Key Insights:
- Game-Based Talent Assessment: The BCG Pymetrics Test uses neuroscience-backed, AI-driven games to evaluate candidates’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits at scale.
- Strategic Simulation via Business Games: Candidates complete a lemonade stand simulation designed to measure decision-making across five core strategic business environments defined by BCG.
- Early-Stage Recruiting Tool: BCG uses the Pymetrics Test as a screening assessment in its consulting recruiting process, often before first-round interviews, to identify candidates’ strengths and potential beyond resumes.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is known as a thought leader in the field of management consulting. The firm pioneered the creation of innovative business frameworks and launched BCG Digital Ventures years ago to provide advanced technological consulting services. In addition, they built the BCG Henderson Institute which is now a leading strategic think tank. More recently, BCG is leading the field by rolling out a new interview method known as the BCG Pymetrics Test.
What is the BCG Pymetrics Test?
The BCG Pymetrics Test is an assessment that uses the power of games to measure skills on a consistent and cost effective basis. Unlike one-dimensional multiple choice type tests, games are adaptive depending on the choices the player makes.
In partnership with Pymetrics and Professor Gandhok from the Indian School of Business, the BCG Henderson Institute created a game backed by data science, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence that tests for a wide variety of skills and competencies. The game adjusts according to the player’s behavior in different settings. Ultimately at the end, the assessment provides a report that suggests the person’s best career options. The results depend on his or her strengths, which are also provided. The least suited career options are also provided based on the player’s weaknesses.
The BCG Pymetrics Test recently exited its beta phase and is now being used for recruiting purposes (read more below).
What are the Games Like?
BCG published an article explaining the two types of games it deployed to measure strategy skills and emotional and cognitive traits.
The first is a strategy game in which the player operates a lemonade stand that simulates one of five different business environments:
- Classical
- For predictable markets: analyze drivers, plan actions, and execute on those actions
- Adaptive
- For unpredictable markets: vary your bets, select the most promising ones, and scale them quickly to detect and capitalize on emerging opportunities
- Visionary
- For markets that can be predicted and shaped: envision the future, pursue the vision, and persist against challenges
- Shaping
- For markets that can be shaped but not predicted: engage a broader ecosystem of partners, orchestrate their actions, and co-evolve together
- Renewal
- For harsh markets and situations: react promptly, economize resources, and pivot to grow
These different business environments require their own strategies. In the lemonade stand simulation, players are judged based on how well they are able to make decisions in each situation.
In the second game developed by Pymetrics, players are judged based on 91 cognitive neuroscience measures. These are based on their actions in a series of mini-games. One such example is the testing of risk aversion. They measure this as players attempt to fill a virtual balloon up to just before it reaches the point of popping.
How is the BCG Pymetrics Test Being Used?
BCG is not putting in all this effort and resources into the assessment just for the fun of it! The company has stated that it plans to use the test to help “clients and consultants understand the range of strategic environments and the approach required to succeed in them.”
In addition, many candidates (especially undergraduate students and those coming from non-target/non-traditional backgrounds) have shared with Management Consulted that they have been required to take the Pymetrics Test as the second part of their application process. Those who pass the BCG Pymetrics Test are then invited for a first round interview.
More recently, candidates applying to BCG ASPIRE have also been asked to complete the Pymetrics Test as part of the program’s selection process. This signals that BCG is expanding its use of game-based assessments beyond traditional consulting roles to evaluate broader talent pools earlier in the recruiting funnel.
Watch the video below for additional details on how to prepare for the BCG Pymetrics Test.
BCG Pymetrics Test Video Breakdown
BCG Pymetrics Test: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the BCG Pymetrics Test?
The BCG Pymetrics Test is a game-based online assessment that uses neuroscience and artificial intelligence to evaluate candidates’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits during the recruiting process.
Is the BCG Pymetrics Test used for consulting recruiting?
Yes. BCG uses the Pymetrics Test as an early screening tool for consulting candidates, often before first-round interviews, to assess decision-making style, risk tolerance, and strategic thinking.
What skills does the BCG Pymetrics Test measure?
The test measures a wide range of traits, including problem-solving ability, risk aversion, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and decision-making across different strategic environments.
How many games are in the BCG Pymetrics Test?
The assessment includes two main components: a strategy-based lemonade stand simulation covering five business environments, and a series of short neuroscience-based mini-games that measure cognitive and emotional traits.
Can you practice for the BCG Pymetrics Test?
The games are designed to measure natural behavior rather than learned knowledge, so traditional studying is limited. However, understanding the structure of the games and the traits being evaluated can help candidates perform more confidently.
Concluding Thoughts
The BCG Pymetrics Test changes the trait assessment, skill development, and recruiting game (pun intended). In classic BCG fashion, the company is extending its reputation as a thought leader in the consulting industry. Now, we're seeing other, similar assessments being utilized by other consulting firms as well.