15 October 2015

It is a well-known and unfortunate necessity that job applications are mentally draining and take hours of commitment. It is perhaps a less well known fact that employers want you to succeed. As the fastest growing of the Big 4 global accounting firms, we know a thing or two about this. Here are EY's top tips for success in the application process to make your time and energy count.

EY’s graduates and summer interns join either Assurance, Tax, Transactions, or Consulting. Each of these are split into dozens of sub-service lines in 24 offices across the UK and Ireland so we can offer our clients a broad range of services. You can only progress with one application for a specific location and sub-service line, so take time to consider which one you want to start your career in.

What to Consider When Choosing Where to Apply

The Firm

We expect you to apply to more than one firm, but an employer wants to know they are your favourite. Do you have similar values? Do you enjoy meeting the employees and interviewers, and identify with them?

The Service Line

When choosing the area you want to work in, we expect you to have attempted to meet us at an EY event, read our blogs, watched our videos and scoured the website and news channels. Edinburgh University also has a large EY team happy to share their experiences with you so you only have to ask and we are delighted to support anyone who does so with their application.

The Location

We want to hear something that implies you have thought this through and can be happy outside of work. Do you have friends or family in that city, or a hobby that will allow you to make friends? What do you think about the clients located there? Is this where you can see yourself spending the next 3-5 years of your life and starting your career?

EY Application Process

Online Application and Tests

We have an online application form and tests, a first stage interview, assessment centre, and final interview.

  • There are no deadlines because we use first come, first serve – so getting in early is key.
  • EY’s application form no longer assesses your work experience, and your academic results are taken alongside your performance in the online tests so now you are not required to have 300 UCAS points and a 2:1.
  • We identified a range of strengths our top performing graduates have in the workplace and when sitting the professional exams. Everyone has a different set of strengths, and these tests will identify yours.

Telephone Interview

If you pass the application stage you will be invited for a telephone interview. Prepare for this by exploring your key achievements and what strengths you believe these demonstrate. Most interviews cover the same basic areas, such as communication, initiative, social skills, self-awareness, and career motivation (the list goes on) so you can prepare to an extent for what you think will come up. As the interviewer doesn’t know your work experience or academic ability, you need to tell them everything in an articulate way.

Strengths Interview

A strengths interview will assess what you enjoy and what comes naturally. Always provide an example, preferably using the STAR approach, and answer the question that is really being asked.

Mock Interview

An EY recruiter, or Edinburgh Careers Service, will deliver a mock interview so ask for one before the interview itself. The questions you used to identify the right role to apply for will help you prepare for the career motivation questions.

Assessment Centre

The assessment centre has a team and a written exercise. There is no preparation for this, so you just need to be yourself, engage with those around you and complete every exercise that has been set. We want to see how you would be if you were to join the firm tomorrow. If you do not present finished work or speak enough in the team exercise we won’t have enough evidence to assess you.

Final Interview

The final interview is with a senior leader of the team and office you are joining. You will have a short presentation to deliver and the questions will assess your strengths again, so brush up on the preparation you did for the first interview. You may want to do more in depth research into the day to day role so you can answer any commercial awareness questions confidently.

The interviewer wants to find out if they would bring you into their team and put you in front of their clients. This interview can often feel more like a conversation so make sure you continue to work as hard as possible to demonstrate how great you are and not fall at the final stage.

By the end of this process you should know for sure if you want to accept the role, and of course hopefully receive an offer. You may be surprised how much support is out there from your careers service and employers like EY to help you do well, so seek out that support. Job applications do take time and effort if you want to succeed, but the reward of securing the right career for you will be worth it.