BCG Pymetrics Game: How to Prepare

BCG Pymetrics Game: How to Prepare

The BCG Pymetrics Assessment is a tool made by Pymetrics for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The firm uses the tool in its second stage of recruitment, right after you have submitted your application online. 

Pymetrics is a New York-based firm founded in 2011 that provides a platform that leverages AI and behavioral science to help companies to recruit a diverse team with high-performer potential.

Pymetrics partners with various companies to build a series of unique games and tests to help the hiring organization gather behavioral data appropriate to the role or organization. The company creates an algorithm that objectively assesses each candidate against the desired outcome. Succinctly put, each Pymetrics test is tailored to the position and/or hiring organization.

This guide provides an overview of Pymetrics testing, with particular attention to the BCG Pymetrics Test. Read on to find out what you can expect and how best to prepare for the BCG Pymetrics assessment..

What Is Pymetrics?

Pymetrics is a soft skills and talent assessment technology platform that uses neuroscience-based games to assess and better understand job candidates. The platform has redefined hiring processes and made talent management more efficient and effective.

Pymetrics uses AI and neuroscience-based games to collect behavioral data. Candidates are invited to play a series of games that measure cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral attributes. Employers then use this data to judge a candidate’s potential and how good the candidate is for a specific job role.

What Is the Pymetrics Test/Game?

A Pymetrics test is a digital assessment tool comprising neuroscience-based games that test the soft skills of the players/candidates based on behavioral data gathered from how they play the games. The AI-based Pymetrics Games rank high among the fastest-growing screening tools used by top employers across different sectors all over the world.

The Boston Consulting Group Pymetrics assessment consists of a series of 12 mini-games. Each game lasts about 2-3 minutes, bringing the total duration of the test to an average of 20-30 minutes. Each game has its objective and an underlying trait that it assesses.

Why the Pymetrics Test?

Highly desirable jobs, including management consulting roles at Boston Consulting Group and similar firms, receive more applications each year. Sifting through the hundreds of applications per role manually or by human effort has proved quite expensive and time-consuming. Also, firms recognize that they miss out on getting the best talents out there when they use arbitrary grounds, such as looking only at applicants from ivy-league institutions during the initial sorting of candidates.

The Pymetrics founders saw the inherent bias in the traditional hiring method of relying on resumes and cover letters. Think about it, and you will realize that to be true. That resumes and cover letters are self-reported allows you and other candidates to present yourself in a particular light. 

With the Pymetrics assessments, it’s much more difficult for candidates to guess what answer an employer is looking for, which can help keep the process more honest. The gamified assessments allow potential employers to know you above and beyond what you have put down on your consulting resume and cover letter.

Employers also favor Pymetrics as these tests allow the company to increase its diversity. Top employers across the globe recognize that there may be better moves than filtering out candidates based purely on their academic background. 

Pymetrics algorithms recognize all the factors that influence personality traits, including demographics, social background, and extra-curricular activities. In this way, employers narrow their talent pool to include more than just the candidates who are privileged enough to afford an expensive college education.

Which Companies Use the Pymetrics Test?

Many corporates have included Pymetrics tests in their recruitment process for the advantages these tests offer (as highlighted above.) Unilever, LinkedIn, Colgate-Palmolive, McDonalds, and Kraft Heinz are some of the names that use Pymetrics tests. Professional services firms such as Accenture and PWC also use the tests. The same goes for Boston Consulting Group and other management consultant firms. Pymetrics tests are also popular for investment banks such as JP Morgan.

What Is the Ultimate Goal of the Pymetrics Test/Game?

Employers such as Boston Consulting Group add Pymetrics tests to their recruitment process with the following strategic and practical goals in mind.

• Optimize candidate screening, and be able to recruit a variety of personalities by eliminating biases.
• Keep up with the changing demands of the job market and remain agile by hiring candidates with future-facing soft skills.
• Improve employee retention as a well-placed candidate is less likely to want to pursue a different path once hired at the company.
• Diversify their workforce by being more inclusive during the recruitment process.
• Save time and money. The Pymetrics tests provide an economical way for employers to evaluate a large pool of candidates quickly.

What Does the Pymetrics Game/Test Assess?

A Pymetrics test assesses a broad range of 91 traits in candidates taking the assessment. These traits are classed into nine categories.

• Emotion: What do you look to when trying to discern the emotions of others? Is it on the context and information of your engagement, or do you rely on facial expressions?
• Attention: Do you take your time to review new information when it’s presented to you, or are you one to jump to action? Are you methodical in your approach, or do you prefer to move with speed above everything else? How well do you pay attention to detail?
• Effort: Are you selective in the way you approach work? Do you put in as much effort for all tasks, or are you more motivated to put in more effort towards tasks that have a clear reward involved?
• Fairness: Do you take your time to come up with a conclusion when judging the fairness of a social situation? Or are you quick to think of most of such situations as reasonably fair?
• Focus: Are you one to block out all else and focus on a single task, or do you lean towards multitasking?
• Decision Making: How do you arrive at your decision? Do you tend to trust and go with your gut or intuition? Or are you more deliberative when making decisions?
• Learning: Do you quickly change your behavior and approach when you get new information, or does it take you a while to make these changes? Can you detect patterns and adapt accordingly?
• Generosity: Are you altruistic and likely to share your resources? Or are you more guarded when it comes to sharing these resources?
• Risk Tolerance: Do you exercise caution and favor safer and less risky paths? Or are you more likely to take on a situation without overthinking about the associated risks and negative consequences?

In addition to the core games that assess the traits above, Pymetrics also offers some add-ons that consist of gamified assessments of numerical agility, logical/qualitative reasoning, and quantitative reasoning.

What Games Are Included in the Pymetrics Test?

Here is an overview of the 12 core Pymetrics games, including a brief description of each game and the trait(s) tested.

1. Mini-game 1: Balloons Game

Traits Assessed: Risk Tolerance and Decision-Making

For this game, you are requested to pump balloons. Each pump earns you money, making the balloon worth $0.05 more. You can keep pumping or collect the money at any point. The risk lies in the fact that the balloons may pop or explode at any time, at which point they will be worth nothing.

2. Mini-game 2: Tower Game

Traits Assessed: Decision-Making

This game requires that you use the least number of moves to rearrange three towers. It is a variant of the famous Hanoi Towers game.

3. Mini-game 3: Money Exchange Game # 1

Traits Assessed: Risk Tolerance and Fairness

For each round of this game, you will engage in transactions with another AI-based player. You will then need to rate the fairness of these money exchange transactions.

4. Mini-game 4: Money Exchange Game #2

Traits Assessed: Generosity and Fairness

This game is a variant of the Money Exchange Game # 1 and follows the same structured pattern. The difference lies in the rules and the objective of the game.

5. Mini-game 5: Keypresses Game

Traits Assessed: Attention

You will be requested to hit a specific key on the keyboard as fast as possible until the instructions change to “STOP.” You will alternate between “START” and “STOP” throughout the game.

6. Mini-game 6: Digits Game

Traits Assessed: Attention

For this game, there will be a display of a sequence of digits on your screens. These will quickly flash on the screen, and you will be challenged to memorize the numbers and type them in the correct sequence.

7. Mini-game 7: Easy or Hard Task Game

Traits Assessed: Decision-Making and Risk Tolerance

For each round of this mini-game, you will be required to pick one of two tasks; an easy task, meaning a higher probability of success, but for a lower prize, or a harder task, with a lower success probability but the reward is a higher prize.

8. Mini-game 8: Arrows Game

Traits Assessed: Focus

In this mini-game, you will see two sets of flashing arrows and will be required to determine their directions.

9. Mini-game 9: Stop Game

Traits Assessed: Attention

For this game, you will be presented with a random sequence of shapes in two colors. You will be required to hit the space key on your keyboard when a given color appears.

10. Mini-game 10: Cards Game

Traits Assessed: Risk Tolerance, Decision-Making, and Learning

You will be presented with four decks from which to draw a card. Each card you pick may earn or lose you money. Your challenge will be to win and collect as much money as possible. The seemingly random patterns will not be as random if you pay close attention.

11. Mini-game 11: Lengths Game

Traits Assessed: Attention

You will be shown two very similar images. A specific element in the images, such as the mustache on a cat, may be slightly shorter or longer. You need to pay close attention and recognize which specific image is presented to gain points.

12. Mini-game 12: Faces Game

Traits Assessed: Emotion.   

You will be presented with multiple facial expressions and asked to recognize the emotions conveyed in these expressions. The facial expressions may also come with a brief description.

How Does Pymetrics Assessment Work?

At the end of the test, you will receive a comprehensive “traits report” with information based on the outcome of your assessment. This report outlines an analysis of how you did, divided into various categories such as cognitive, emotional, and social. It may also show how these traits may manifest in the workplace. There are no right or wrong answers to the challenges or activities in Pymetrics tests, which is why you will not see any scores on the report.

The hiring company or recruiter will receive a different report. This report matches your traits against the traits the organization identified as desirable or ideal for the role. Based on the benchmark provided, you will be listed as any of several things in the fit band, from “Highly Recommended” to “Not Recommended.”

How to Prepare for Pymetrics Tests

There is a common misconception that you cannot prepare for Pymetrics tests. This isn’t true, but it is only fair to admit that preparing for Pymetrics is more complex than standard tests. Also, Pymetrics doesn’t offer any example questions and practice tests on its website.

While you cannot exactly revise for Pymetrics tests as they don’t have right or wrong answers, you can, however, prepare with the following tips.

Tip # 1: Know What Qualities the Employer Is Looking for

Looking at their core values, you can see what Boston Consulting Group and other employers that use Pymetrics tests are looking for in potential hires. For a company like BCG, its core values include integrity, social impact, diversity, clients always come first, value delivery, partnership, and collaboration. 

From this outline, you can deduce that the company is looking for candidates who plan their strategy before taking on a task, are creative, and are great team players. You can then use this information to inform how you play the games and complete the assessments.

Tip # 2: Take Up Coaching to Develop Your Soft Skills

The skills that the Pymetrics test assesses can be developed. The good news is that online AI and human-based coaching programs can help you develop the skills targeted by the Pymetrics test.

For example, if you are applying for a role for which the best-fit candidate is a deliberative decision-maker, but you are an intuitive one yourself, interview coaching should be able to help you develop the required skill. In most cases, it should take a few sessions to fully develop the desired skill.

Tip # 3: Practice by Playing Games on Brain Training Apps

It is crucial to realize that the brain training apps may not specifically target the traits and soft skills for which you will be assessed on the Pymetrics test. However, such practice is great as it will help you get more accustomed to the gamified environment before taking the Pymetrics test.

That said, brain training apps do offer some assessments of your numerical agility and quantitative and qualitative reasoning, much like what you’d encounter with the Pymetrics add-ons. In this case, the practice will give you more confidence when taking the test.

Tip #4: Reinforce the Desirable Traits Every Day

There is no better practice than training the desirable skills and applying them to everyday living. Apply strategic thinking, deliberative decision-making, and other desirable skills when approaching everyday problems. The more you do it, the more you will reinforce these traits, so you will have an even easier time taking the Pymetrics test.

Tip # 5: Rest Up Before Taking the BCG Pymetrics Test

Ensure you rest enough before you take the test. You want to be fully awake and alert, with your mind clear of all mental distractions. Getting enough rest will also ensure you are in an energetic mood.

Tip #6: Minimize the Distractions

Optimize your environment by removing all potential distractions. Remember that you have limited time for each game and cannot pause or restart a game or even the Pymetrics test once you have started.

Choose a quiet spot to take the test. If you are using your tablet or smartphone, you will want to turn off notifications and put them on do not disturb (DND)

Tip # 7: Understand the Instructions for Each Game

There is a set of guiding instructions for each of the Pymetrics Games or activities. Read through and re-read each of these instructions to understand what is expected of you and the game’s objective. Similarly, you want to ensure you understand the implications of each action you take in the game.

What Are the “Ideal” Scores to Attain?

Each category of traits assessed by the Pymetrics test has a vast spectrum of extremes. While you may be someone who trusts their guts to make decisions, another candidate may be on the other end of the spectrum as a deliberative decision-maker.

The test will place on a spectrum for each trait category, and based on this, create your unique profile. This profile will be compared against the profiles of Boston Consulting Group employees who are high performers. As such, the profiles of these high performers serve as a standard for the “ideal” scores that BCG is looking for from the candidates. You stand out as a promising potential hire if your profile is a close match against these standards.

In general, here are the qualities successful BCG consultants demonstrate and what you should be keen on demonstrating during the Pymetrics test.

• Attention: Consultants need to be methodical in their approach to work. You need to drive analysis from the problem formulation, through research and analysis, up until when you test hypotheses and develop a recommendation.
• Focus: As a BCG consultant, your working environment will generally be fast-paced. You will often be required to work on multiple tasks and projects simultaneously.
• Effort: The best strategy for a consultant is to be selective in their work approach. For the best results, it will help to focus on tasks giving the highest reward for the time and other resources invested.
• Generosity: You will be working as a part of a small team. You will need to be a great team player and be willing to make sacrifices for the benefit and greater good of the team. Similarly, you will do great if you are even-handed with allocating resources for various projects.
• Decision-Making: While you can always use your intuition, successful consultants always make informed decisions and only move forward with data-based decisions.
• Emotion: Emotional intelligence is a crucial skill for consultants. It is vital that you be able to read people’s emotions and body language to understand their true feelings towards a recommendation. This will help you to catch on early on if there is some resistance from clients and team members, allowing you to plan on how to counter this resistance.
• Fairness: Conflict is bound to arise now and then as you work in teams. It is crucial that you be able to identify what may be perceived as unfair and get ahead of the potential conflict around these issues before the conflict actually plays out.
• Risk Tolerance: Consultants test all options and provide risk-aversive recommendations. Successful consultants employ the 80/20 rule, which helps to limit risk exposure.
• Learning: Consultants need to adapt their behaviors and approaches. To be a successful consultant, you must learn quickly and respond accordingly to feedback.

To reiterate, these are just general guidelines. Boston Consulting Group is always looking to hire a diverse range of thinkers, so your BCG Pymetrics Test results being “different” may be the very thing that sets you apart and makes you more attractive as a candidate.

Requesting Accommodations

Boston Consulting Group strives to accommodate the needs of the candidates applying for various roles at the firm. You can select from any one or more of several accommodations when registering for Pymetrics tests. These accommodations include color blindness, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD.)

Limitations of the Pymetrics Test

You can only access the Pymetrics platform and complete the assessment if the company in which you have applied for a job is an official Pymetrics partner. The company will send you an invitation to take the Pymetrics test.

Also, note that you can only take the Pymetrics test once every 330 days. This only goes to show why you should be keen on preparing adequately for the assessment with the tips outlined so you can excel the first time around. During these 330 days, Pymetrics will keep your results, which may be used for an application you make to any of the Pymetrics partner companies.

What’s Next?

Boston Consulting Group and other Pymetrics partners that use the Pymetrics tests have made it clear that they use the assessments in conjunction with standardized tests and the merits in candidates’ resumes. The official stand of the firm is that BCG does not disqualify any candidate based solely on their performance on the Pymetrics test. BCG has always reiterated that it views its Pymetrics test as an inclusion tool.

The next step in the recruitment process at BCG is a few rounds of interviews. Each round will involve two types of interviews: case studies and behavioral/fit interviews. Ace each stage of the recruitment, and you will have your offer letter from BCG within a reasonable time.