Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 450,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

Oliver Wyman Problem Solving Test (SEA)

Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman numerical reasoning test Problem Solving Test
New answer on Nov 08, 2020
3 Answers
1.5 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Nov 07, 2020

Hi everyone,

So, Oliver Wyman has been using the Problem Solving Test (PST) since last year's recruitment in South East Asia. Since, I'll be having that particular test next week, as such, do you have any information on the format or type of questions?

Do you think what will be the most suitable resources I can leverage to prep for that test? Is it GMAT Quant/Reasoning, McKinsey PST, or other numerical tests?

The only information I got from the recruiter is there will be 26 questions that should be completed in 20 minutes (scientific calculator is allowed)

Thank you.

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 08, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

The online quant test are indeed very similar among them and hence, better to prep.

However CAREFUL, since the OW one has the fame of being the taughest one and with a lot of time pressure.

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/)

The old McKinsey PST, 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.psychometricinstitute.co.uk/Free-Aptitude-Tests.asp

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Was this answer helpful?
Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Nov 08, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

The online tests across companies are very similar

Format? Somewhat. Content and what's required from you ability-wise? Not at all.

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

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous B replied on Nov 08, 2020

Which position are you applying to? I've applied to OW in Singapore for an entry-level position and was just asked to do a hirevue video interview but not PST.

Was this answer helpful?
8
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or fellow student?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 = Not likely
10 = Very likely