Online Application
Mollie started preparing early for application season and completed Bright Network’s ‘Finance and Professional Services Virtual Internship’ in my 1st-year summer. This resulted in her receiving a fast-tracked application for EY’s internship in assurance. Therefore she didn’t complete stage 1 with EY and missed a few of the steps of stage 2 in the application process.
Expect a 2-week wait before progressing to the next stage.
Online Tests
The second subsection is a Numerical Reasoning Test (NRT) which must be completed within one sitting and is a timed activity. It is a good idea to have paper and a calculator to assist you in completing these questions.
How to respond for success
Practice, Practice, Practice! Focus in particular on using data to come to conclusions and percentage change. A lot of websites, for example, university careers pages, have practice NRTs so Mollie recommends doing quite a few of these to familiarise yourself with working in the timed environment.
Expect a 2-day wait before progressing to the next stage.
Online Tests
The second subsection is a Numerical Reasoning Test (NRT) which must be completed within one sitting and is a timed activity. It is a good idea to have paper and a calculator to assist you in completing these questions.
How to respond for success
Practice, Practice, Practice! Focus in particular on using data to come to conclusions and percentage change. A lot of websites, for example, university careers pages, have practice NRTs so Mollie recommends doing quite a few of these to familiarise yourself with working in the timed environment.
Expect a 2-day wait before progressing to the next stage.
Job Simulation
This stage will give you an idea of what it is like to work at EY. You will answer 14 questions that vary between video answers, rank order, and written answers. Some are timed and some are not. It is a good idea to practice speaking to your laptop screen with your front camera on before you start as it can be quite strange speaking to a picture of yourself if you are not used to it. This stage will take around an hour to complete and needs to be completed in one sitting. The video questions give you around 30 seconds to prepare and your answer must be between 90-120 seconds. You are given a practice round at a video question to get used to the technology, so make sure you make the most of the opportunity.
How to respond for success
Ensure you know EY well and understand the job you are applying for. Mollie recommends you understand EY's core values as they are important for the entire application process.
Keep up to date with the news - particularly the news regarding your sector. For example, Mollie listened to the FT news briefing podcast and read the Morning Brew NewsletterIt is impressive if you can throw industry knowledge into your interview! Mollie also found it useful to have a few examples up my sleeve of scenarios where she had shown particular strength.
Some of the questions give you a set time to answer the question as well as prep time. Use your prep time! When answering a question ensure you are engaging, change the tone of your voice, and use your hands when talking. Mollie recommends recording yourself and watching this back to improve your virtual delivery skills.
Make sure to dress appropriately, preferably business casual. It is imperative that you maintain good eye contact with the camera as this shows the assessor you are not reading from your notes.
Assessment Centre
This stage usually takes around 5 hours to complete. There were various stations throughout the day where different skills were assessed, including Numerical Reasoning, group work, a one-to-one conversation with an EY employee, and a two to one conversation with an EY employee. Even though EY employees can make you feel very comfortable due to how friendly they all are, you must remember that you are being assessed at every stage and so you should remain professional. Make sure that you use all of the time you are given to prepare for each stage and complete each task with confidence.
How to respond for success
Prepare to talk to a camera and be yourself. EY will brief you on the format of the day before the interview so make sure you are familiar with this and also familiar with the platform you are working on if your AC is virtual. If you get asked a question you are unsure of, take a few moments to respond and think before answering. Finally, prepare any questions you want to ask the interviewer. Remember this is your chance to learn more about EY just as this is their way to learn more about you.
You may be asked to introduce yourself several times throughout the day and having a strong introduction prepared can enable you to focus your attention on the other tasks in the day.
