BCG seems to be experimenting with new ways of assessing interviewees these days. I have now been assigned a cognitive test instead of the normal online test. It will be proctored, a calculator is not allowed, and I have no real information about it other than the fact that it will be 80 questions in 30 minutes.
I would like to prepare as much as possible. Please help me. Does anyone know anything about the test, the type of questions asked or how I can best prepare?
Thank you very much.
Always exciting to see these new changes to the recruitment process, though it's probably frustrating to be one of those on which the testing is being done.
There are two principles to keep in mind
1. More deliberate practice leads to better results with these tests. The more you expose yourself to different patterns of solving the problem, the better you'll be at doing that. So, do as much practice of GMAT-type questions as possible. I would also recommend that you try the McKinsey PST, which was the test format they used before the game.
2. Quality over speed. Some tests (unclear whether the new BCG one is one of them) do negative markings for wrong results. So always proceed with 80% accuracy when selecting the answer. Don't put random answers for everything when you run out of time because that might have a worse effect than just not finishing all the questions.
Sharing with you a list of common terms and formulas that might help with the prep:
Best,
Cristian
Hi there,
I would look into GMAT quant reasoning and Bain SOVA test prep.
80 questions seem to be not manageable in 30 minutes so that might be part of the assessment to see how you deal with not making it through all the questions or being under a lot of stress.
I hypothesize that they have to react to ChatGPT etc. where you can copy and paste the image to let the AI do the analysis.. That is also why a. the time pressure and b. the proctoring.
All the best,
Florian
Biggest advice I can give is to do tons of practice tests. Those are any cognitive/online assessment tests you can find across firms.
The skills tested across these are all so similar, so don't worry about just doing BCG ones (i.e. grab OC&C, PwC, Bain, etc.)
Hi,
BCG has gone through a few iterations of different online/screening tests.
Generally they are all testing similar aspects:
Preparing for these will help - whether its actually taking tests or working on the skills fundamentally.
The one tip I would give is time management - this is the one thing that standardized/written tests need that is not tested in the same way as other formats.
Can you pls advise which office/region have you applied to? My recommendation for you is to review, GMAT, BAIN Sova and other related quantitative tests. Best of luck!
They may change the test, but they keep testing for the same things… preparing for multiple tests and for the right GMAT sections is likely to be the right way to proceed.
