Bain tests

Hi there,

They are absolutely different by office! Moreover, they're different by timing as well. Think of these as constantly change and in flux (number of questions, amount of time, etc.). That said, you shouldn't really worry about this. 

Can you predict what case you will get? Nope. Do you let this bother you? Nope :)

Same thing applies here! Just learn the approach and practice the skills required.

The best way is to really find online tests / questions and practice. Regardless as to whether is a new or old test, the principles are mostly the same:

• Time management (need to think quick)
• Business knowledge/context (incl key formulas)
• Critical thinking (answers that are very similar to each other...clues "hidden" in the text)
• Ability to interpret data/charts

Think of it as a merge of a case and the GMAT/GRE.

You need to be clear on some key case-related and account formulas (margin, growth, breakeven, etc) as well as be good at critically understanding the question (including nuance to questions) and parsing through complicated text with a fair amount of distraction.

You'll also need to be good at chart/graph reading.

The (old) McKinsey PST, BCG Online Test, Bain SOVA test, etc. are all quite similar so leverage resources across all of them.

https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/bcg-online/

https://www.shl.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests

https://www.psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp

Hey there,

I have written a detailed article on the Bain assessment tests, covering several of your points https://strategycase.com/the-bain-online-test/

If you are going in now, it is most likely that you will face the SOVA test:

The full SOVA tests three different reasoning skills as well as your personality.

Verbal reasoning

Verbal Reasoningevaluates your skill to understand complex information under time pressure. In this format, you have to read one or more paragraphs to answer a multiple-choice question.

Logical reasoning

Logical Reasoning. Bain recruiting focuses on inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning looks at how you handle abstract concepts and unfamiliar information. For example, you might be asked to continue a logical sequence (figures, numbers, etc.).

Numerical reasoning/ math

Numerical Reasoning questions focus on your ability to handle complex quantitative data. They use tables and other exhibits to present data and ask you to elicit specific information and facts in a multiple-choice style question.

Personality traits

The most common format that is reported is based on the SOVA Personality Test, conducted via two types of questions:

• Traditional personality test: Read a number of sentences and decide how much this is true for you based on a scale of: Least Like Me, Little Like Me, Neutral, Somewhat Like Me, Most Like Me

• Situational judgement test: You are seeing a video or statements related to a workplace situation and have to rank responses from Last favourable to Most favourable

Let me know if you have any questions :-)

Cheers,
Florian

Hello!

What you write in the post makes a lot of sense, since the approach changes office by office. 

The good news here is that most of the online tests are very similar, and test the same skillset. It´s a good thing, since you can prep for them with a very unified approach. Although this may not seem so at first sight since the formats may differ, what is important here -as well as when solving cases- is the core skillset they are tryng to test. This is common, and the most important skills are:

80-20 analysis: capacity to analize, interpret and extract conclusions quickly and in a agile way from a ton of data -of which not all is useful-

Analytic and critical thinking: many ways tested with graphs, charts and tables, that you need to understand and derive decisions or insights from

Mathematical skills: are always somehow present, for which you need to be fast int he basics

The way to get better is practicing as much as possible with similar exercises -those targeted at the same skillset-. Hence, I would strongly recomment you practice it with the Integrated Reasoning part of the GMAT exam.

There are free exams in the internet that you can use for practice (the one of LBS MBA page, Verits prep, as well as some free trials for courses such as the one of The Economist (https://gmat.economist.com/)

Furthermore, you can leverage the MBB tests (https://www.myconsultingoffer.org/case-study-interview-prep/bcg-online/, https://www.psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp, and many others)

Hope it helps!

Best,

Clara

Hi Abimbola, 

Your question hasn't posted properly. Could you please write a bit more?

GB