the BCG pymetrics test is almost unique and much more interesting for the candidates, and the insight that the recruitment team can get about each individual and their soft skills, strengths and weaknesses are useful for the future.
Preparing for the pymetrics assessment is not as easy as taking a series of practice tests as the company does not release preview questions.
However, in most cases, you can improve your mental abilities using brain training games, either on your smartphone or using crosswords, logic puzzles and things like sudoku.
If you have the BCG pymetrics assessment in your future, make sure that you are looking after yourself well: eating healthy meals, staying hydrated and making sure that you get an adequate amount of sleep.
