Audit Intern applicants have rated the interview process at EY with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 71.2% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
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The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at EY (Los Angeles, CA) in Oct 2009
Interview
The interview process for an audit internship revolves around behavioral interviews. There were a set of 3 interviews -- the first of which was a phone interview - casual and basically a screening process for the on campus interview. EY heavily recruits out of my school, which made the set up process for the interviews very easy. During the on campus interview, they went over the content of my resume and discussed my intentions with public accounting. The in house interview involved a series of 3 interviews of 45 minutes each -- with a senior/manager, senior manager and a partner. Each of my interviews involved behavioral questions in how I responded under pressure, my ability to work with teams, etc. I asked a lot of questions during my interviews and I believe that led them to believe I was interested and excited about the position.
Having now been involved with the recruiting process on the other end, what I think EY looks most for in an audit candidate include:
- strong command of English (unless recruiting for a language specialized division of EY)
- examples of the ability to work well in teams
- strong interest in the public accounting field
- humble, yet confident presence
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
When have you had an experience with a difficult team member? What did you do to resolve the difficulty and what was the outcome?
The process took 1 day. I interviewed at EY (Auckland, ) in Apr 2011
Interview
I met Ernst and Young at the university careers fair in March 2011. They seemed reasonably friendly. However, the person who I talked to in Assurance seemed a little vague to me about what she does there.
The next day I submitted my online application form to Ernst and Young. About two weeks later, I received a call from one of their HR staff, inviting me to come in for a whole day assessment day in April.
The HR staff were friendly to me, which was positive. They also requested that I take a psychometric test prior to the assessment day, which meant getting it out of the way. It consisted of ability testing and a personality test etc.
I arrived at the Ernst and Young office, feeling nervous. It was also a terrible day - cold and wet. Thankfully, everyone seemed friendly when I arrived and all the applicants had to put their name tags on.
First up for me was a 45 minute behavioural-based interview - two people asked me plenty of probing questions like "Tell me how you have managed conflict?" etc.
After the interview, everyone had lunch and I got to meet some more EY staff, who seemed nice.
After that, I got taken with my group for an office tour, which pretty cool - the graduates were friendly and down-to-earth.
Lastly, was a group assessment which involved discussing a case study. I went alright, and there was no conflict.
At the end of the day, we got invited to come in for some office drinks and mingled once again.
Two days later, I received a call from one of my interviewers saying that I had come up short, which was unfortunate and demoralising at the time. She told me I needed to be more specific and make eye contact, plus a few more things. Overall, the experience was positive, as I learned from what the interviewer had tole me. However, I thought some comments were a little harsh - but if they say it, then you know that you need to address that.
I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at EY (New York, NY) in Oct 2010
Interview
Applied through my school and had an on-campus interview (1:1). Pretty standard behavioral interview, nothing fancy. Made it to 2nd round in NY and had two 1:1 interviews with a manager and partner. All very nice people. Still, only behaviorals. Went out to lunch with staff members and was treated to a sushi lunch (on their tab of course). Great day overall. Got the offer two days later and accepted.