Bloomberg Plum Assessment: The First Step for Analytics, Sales and Internships
Luca from Candidate Falcon
Editorial Team
If you apply to Bloomberg for Analytics and Sales, a graduate role or an internship, the first thing you may get is a link to a "Plum assessment". This guide explains where it sits in Bloomberg's process, what the Plum Discovery Survey involves, why some candidates are rejected straight after it, and how to prepare.
Bloomberg does not describe this step publicly, so we label every source: what Plum says and what candidates report.
The short answer
- It is the Plum Discovery Survey: preference questions, visual puzzles and workplace scenarios, about 25 minutes according to Plum.
- Candidates report it as the first stage, before a HireVue video interview and, for Analytics and Sales, a language test with client role-plays.
- Rejections can come within hours. Several candidates were turned down right after the survey, which suggests it works as an automatic screen.
Where Plum fits in Bloomberg's hiring process
Candidate reports from 2021 to 2026 describe the same opening:
- Online application.
- Plum assessment. Interns in 2021 and 2022 said they had 72 hours to complete it.
- HireVue video interview. A 2026 Analytics and Sales candidate in London described it as mainly motivational. A 2025 intern candidate in Tokyo was also invited to HireVue after the Plum stage.
- Language test (Analytics and Sales, London, 2026): live role-plays about client issues.
- Interviews, including product knowledge and a short business news presentation in later rounds.
The same 2026 candidate said the Plum assessment and its personality questions took about 30 to 40 minutes in all.
What is in the Plum assessment
The Plum Discovery Survey has five sections in a fixed order, according to prep sites:
| Section | What you do | Right answers? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Statements | Choose the statement most like you and the one least like you | No |
| 2. Problem solving | Select the missing piece in a sequence of grids, from several options | Yes |
| 3. Adjectives | Choose three words most like you and three least like you | No |
| 4. Problem solving | A second set of grid puzzles | Yes |
| 5. Scenarios | Choose the most and least effective response to a workplace situation | In part |
A 2025 candidate in Tokyo described it as "puzzles and brain teasers", and a 2022 intern candidate as a test of cognitive abilities, but Plum's FAQ says sections 1 and 3 are a personality test with no right or wrong answers. Both are true: the puzzles have answers, the preference sections do not. Our Plum assessment guide covers every section.
Why candidates are rejected right after the Plum test
On r/csMajors in December 2022, a software development internship applicant was rejected straight after the Plum test, even though they felt they had answered every question correctly. Their top Talents were Innovation, Embracing Diversity and Execution. Another commenter was rejected right after it too. In February 2025, a candidate on r/bloomberg said they kept failing the Plum stage on every application and never reached a human interview.
Why does this happen?
- You are matched, not marked. Plum compares your profile with the Talents Bloomberg chose for the role. Getting every puzzle right does not make up for a profile that does not match what the role asks for.
- Volume. Bloomberg receives many applications per place. One commenter suggested that once headcount is reached, applications may simply be closed. That is speculation, but timing matters for internships.
- The profile is reused. Plum says you usually take the survey once and link the same profile to later applications, with a retake possible a year later. If you apply to Bloomberg again within a year, your earlier profile may be the one compared.
Are there Bloomberg Plum assessment answers?
Not genuine ones. Documents sold as "Bloomberg Plum assessment answers" cannot know the role profile Bloomberg set, and the preference sections have no key. Plum's help center also explains that similar statements come back against different ones, so trying to pick the ideal answer every time tends to produce contradictions.
How to prepare for the Bloomberg Plum assessment
- Do it early in the 72-hour window, on a laptop with a stable connection. Plum says the survey itself is not timed and you can pause, so take the hard puzzles slowly.
- Practise grid-sequence puzzles until the format feels familiar: count, position, movement and rotation, one feature at a time.
- Treat the scenarios like client work. Bloomberg Analytics and Sales is client-facing; responses that solve the client's problem quickly and respectfully are usually stronger than ones that pass it on or avoid it.
- Answer the preference sections honestly, thinking about how you work, not how you think a Bloomberg analyst should.
- Prepare for HireVue next. If you pass, the video interview usually follows within days. Our HireVue video interview guide explains the format.
Practise the Plum formats
Candidate Falcon has independent Plum-style practice for every section: problem-solving puzzles, social intelligence scenarios, the statement and adjective sections and a full Discovery Survey run. Every item is our own, not Plum's or Bloomberg's, and practice results are not Plum scores. Playing them needs a plan that includes Plum; see pricing. For the next stage, HireVue one-way interview practice lets you rehearse timed, recorded answers.
FAQs
Does Bloomberg use Plum?
Candidates on Glassdoor and Reddit have reported a Plum assessment as Bloomberg's first online step from 2021 to 2026, for Analytics and Sales, graduate and internship roles.
How long does the Bloomberg Plum assessment take?
Plum says about 25 minutes; a 2026 candidate said 30 to 40 minutes including the personality questions. Interns reported a 72-hour window to complete it.
What comes after the Plum assessment at Bloomberg?
Usually a HireVue video interview. For Analytics and Sales in London, a 2026 candidate also took a language test with client role-plays before the interviews.
Can I retake the Bloomberg Plum assessment?
Plum says you normally take the survey once and reuse the profile; a retake is possible a year after your last attempt.
Sources
- Glassdoor Bloomberg interview reviews: Analytics and Sales, London, 2026, intern, 2022 and Tokyo, 2025 (read October 2026).
- Reddit (individual reports, read October 2026): 72-hour Plum assessment for an internship, 2021, rejected right after the Plum test, 2022, Analytics and Sales question, 2023 and never passing the Plum stage, 2025.
- Plum help center: Discovery Survey FAQs, the Plum Talents, retakes and forced choice.
- Prep site: JobTestPrep, Plum assessment (section order and counts).
Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with Bloomberg, Plum, Phenom, HireVue or any other company named here.
