Big 4 / Professional Services

EY Application Guide

One of the Big Four professional services networks and one of the most competitive graduate destinations in the US, spanning Assurance, Tax, Consulting and the EY-Parthenon strategy arm. Every stage of the process, the questions EY actually asks, and the prep that gets candidates through, in one place.

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The firm

About EY

The business today

Ernst & Young (EY) is one of the Big Four multinational professional services networks, standing alongside Deloitte, PwC and KPMG. It operates as a critical infrastructure layer for global commerce, helping corporations, governments, institutional investors and private equity firms navigate regulation, manage risk, execute transactions and optimize operations. If a Fortune 500 company wants to buy a competitor, deploy an enterprise AI framework or ensure its financials comply with SEC guidelines, it hires EY.

Globally, EY reported combined revenues of $53.2 billion in FY25 (the fiscal year ending June 2025), up 4.0% in local currency, with a five-year CAGR of 8.2% and roughly 406,000 professionals worldwide. The Americas region employs over 92,000 people. Global service-line revenue splits across Assurance ($17.9B), Consulting ($16.4B), Tax ($12.7B) and Strategy and Transactions ($6.2B).

In the US, EY is the third-largest accounting and professional services firm by revenue, trailing Deloitte ($70.5B FY25) and PwC ($56.9B FY25) but ahead of KPMG. It battles PwC and Deloitte for corporate transformation and audit mandates, while EY-Parthenon competes head-to-head with McKinsey, BCG, Bain and elite boutiques for commercial due diligence and corporate strategy work.

The last few years have been defined by stabilization after the mid-2023 collapse of Project Everest, the plan to split EY into separate audit and advisory firms, which fell apart over US partner opposition on tax assets and payout structures. EY then pivoted to the "All In" strategy under Janet Truncale, who became Global Chair and CEO on June 1, 2024. For an analyst, that means lean exposure to senior executives, a steep learning curve and exceptional exits, balanced against billable-hour pressure and seasonal busy-season burnout.

Why people apply to EY

Entering the EY analyst track means accepting long hours, fluctuating travel and a compensation model that lags elite investment banking and MBB, in exchange for relative job stability, broad geographic placement and outstanding exits. The billable-hour model means personal time is subordinate to client deliverables, and busy season can demand 70+ hour weeks.

You want career acceleration, brand equity and unparalleled skill acquisition. Surviving 2-3 years as an EY analyst is a rigorous stamp of approval that proves you can handle extreme workloads, client-facing ambiguity and analytical work under deadline.

You value variety and exposure. The sheer range of projects gives a junior professional access to senior executives and complex operational mechanics that would take a decade to see inside an internal corporate finance team.

You value exits. EY-Parthenon and Transaction Advisory analysts place strongly into middle-market PE, growth equity and corporate development, and top performers consistently reach M7 and top-15 MBA programs.

Divisions inside EY's Big 4 / Professional Services

Strategy and Transactions (SaT) / EY-Parthenon

Day-to-day

Building market-sizing models, running data analysis on target companies, conducting expert-network research and drafting investment-committee and board decks. Workweeks frequently run 60-75 hours. Deepest concentrations in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston, with Houston focused on energy transactions.

Interview style

The most competitive division at EY. The process mirrors elite management consulting, with multiple rounds of structured business cases plus valuation and accounting technicals for the transaction-finance tracks.

Extreme difficulty

Consulting

Day-to-day

Business Consulting (supply chain, finance, customer, risk), Technology Consulting (data and analytics, cybersecurity, digital transformation) and People Advisory Services. Analysts map current-state operating models, design future-state workflows, configure enterprise systems and track milestones, often with significant client-site travel. Distributed across NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte.

Interview style

Highly competitive: a mix of behavioral assessments, behavioral HireVue videos and shorter, interviewer-guided operational case studies.

High difficulty

Assurance (Audit and FAAS)

Day-to-day

The bedrock of EY. First-year analysts work on engagement teams executing substantive testing, verifying asset valuations, reviewing internal controls and documenting audit evidence to PCAOB standards. Q1 busy season routinely demands 70+ hour weeks. Massive footprint across every US office.

Interview style

More accessible by volume but strictly bound by CPA eligibility (150 credit hours). The interview is heavily behavioral and situational.

Moderate difficulty

Tax

Day-to-day

Researching federal, state and international tax codes, preparing tax models for corporate restructurings, drafting technical memoranda and assisting with corporate returns. Headquartered across NYC, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Interview style

Modest-to-high selectivity, favoring accounting majors, MST candidates or JD/LLM applicants. Interviews test logic, regulatory attention to detail and behavioral alignment.

Moderate-high difficulty

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Score your Resume against EY's screen

EY talent acquisition screens thousands of Resumes per cycle. Most are read in under 30 seconds. The candidates who get to interview have Resumes that signal commercial relevance fast, in the format EY expects.

What EY looks for in a Resume

Quantified impact

Numbers in every bullet: deal size, team size, percentage uplift, revenue managed. "Led a team" is filler, "led a 6-person team that delivered £400k of revenue" is a signal.

Named firms and deals

EY recruiters skim for brand names they recognise. Name your prior internships, the deals you observed, the clients you worked on. Specifics beat generic descriptions.

Industry-relevant language

Use the vocabulary of the big 4 / professional services world: audit quality, controls, materiality, client rapport. Generic "analysed data" reads as not-yet-in-the-industry; the right terms read as ready.

Tight, structured layout

One page max. Reverse-chronological. Three to five bullets per role. No long paragraphs, no dense blocks. The skim test decides the read.

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The application

How EY hires

6 stages, real interview questions, the criteria that decide it, and the moves that separate offers from rejections.

The process, stage by stage

  1. 1

    Online Application

    Opens late February to March for the following year summer cohort; target-school deadlines cluster in September.

    One-page PDF resume, exact graduation month/year and CPA-eligibility date for Assurance and Tax. Apply early; review is rolling.

  2. 2

    Online Assessment (SHL)

    Triggered within 12-72 hours of applying; 24-hour window to complete.

    SHL Verify G+ (numerical, verbal, logical), an SJT and a personality questionnaire. Take it fresh with a calculator and scratch paper.

  3. 3

    HireVue Digital Interview

    Sent 1-2 weeks after passing the OA; 48-72 hours to complete.

    An integrated job simulation: 3-5 video prompts plus written exercises. Use STAR, speak to the lens, keep answers individual ("I", not "we").

  4. 4

    First Round / Phone Screen

    Mid-September through late October.

    A 30-45 minute live interview on Microsoft Teams with a Senior Consultant or Manager: behavioral, fit and a division-specific case or technical.

  5. 5

    Superday (Final Round)

    Late September through November.

    4-6 hours of back-to-back interviews with Managers, Senior Managers, Partners and MDs, plus a case or technical block and a networking lunch.

  6. 6

    Offer

    24 hours to 5 business days; often same-day verbal offers.

    Panels calibrate the same evening. Top-quartile candidates in EY-Parthenon and SaT often hear back within 48 hours.

What EY asks at each round

Motivation

  • Why do you want to join EY specifically over our Big Four peers?
  • What do you understand about our corporate purpose, 'Building a better working world', and how does it manifest in your goals?
  • Why did you choose consulting / SaT / tech over working directly within an industry corporate role?
  • Which of EY current market offerings or focus areas excites you the most, and why?

Behavioral

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities with tight, overlapping deadlines.
  • Describe a situation where a team member failed to deliver on their responsibilities. How did you handle it?
  • Give me an example of a time you failed or made a mistake on a project. What did you do to remediate it?
  • Tell me about a time you received constructive feedback that was difficult to hear. How did you act on it?

Commercial Awareness

  • What is a major macroeconomic trend affecting US mid-market corporates right now, and how should EY advise them?
  • Name a recent corporate bankruptcy, merger or restructuring in the news. What went wrong, or what was the strategic rationale?
  • How will generative AI alter the business model of professional services firms like EY over the next three years?

Technical (by division)

  • SaT: Walk me through how a $10 increase in depreciation flows through the three financial statements.
  • Consulting: A US airline faces a 12% margin drop despite stable passenger volume. How would you structure the investigation?
  • Tech: Explain the key differences between a relational (SQL) and a non-relational (NoSQL) database, and when to use each.

What EY looks for

Quantitative competence

Evaluated via GPA, coursework and technical case structuring. Soft minimum GPA around 3.2, with a hard target near 3.5 for EY-Parthenon, Transaction Advisory and Technology Consulting.

Professional polish

Executive presence, clear communication and confidence in behavioral interviews. STAR-structured answers that focus on your individual actions.

Adaptability

Assessed through situational questions about shifting scope and ambiguity. EY rewards resilience under busy-season hours and travel.

Genuine, specific motivation

A "Why EY" that names a service line, a specific initiative (such as EY.ai) or a professional you networked with. Generic, copy-paste pitches are an instant downgrade.

Integrity and teaming

Mapped against EY core competencies (adaptability, collaboration, integrity, learning agility, relationship building). Flag errors transparently and resolve peer conflict before escalating.

Commercial awareness

Knowledge of the macro environment affecting clients and how it ties back to EY service lines. Surface-level headlines are not enough.

The edge: what separates offers from rejections

Specific moves most applicants skip. None of them need talent, only preparation.

  1. 01Quantify every resume bullet: action verb plus technical task plus a numerical result
  2. 02Name a specific EY initiative, publication or professional you spoke to in your motivation answer
  3. 03Know which division you are applying to and the realistic day-to-day of a first-year there
  4. 04Use the STAR method and speak in "I", not "we", so reviewers can see your individual contribution
  5. 05Bring a recent US deal or macro trend you can discuss with a point of view

Prep, stage by stage

Drill each EY round

Dedicated pages for the four rounds EY runs. The Pack covers all four end to end in one purchase.

Online Assessment

Real format, calibrated to EY.

HireVue

Real EY questions, identical timer, scored on six competencies.

Live Interview

Conversational mocks tuned to EY's style, with follow-ups.

Superday

Hours of back-to-back interviews. Full-day rehearsal.

Pay & culture

Working at EY

What they pay

Graduate

Strategy & Transactions ~$90,000-120,000; Consulting ~$78,000-95,000; Assurance and Tax ~$75,000-85,000 (city and CPA-track dependent)

Internship

Pro-rated analyst base over an 8-10 week summer program

Perks

Hybrid model, generally 2-3 days in office or on-siteCounselor (career advocate) for every analyst$1B+ annual investment in the EY.ai platform and continuous learningSign-on bonus and competitive benefitsBroad US geographic placement across every major hubStrong summer-to-full-time conversion
CompanyCompHours / weekExit options
DeloitteComparable to higher45-60/week, 70+ busy seasonStrong (corporate, PE ops, MBA)
PwCComparable45-60/week, 70+ busy seasonStrong (corporate, MBA)
KPMGComparable, slightly below45-60/week, 70+ busy seasonStrong (corporate, MBA)
EY-Parthenon vs MBBBelow McKinsey / BCG / Bain60-75/weekVery strong (MM PE, growth equity, corp dev)

What working at EY is like

  • One of the Big Four; competes with Deloitte and PwC on transformation and audit, and with MBB through EY-Parthenon
  • People-first reputation; more entrepreneurial than PwC, less centralized than Deloitte
  • Hybrid working, generally 2-3 days a week in office or on client site
  • Standard ~45-55 hour weeks, scaling to 70+ during busy season or peak delivery
  • Steep learning curve with exceptional exit opportunities
  • Annual calibration: high performers accelerate, underperformers go on PIPs
  • Heavy $1B+ annual investment in enterprise AI (EY.ai)
  • Stabilized after the 2023 collapse of the Project Everest split, now running the "All In" strategy under CEO Janet Truncale

Timeline

When EY programmes open and close

By programme. Use these dates to plan applications across the cycle and submit early on rolling lines.

ProgrammeOpensClosesAssessmentOffersNotes
Spring Insight / First-Year DiversityJanuary-February (freshman year)Mid-MarchImmediately on submissionApril; program in MayA 2-3 day immersive at a major hub; high performers bypass early screens for sophomore or junior roles.
Sophomore Internship (Discovery EY / Launch)January-March (sophomore year)AprilApril-MayMay-JuneInternship runs June-August of the following year.
Summer Analyst (Junior Summer)February-March (sophomore, accelerated) and August (junior)Late September (junior year)September-OctoberOctober-NovemberThe main engine; conversion decisions in late July of the internship summer.
Full-Time Analyst (Direct Entry)July-August (before senior year)Early SeptemberSeptemberLate September-OctoberHighly constrained; most spots are filled by returning summer-analyst conversions.

FAQ

EY application questions

How is EY different from its Big Four peers in the US?

EY is the third-largest US accounting and professional services firm by revenue, behind Deloitte and PwC and ahead of KPMG. Culturally it is seen as more entrepreneurial and less rigid than PwC, though slightly less centralized than Deloitte. Its biggest differentiator is EY-Parthenon, a top-tier strategy arm that competes directly with McKinsey, BCG and Bain on commercial due diligence and corporate strategy, alongside a heavy $1B+ annual investment in its EY.ai platform. For candidates choosing between the four, the practical differences come down to division strength, the specific office and the team, more than headline brand.

How technical is the EY interview process?

It depends entirely on the division. Assurance and Tax interviews are heavily behavioral and situational, testing CPA-track credentials and integrity. Consulting uses interviewer-guided operational cases with a profit-driver structure. Strategy & Transactions and EY-Parthenon are the most technical: expect three-statement accounting mechanics, DCF, LBO and valuation methodologies, market-sizing, and a structured MECE case at the superday. Even there, EY rejects memorized frameworks in favor of logical problem isolation and clear communication while you calculate.

What is the EY online assessment and HireVue?

EY uses SHL exclusively for its US early-careers OA, deploying the SHL Verify G+ general ability test (numerical, verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning), a Situational Judgment Test and an OPQ-based personality questionnaire, all within a tight 24-hour window. After the OA, the HireVue is an integrated job simulation built around one fictional client: 3-5 video prompts plus written exercises like drafting a client email. The OA is scored on a percentile basis (a sub-50th percentile is an auto-fail), while the HireVue is screened by AI and reviewed by recruiters.

When does EY US recruiting open and how should I time it?

EY runs an early, accelerated calendar that shifts annually to capture talent ahead of competitors. Spring insight and first-year diversity programs open January to February; sophomore internships open January to March; and the main junior summer analyst engine opens February to March of sophomore year (accelerated) and again in August of junior year, closing late September. Because review is rolling and full-time spots are largely filled by returning interns, the single most valuable move is to apply in the first week and to network with local EY managers and partners beforehand, which matters most for non-target candidates.

What are the exit opportunities from EY in the US?

They are excellent and route differs by division. EY-Parthenon and Transaction Advisory analysts exit to middle-market private equity, growth equity and operational portfolio teams, typically via off-cycle recruiting since on-cycle PE favors IB skillsets. Consulting and strategy alumni move into Fortune 500 corporate development and internal strategy at firms like Google, Meta and Disney, and top performers matriculate into M7 and top-15 MBA programs. EY maintains a neutral stance on outside recruiting, recognizing that strong exit placement enhances its brand equity on campus.

How not to fail

Mistakes that cost candidates EY offers

Specific failure modes the firm screens out. None of these need talent to avoid, only awareness.

  1. 01A generic "Why EY". Interchangeable praise about a "prestigious global brand" applies to any competitor and is an immediate downgrade. Name a division, an initiative or a professional you spoke to.
  2. 02Missing the division-specific bar. Applying without understanding the day-to-day, GPA target and interview style of your division (especially the case-heavy EY-Parthenon and SaT) costs candidates offers.
  3. 03Treating the 24-hour OA window as a suggestion. Waiting until the last hour leaves no buffer for tech issues or fatigue. Take the SHL OA fresh, early, with a calculator and scratch paper.
  4. 04Using "we" instead of "I". The HireVue and behavioral interviews evaluate your individual contribution. Heavy collective pronouns make your specific actions invisible and score poorly on leadership.

If you are rejected

What to do next

An EY rejection is not a verdict on your ability given the volume of applicants. Build the analytical base and target comparable US platforms.

Big Four peers

Deloitte, PwC and KPMG recruit similar profiles on similar calendars and offer comparable training and exits.

Strategy consulting

If EY-Parthenon was your target, consider MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) and elite boutiques such as Strategy&, OC&C or LEK.

Transaction-adjacent finance

For SaT-style work, look at middle-market investment banks, valuation advisory firms and corporate development rotational programs.

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Intervyo is not affiliated with or endorsed by EY. Process details are sourced from past applicants, the firm's published guidance and our own research; verify timings on the firm's official careers site before applying. Last updated July 18, 2026.

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