Pymetrics

Pymetrics is a New York City-based company that built game-based, neuroscience-derived assessments used by employers for candidate screening, matching and placement. Candidates play a series of short exercises — including virtual money transactions and keyboard-click tasks — that are designed to measure attributes such as memory, emotion detection, risk-taking and focus. According to the company, the games assess 50 cognitive, emotional and social traits and can be played on the web or a smartphone; a full assessment requires completing 12 games.

Results are processed by the company's data-science algorithms and compared with profiles of a company's top performers in order to identify suitable candidates. Employers use the output to decide which candidates to hire for specific roles, while job seekers can use it to identify companies and job types matching their traits. Pymetrics stated its technology is five to 10 times more predictive than résumé reviews or questionnaires, and that algorithmic rather than human evaluation of results is intended to reduce bias in hiring.

Founding story

Pymetrics was founded in 2013 by two MIT-trained researchers, Frida Polli and Julie Yoo. Polli, who holds an MBA from Harvard and a PhD in neuroscience from Suffolk University in Boston, has said she was unable to find computer-based career-matching tools while considering her own professional transition, and observed that businesses were still using decades-old methods to screen and place workers. She teamed with MIT classmate Julie Yoo, who became chief data scientist, to build the company.

Business model

Pymetrics sold assessment software to employers, which used the game-based evaluations to screen and match candidates for open roles; job seekers played the games at no stated cost to see which companies and job types matched their profile.

Employer-facing assessment software.

Traction

More than 25 companies were using Pymetrics' assessments as of early 2017, including Unilever, which digitized its North American entry-level screening process around the platform.

Latest developments

Pymetrics was acquired by Harver, alongside a period of consolidation in the recruiting technology sector that also included SilkRoad Technology's acquisition of Entelo and Mitratech's acquisition of TalentReef. Pymetrics customers are directed to Harver.com for assessment solutions.