EY Online Assessments, Recruitment Programms & Interview [2024]
Being a Big Four consulting group, EY is one of the world's biggest and most successful firms, dealing with innovative technologies, business development, and a sustainable future. Getting an EY job will significantly contribute to your professional development, enlarge your network, and boost your career.
However, the competition is fierce. EY is looking for the best and most motivated potential workers in the market, which is why its recruitment process entails multiple challenging stages.
This page will provide accurate preparation and valuable information for your upcoming Ernst & Young Online Tests.
Are you applying for an EY graduate role, apprenticeship, or summer internship? As of 2024, most applicants for these positions must take the EY One Assessment as part of the recruitment process.
What Are EY Online Assessment Tests?
The application process for all EY positions includes an EY Online Assessment, varying according to the experience and role of the applicant. Unlock your career by getting your first job at one of the Big Four with the most accurate and up-to-date EY Cappfinity Simulations on the market:
- EY One Assessment – Get ahead of other applicants with a full simulation of the test and an interactive SJT study guide.
- EY Numerical Reasoning – Familiar yourself with the test’s structure and Cappfinity-style questions.
- EY Job Simulation Assessment Test – Secure your spot in the EY Graduate programme with complete preparation for your EY Job Simulation practice that includes the exact assessment’s format, section, and a number of questions.
- EY Technology is Changing Our World – Prepare for your EY graduate assessment with a full simulation that mimics the real test, detailed explanations, and an interactive SJT study guide.
- EY Summer Internship – Beat the competition and land a summer internship with the most accurate simulation of the EY Cappfinity assessment! Including SJT and Personality Tests.
- EY Experienced Hires – Get all the information, tips, and practice you need to succeed in the EY aptitude test, interview, and Assessment Centre.
Being one of the “Big Four” accounting firms with 300,000 workers worldwide, Ernst & Young's acceptance tests mirror the company’s high standards.
EY is looking for the best, and that's exactly what their assessments are designated to find. Created by Cappfinity, their assessments aren’t timed. The test structure varies in accordance with the type of position you are after (student, graduate, or experienced professional), and it can be a combination of a Situational Judgment Test, Numerical Reasoning and Graph Reading, and even a Personality Test.
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EY Recruitment Process in the UK
EY's recruitment process differs from one programme to another, but they all usually consist of 4 stages:
- Online application via EY website
- Initial interview over the phone, video, or on location
- EY Online assessment tailored to assess your skills and abilities in order to determine your suitability for the specific line of service you have applied to.
- Final Interview with your recruiter.
Other stages of your recruitment process can include an EY virtual experience day, a job simulation, and a pre-recorded interview.
EY Online Assessment — Student Internships
The EY assessment test for student internships is designed to screen and assess undergraduate applicants for EY spring week or EY summer internship schemes. It is called the One Assessment and composed of SJT, written and recorded interview questions, assessing fitness to the role, personality, and numerical reasoning. The test isn't timed; however, the estimated time to finish is about 80 minutes.
The main purpose of the EY student assessment is to make sure that you are a good fit for the position and that you are compatible with Ernst & Young's core values.
You can read more about it in our dedicated EY One Assessment page
EY Student and Graduate Situational Judgment Test Sample Question
- The main part of the Ernst and Young student assessment is situational judgment tests (SJT) combined with reasoning questions in the format of most-least, wherein you will need to rank five possible actions to different scenarios from 1-5, 1 being the most likely, and 5 the least likely.
- While the SJT questions' goal is to check your suitability to EY’s core values, the reasoning questions' goal is to measure your ability to integrate information from various sources and draw your conclusions based on that information.
Situational Judgment Test Sample Question
The following text is a work-related dilemma, followed by a list of actions that a person might take in that situation.
You are currently working on an app project. The app features are being progressively enhanced during the development phase. You've discovered a new attribute that you think should be added, and you're giving a presentation to the rest of your team. While you're doing this, some of the team's more experienced members continue to interrupt you with questions and queries, while others opt out of the conversation during the meeting.
What do you do?
Please RANK the responses from 1-5, with 1 being what you would most likely do and 5 being what you would least likely do:
Answer:
The correct order is A, B, E, D, C.
A avoids engaging the interruptions in a fashion that still allows the primary messages to remain clear. Clear communication is the focus. (No 1)
B demonstrates a pragmatic and calm approach to the interruptions and to ensuring everyone gets to share their opinion. (No 2)
E involves moving efficiently through all the questions in a fashion likely to engage participants but may not be the clearest possible communication of the material. (No 3)
D involves recording questions in writing as an alternative to expressing them verbally and involves thinking outside of the box to engage team members. (No 4)
C involves ignoring the interrupters who are senior colleagues, which is likely to deteriorate the group dynamic even further and perhaps cause further reputation problems down the track. (No 5)
Situational judgment questions comprise subtests 1,2, and 5 (Creating a New Team, Working with Others, and Completing the Project Delivery, respectively). They assess you based on the six EY Core Values.
Note that some values assessment questions, mainly in subtest 5 (Completing the Project Delivery) are structured as personality profiling questions.
Our designated Ernst & Young student internship preparation is an accurate simulation of the EY student's assessment test. Comparable to the actual test, you will be presented with articles, videos, and questions to follow for each section. For each answer, you will get a thorough explanation and guidance based on EY's core values.
EY Online Assessment — Graduate Roles
EY offer Graduate Programmes in four lines of service – Assurance, Consulting, Tax, and Strategy and Transactions.
The recruitment process for each service line consists of one or more assessment tests:
| Service Line | EY Assessment Tests |
| ✻ Assurance | Numerical Reasoning |
| ✻ Tax | |
| ✻ Consulting |
Business Consulting: EY Job Simulation (Consulting Assessment) Technology Consulting |
| ✻ Law | Technology is Changing Our World |
| ✻ Strategy & Transactions | Technology is Changing Our World |
| ✻ Technology | Numerical Reasoning |
All of the EY Graduate programme assessment tests are provided by Cappfinity.
EY Online Assessment — Experienced Hires
These include Capp-style situational judgment tests (SJT), critical, numerical, and verbal thinking assessments.
There are several assessments you will encounter during the EY hiring process regardless of the role you have applied for. These assessments include:
EY Situational Strengths Test (SST) –
The Situational Strengths Test or SST is a type of situational judgment test (SJT). The SST includes 16 questions, each accompanied by a video and text depicting a work-related scenario.
These questions will come with 5 possible responses for how you would resolve the situation at hand. You must rate each of these responses on a scale from 1 (most likely) to 5 (least likely).
EY Business Behaviours Test –
This assessment is very similar to the SST in that it presents you with work-based scenarios likely to come up during your time of employment with EY.
Just like with the SST, you will encounter many different options for dealing with each new situation. You will need to rate each of these options from 1 (most likely) to 5 (least likely) regarding how you would respond. This test is in text rather than video format.
EY What’s Your Mindset Questionnaire -
This is a short test that focuses on five specific characteristics:
- Learning a new language
- Attention to detail
- Problem-solving
- Like and understand new technology
- Ability to concentrate
There are four sets of questions and in each category, you need to rank the five characteristics, either how they most or least relate to you.
This test is like a personality test as you are asked similar questions repeatedly.
Numerical Reasoning Test
The numerical test looks at your aptitude for maths through a series of questions using tables and graphs. You are shown the numerical information needed to answer each question using basic mathematical functions.
Some of the questions are multiple-choice, while others ask you to provide the answer. You are evaluated based on the accuracy of your answers and how long each question takes you to complete.
Verbal Reasoning Tests
The purpose of a verbal reasoning test is to assess your written and verbal communication skills, as well as your ability to quickly analyze text.
You will be presented with a passage of text that will either be in the form of an instructional manual or discuss a topic. There are two types of questions in this test: In the first, a word is highlighted, and you need to decide which of the options given is the closest to this word contextually.
In the second, you have to decide if a statement in the passage is true, false, or impossible to say based on the passage itself.
Are you an Experienced Hire applying for EY? Read more about your aptitude tests on our dedicated page.
Ernst & Young Core Values
One of the most important attributes for success in Ernst & Young assessment is to know EY's core values by heart and keep them while answering behavioral questions.
The core values of Ernst & Young are:
- Innovation and creativity. EY is looking for people who are rigorous and start-up minded.
- Curiosity. EY's employees are purpose-driven and can ask better questions to seek better answers.
- Diversity, equity, and Inclusiveness. Being inclusive and able to work in an international team.
- Growth orientation. It is central to EY to be able to work efficiently, using critical thinking and judgment skills. These will help EY be aligned with the current trends.
- Corporate Responsibility. Take responsibility and see the implications of your decisions.
Although the core values themselves are pretty simple and straightforward, showing EY that you follow them in a natural, unpretentious way, is much harder.
That is why it is crucial to prepare for the value assessment questions with the same effort and mindset you prepare for the cognitive ones.
For more elaboration on EY values, visit their website.
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More About EY Recruitment Process
Depending on the job you are applying for, your application process will vary. Detailed below is the overall process. Please note that the fourth stage – the Written Assignment in which you will be given a case study to solve – is not an inherent stage of the recruitment process, and EY says its occurrence depends on the branch and the position you apply for.
1. Application |
2. Online Assessment Test |
| 3. Interview |
| 4. Written Assessment* |
| 5. Offer |
Application
Takes about 30 min. It is possible to hold the application and get back to it later.
In case you are interested in applying for more than one position or location, you must complete an application form for each position.
Online Assessment Test
Candidates who will pass the initial screening will get an email with a link to an online test. The structure and content of the test depend on the role type.
Interview
Top candidates who aced the online test will get an invitation to either an online or on-site interview with EY recruiters.
Written Assessment*
Optional stage, depending on the country and branch. Can be done at an Assessment Centre or Online.
Offer
The final stage is in which EY delivers a salary offer.
As a general note, the partner interview can be scheduled either during the assessment centre or at a separate date and time according to the partner’s availability. The interview is also done either at the beginning of the day or the end in order to keep the flow of the activities going.
The EY Interview is about 25 minutes long and is designed to understand your individual strengths. To this end, the questions are pointed towards reasons why you have chosen EY, the position, and the area of the country you are applying to. They also want to know about your motivation for joining EY. In order to demonstrate this, you have to come across as relaxed, even if you are not on the inside.
This is a strength-based interview so you have to really show why you are good at something. You must take a strength of yours and think about how this applies to the possible work situation that you could encounter. As EY themselves state: a strength is what you’re naturally good at. By using your strengths to find the role that’s right for you, perform at your best in it and, most importantly, enjoy it, you can make your impact in the way that’s most natural and comfortable for you within EY’s entrepreneurial, inclusive and flexible culture.
Other Types of Interview
There are two different styles to this approximately hour long interview. It can either be a conversational interview, walking you through your CV and application form, or it can be more business related. For the latter, you are asked how you think Ernst & Young should deal with with an issue that has something to do with the business world at the moment. This leads into a discussion with the partner about the case. Make sure you are fully aware of the services that EY provide because it is very easy to be caught off guard. It is impossible to know which of the two you will get for the simple reason that you won’t know who your interviewer will be until the assessment day itself.
EY Interview Sample Questions
We have prepared a separate PDF that you can use to get a better understanding of the EY interview. It contains numerous questions that you can prepare answers for so you will really be able to answer any question that comes up.
Preparing for Your EY Interview
There are a number of different options available to you here that you can use to give yourself full preparation for your upcoming EY interview. One popular option is our recording service where you are asked the questions through an automated service. You record your answers through a webcam and microphone. You can then replay your answers and mark them using the same indicators that assessors use.
Live Interview Preparation
Preparing for an interview is difficult and here at JobTestPrep we offer a full selection of different interview preparation packages to help you get through this final stage of the Ernst & Young recruitment process. See our PDF on the Ernst & Young interview questions for more tips and example questions.
The case study is one of the most demanding EY assessment centre tasks. You are given the details of a fictitious company facing tough business decisions, and a set of relevant materials. In the allotted time frame, you must go through the materials, analyse the case in hand, devise a recommended plan of action, and prepare a written report, or short presentation of your findings and recommendations. The key to success in this exercise is working quickly through the documents, prioritising and identifying the key issues.
The case study exercise lasts for 40 minutes and is divided into two parts. In the first part of the exercise, you have to work your way through a case study on a new topic. You need to analyse different facts and figures similar to that of what you will face if you are given the job. For example, you might need to summarise profit trends and percentage increases or decreases. You then present them in a report in the correct manner with tables and succinct points along with different recommendations.
The second section of the Ernst & Young case study asks you to plan a way to deal with a team that you are going to be leading. You have to devise timetables, progress reports, deadlines, contingency plans and everything else that you need to run a team of individuals working towards a common aim.
In general, you will need more time to do the first part of the exercise than the second. Your reports are written in Microsoft Word so you can utilise the spelling and grammar check when you come to proofread your work. It is very important that your work contains no spelling mistakes as this will count against you.
Headquartered in London, Ernst & Young (EY) is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms. It is one of the largest professional service firms in the world with operations in more than 140 countries. EY employs people at many different job levels, from school-leavers all the way up to experienced professionals. We have laid out the application and hiring process for EY’s student and graduate careers. This includes their scholarship programs, year-long internships, summer internships, as well as positions you can have with them during school and once you graduate.
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