Why Are the Traits Tested in Pymetrics Important in Consulting?
The traits the Pymetrics Games test have different values for different companies as factors such as industry, company size, culture, etc. all influence what a hiring company values in their graduates.
As an example, we have considered these traits from the view of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCG is a top strategy consulting firm and is a proud, high-performing analyzer that works regularly with external clients. This drives a lot of what they value and what they perceive as ‘ideal’ on each of the tested attributes.
- Attention: Consultants charge high fees to their clients and therefore expect an equally high-quality standard of work. All work must therefore be error-free no matter how complex the topic or task and great attention to detail is required.
- Effort: Along with high salaries for employees, consultants also expect long hours and high output. This makes effort a key requirement of all consultants.
- Fairness: In consulting, there is a strong sense of collaboration in the office as acquired knowledge is what makes them a valuable service and so being able to support others and be fair to colleagues and clients alike is important.
- Decision-Making: Even the junior consultants in strategy consulting firms have large amounts of autonomy and must make many decisions to maintain the momentum of work.
- Emotion: A client-facing industry consultant needs to have high levels of both EQ and IQ. The client is less likely to engage if they are frustrated or disappointed but they will not always tell you explicitly and so it is up to the consultant to read their emotions and anticipate the actions required to improve the outcome for the client.
- Focus: With lots of moving parts to a project and the seniority of many clients, keeping up can be hard. Maintaining focus after a long day or after traveling is key to ensuring a good understanding of what is required.
- Generosity: Getting along well with colleagues and clients is crucial for any consultant, and being generous is a great way to do this. Simple acts like going out of your way to help someone or giving your time can make a big difference in building good relationships.
- Learning: There is a joke amongst consultants that it only takes one project to be an expert and whilst that is not true and doesn’t help the consultant stereotype of thinking they know a lot but in actual fact knowing very little, it does indicate the immense ability to learn as a consultant. In a matter of days, you can be required to discuss a business’s industry pressures with the CEO or present a technical topic to the client so being able to learn fast is critical.
- Risk Tolerance: With fast-moving projects and stretched resources, you will be required to make some decisions yourself from day one. Naturally, there will be a level of risk to some of these decisions from the quality of work to legal exposure and so having a good sense of judgment is valuable.
- Quantitative Reasoning: The majority of strategy consultant work involves presenting data and graphs and all junior consultants will be expected to be able to digest, manipulate and explain many quantitative components to their colleagues and clients.
- Numerical Agility: When conducting quantitative analysis it is common for management or the client to change their mind on the metrics or lens they want to use when looking at the data, so the ability to adapt and take alternative approaches is key.
Please note that the importance and weighting of these traits would be different for manufacturers such as Airbus, auditors such as KPMG, and marketing agencies such as WPP.
How to Pass the Pymetrics Assessment Test
Pymetrics like to state there is no right or wrong answer in the games. There is some truth to that statement as it does vary between companies. However, there is a threshold you need to meet in order to progress to the next stage of the application so there has to be a certain level of right answers or a combination of answers you need to achieve.
It helps to understand how the games are calibrated from company to company.
To assess a candidate's suitability, their cognitive, emotional, and social traits are used to create a success profile. This profile is then compared to a benchmark score based on the traits of high-performing employees within the organization.
This group of employees plays the games and the average is taken across the different personality traits. This becomes the ‘ideal’ answer for the hiring company as it works on the principle that they want to hire more of these types of people.
When you complete the games as part of your assessment, your score will be assessed against the ‘ideal’ answer and your distance away will determine your score and whether you progress to the next stage of the case interview process.
Therefore, there are two ways to approach the games but only one we would recommend:
- Try and guess how the current employee sample approached the games and try and replicate their responses.
- Be yourself, answer the games as best you can and if that fits with what they consider a high performer then you will pass.
We suggest going with option 2 because being genuine helps reveal your true traits. If your results match those of current employees, it means you’re likely a good fit for the company. This is important, as a poor fit could lead to job dissatisfaction and a shorter stay.
Still, it can be helpful to prepare for the tests and know what to expect. This helps you relax and handle certain situations and tasks more confidently. Use our materials and resources to get ready for a successful start in a consulting career!
👉 McKinsey Solve Game Simulation Package
👉 BCG Online Case Combo: Software Simulation
