The New Ernst and Young Assessment Centre
1 November 2008 - 12:32am
_jonny
The Ernst and Young Assessment Centre has completely changed format for the September 2009 intake. The basic difference is that the day is longer, with more tasks to complete. Also the Partner Interview now no longer takes place at the Assessment Centre and will occur only if you are successful at the Assessment Centre. Before you attend the day you are given a piece of research to complete, which you will need to bring along to the Assessment Centre as it is part of one of the tasks.
I had my Assessment Centre at the Birmingham Office for Audit UK&I, for a position at the Nottingham office. There was another person at the Assessment Centre who was applying for Tax so the process is the same for Assurance and Tax applicants. I don’t know whether the process is the same for Advisory and Corporate Finance but I assume it will be.
Assessment Centre
11.00am – The day started with an introduction by a member of the recruitment team, there was also a manager from both Tax and Assurance present. She explained the setup of the day and what tasks we would be undertaking. This was followed by a getting to know you session, where each person in the room gave their name, where they were from, what they were doing at the moment and what the best thing that had happened to them recently was. There were four of us in total who attended my Assessment Centre.
11.45am – The first task of the day used the research we had to prepare prior to attending the Assessment Centre. This is a team meeting between all the people at the Assessment Centre. You have to talk through what you have found and devise a plan as to how your manager should present a presentation on the area you have researched to a client. This task takes 45 minutes and for the last 10 minutes the managers will ask some questions to clarify any points you have made. For this task you must make sure you contribute without being over dominant. This is a test of teamwork so you must listen and try to incorporate everyone into the task. You should also make sure you manage your time well and achieve the objectives outlined in the brief.
12.30pm – For the second task we were given information on a company and a brief to follow. For this task you have to condense the information given to meet the brief. This is done on a laptop provided and all your work is saved onto a USB. You again have 45 minutes to complete this task and there are 8 pages of information provided. Effective time management is needed; however the information isn’t too difficult to understand. They just want to see that you can pick out the main points from the information and stick to the brief.
1.30pm – Following a 15 minute break for lunch, the third task was to plan a careers fair event which Ernst and Young will be part of. For this you are given a booklet which includes information on the event and people who can help you; this booklet is 6 pages long. You have to outline all the tasks which need to be completed, who you need to help you complete the tasks and a time frame for when the tasks need to be completed by. This task is only 30 minutes long and is again done on a laptop.
2.00pm – The next task tests your basic English skills. You are given a report which has been compiled by someone who supposedly works at EY. It is full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and you have to find these and highlight them; the report is five pages long. You are also asked to provide feedback to the person who wrote the report. You have to fill in a form as to how you will go about this and what you hope to achieve. This is followed by a 10 minute mock phone call to the person who wrote the report, played by one of the managers at the Assessment Centre. In this task you have to give feedback over the phone to help the person improve in the future. You have 30 minutes to proof read the report and 15 minutes for the phone call. For the phone call part of this task you need to give constructive feedback and make sure you reassure the person on the phone that s/he can improve.
3.00pm – Following another 15 minute break we had a numerical test. This is the PSL psychometric test and there are 32 questions to answer in 35 minutes. There is really not too much to add here, the questions get harder towards the end of the book. There are 3 diagrams or graphs on each page followed by between 3 and 5 questions relating to these diagrams. I didn’t answer all the questions but still passed the test, I recommend that you focus on getting the questions you attempt correct rather than completing them all but guessing most of them.
3.45pm – The final task of the day was a quick debrief by one of the managers at the Assessment Centre. There are 23 questions to answer and although they say this is informal it is just as important as any of the other tasks during the day. The questions include, How do you feel the day has gone? What have you learnt from today? What do you think was your best/worst task today? You are asked about each task and how you thought it went. My answers weren’t too long but they don’t need to be as long as you answer the questions honestly.
4.15pm – The day ended with the recruiter explaining what would happen next. She said if you were successful you would get a call by 10am the next day to provide feedback. However if you weren’t you would get an e-mail followed by a phone call to give feedback. We were then asked if we had any questions.
4.30am – End of the Assessment Centre.
I received a call at 10am the following day from the recruitment team to let me know I had been successful. I was given feedback on what I had done well and was told that somebody from the recruitment team would contact me soon to arrange the partner interview.
If anyone has any questions I will do my best to help.
1 November 2008 - 5:42pm
edinburgh_dave
Haha I agree with you there Uzairch! PwC was much easier than that!
Glad I didn't get to interviews and AC with EY as that all sounds far too stressful
Good luck with your final interview _jonny
1 November 2008 - 5:47pm
Uzairch
I have no idea about PwC I am going for KPMG ... if PwC compared with KPMG which is an easy process to go through?
1 November 2008 - 5:52pm
edinburgh_dave
I didn't do KPMG but from reading on here PwC seems easiest. AC was just a group exercise without having to actually present the groups answers, doing the online tests again but on paper (apparently they are meant to be harder but if anything I found them easier), and a partner interview.
No e-tray exercises, no company presentations
1 November 2008 - 6:40pm
_jonny
The new EY process is longer but the tasks are by no means difficult, just time pressured. It also gives you more opportunity to show your strengths in different areas. This means if you do badly in one exercise you can make up for it in another. It is also expected that you do better at some exercises than others.
I would agree that the PWC process is probably the easiest, with only the diagrammatic and numerical psychometric tests, an individual or group exercise and a partner interview. If you are weak in any of these areas however there is very little scope to make up for it elsewhere.
One point I would make is that I found the EY numerical psychometric test harder than the PWC numerical test. EY use PSL tests at Assessment Centre, 32 questions in 35 minutes, PWC use SHL tests at Assessment Centre, 20 questions in 20 minutes.
1 November 2008 - 7:44pm
Aingel6
THanks so much for all that info, I had my first round interview on thursday and was told yesterday that I got through to the next stage so this post has been really helpful.
Quick question, for the info u have to find before hand, how much do you need to research, is it a topic that is easly found on the internet?
1 November 2008 - 9:33pm
londonbloke
both pwc and kpmg is good and easy to pass through the recruitment process, the main part is the application form. just be yourself and apply. good luck!
2 November 2008 - 1:40pm
_jonny
Which office and service line are u applying for Aingel6?
If the topic is kept the same which I presume it will be it is on The Business Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). I just typed that into Google and the first link that came up gave me everything I needed to know. You are also asked to find facts and figures on CSR, this is a little more difficult, I suggest checking on the economist.com.
When you get to the Assessment Centre and use the research the task is more about deciding how to present the information rather than what you have actually found out.
2 November 2008 - 4:46pm
Aingel6
I've applied for Tax in Manchester. When you say find facts and figures on CSR, do you mean EY's CSR or just in general?
Thanks so much for your help.
Good luck with ur partner interview.
2 November 2008 - 7:01pm
sonyviao
jonny, thanks a ton for the info... sounds really intense.. Are the case studies very hardcore? So the day involves two case studies, a PSL test and a report writing exercise? Any other tips on how to prepare for the AC? I've applied for Business Advisory and have my assessment centre this thursday.. the worst part is that they haven't mailed me the details of the day. Are you tested on commercial awareness that day?
Cheers.
2 November 2008 - 9:40pm
_jonny
Aingel6 - I took the brief I was sent to mean CSR in general as did two of the other people at the AC. One person used figures on EY CSR. I would say CSR in general as for the task you are asked to help your manager decide how s/he should structure the presentation to a business group. You could use EY figures on CSR to back up why CSR is a good idea, its really up to you and not particularly that important as the task focuses more on how the information should be presented as opposed to the information you find itself.
sonyviao - Firstly interesting name, do you have a particular affinity to your laptop? The case studies aren't really too difficult, don't worry about that. The only problem is they don't give you too much time to complete the tasks. The tasks basically test your ability to work in a team, condense information to include the most relevant parts, planing and organisation, grammar and spelling, numeracy and your ability to evaluate your on strengths and weaknesses. There really isn't much you can do to prepare, just make sure you practice for the numeracy test. The other tasks are subjective and there isn't much you can prepare for them. Make sure you are open and inclusive on the day, you are observed by managers whilst you are completing the tasks who will evaluate how you tackle the tasks and how you cope with the time constraints. I wasn't given the details of the day and don't think you will be as no one else at my AC were either. No commercial awareness is needed for the AC.
3 November 2008 - 11:19am
dzj0313
I received an email from HR about the details of the AC, which comprises of a second partner interview, a report writing exercise and a group discussion - still the same as before, I believe. Jonny, are you 100% sure that EY AC's are changing format this year? Thanks!
3 November 2008 - 1:05pm
_jonny
Yeh that is how the Assessment Centre used to be. I can say that the format I outlined above is 100% the format of my Assessment Centre, which was 4 days ago. I spoke to the recruitment manager at the Assessment Centre and she said that this new process helped them gain a better overall perspective of a candidates strengths. I can't imagine that the Assessment Centres aren't standardised across the whole company. Does the e-mail you received say it is a Strengths Assessment Day? Which office are you applying to and which service line?
3 November 2008 - 1:21pm
Aingel6
I spoke to a woman from HR and she said that for Tax and Assuarance the Assessment Centre has changed and is 'Strentghs based' - exactly the way Jonny described it, however it has not changed for the other service lines....
Jonny thanks for all ur help, just curious, did u have to take an online numerical test as well as the paper test?
3 November 2008 - 1:25pm
dzj0313
Jonny, thanks for your reply. In the email, they just say it is "an Assessment Centre". I am applying for Corporate Finance/TAS in London. Actually for the 1st round interview, many people on Wiki said EY has taken a new approach, but mine was still the standard competency based interview just like before. I guess they are not changing their methods of assessment for Corporate Finance/TAS?
3 November 2008 - 1:26pm
dzj0313
Thank you very much for your post Aingel6! I will have an AC for Corporate Finance/TAS next week and was just worrying about the change in format....
3 November 2008 - 2:56pm
_jonny
Sounds like the change in format of EY First Interview and Assessment Centre is just for Tax and Assurance then. dzj0313 maybe you could share ur experience of the Assessment Centre for people applying to EY CF or Business Advisory once uv been. Seem daft that they have two systems really but it is good that people are aware of this now.
3 November 2008 - 4:45pm
dzj0313
I will definitely write sth after the AC. But I think EY should make the assessment process more transparent.
3 November 2008 - 4:55pm
chrism2671
Awesome post. Am I to understand the Ernst & Young Interview Questions page is now out of date? Extra brownie points for whoever fancies updating it! :-)
Chris.
3 November 2008 - 6:08pm
_jonny
The Ernst and Young Interview Questions page is now out of date but maybe only for Assurance and Tax. The page also says that the Tax Assessment day differs from the rest, however I had my Assessment day and there was a person applying to Tax there whilst I was applying to Assurance.
3 November 2008 - 7:16pm
sonyviao
jonny- haha, yea, love the laptop... actually, couldn't think of any other name other than the one right in front of me! But thanks a ton for the interview advice....
dzj0313- even i got a mail stating the normal format of the AC.... hence, really spazzed out when i read jonny's post about the format being changed. Reckon, its changed for grads applying for tax...
Quick question- so the partner interview is largely competency based or a technical round? Really fretting over the fact that he/she is gonna take my case real bad... What should I mainly focus on?
Cheers.
4 November 2008 - 10:13pm
_jonny
Don't know about the partner interview, for people applying to Assurance and Tax this comes after you have been successful at the Assessment Centre. Haven't had mine yet. Anybody know anything about the EY partner interview? Anyone had one yet?
5 November 2008 - 11:21am
chrism2671
Thanks for doing some updates! I might try editing it a little later if I get a chance!
Chris.
5 November 2008 - 10:22pm
einstine
Jonny man I have a question for you for the careers fair thing are you supposed to draft a email or sth else can you be kind enough to tell more abt it. I have an assessment centre coming up soon
6 November 2008 - 1:23pm
_jonny
You don't have to draft an e-mail for the careers fair planning task. You do however for the second task, the summarizing task. For this task your asked to advise the new CEO of a recycling firm regarding four aspects on a brief using the booklet of information provided. As an extra part of this task your asked to draft an e-mail to the CEO of this company to invite him to give a speech to Graduates at an upcoming event. This is only a short task, I used about three sentences, it just takes up a bit of time from the rest of the task. It's quite easy and nothing to worry about.
7 November 2008 - 2:46pm
sam16
Thanks for all your help. Just a quick question. Is the numeracy test very much similar to the EY online test? and are calculators allowed?
10 November 2008 - 10:25am
arcmoore
Jonny, when is ur partner interview, mine is this friday, if urs is before can u let me know what format and questions come up.... I will do the same if i have mine before u.
10 November 2008 - 2:40pm
_jonny
sam16 - You are allowed a calculator for the numeracy test, I suggest you take your own so you are familiar with it. They do allow you to use your own calculator, but will also provide one for you if decide not to. I didn't do the EY online test so sorry I can't help you there.
arcmoore - My partner interview is next Monday, so looks like your up first. From what I've read and from previous experience partner interviews aren't standardised. It will very much depend on the Partner who interviews you. That being said I would be very grateful and so would other applicants I would think if you could post ur experience of the Partner interview. I will do the same once I have had mine then we can see if they are standardised or not.
11 November 2008 - 5:33pm
traineewannabe
Sorry to bother everyone,
I was wondering if the first round interview for EY for audit in London is the new format or the old one?
12 November 2008 - 2:48pm
zimninga
Thanks a lot for great post Jonny. How long before your assessment day did you receive the information u need to research? And as far as grammar test goes, is it mostly common everyday English mistakes? Or is there a lot of business jargon?
12 November 2008 - 3:33pm
trecrosby
Thanks guys! Can anyone please tell me which websites (apart from psl) can help me with practice questions which are from PSL?
12 November 2008 - 4:31pm
_jonny
I received an e-mail with an attachment with the research brief the same day that I was called to arrange the Assessment Centre date. This was a week before the Assessment Centre.
For the grammar/spelling test the document itself was a draft of an Audit Report, with the majority of the text being the Audit Opinion. The mistakes are everyday English mistakes such as spelling words wrong or missing letters out of words such as bck instead of back.
13 November 2008 - 6:39pm
witchwheat
hi jonny, thanks for your information. it really helps.
and could you please give me more details about the task 2? what advise you need to give to the new CEO of a recycling firm? it's about the falling profits, or new product introduction, or entering a new market, or competitive response, M&A...?
My AC is next tuesday, a little bit nervous now...
13 November 2008 - 8:37pm
_jonny
All the tasks you are given during the Assessment Centre are tasks where you are trying to help your manager with their work. For the second task the hypothetical situation is that ur manager is going to advise the new CEO of the recycling company. The manager wants you to summarize all the information and you are given 4 points on the brief to focus on. Ur task is just to summarize the information and meet the brief, you don't have to give any advice yourself. You have to help your manager to do this by preparing the information, from which they will advise the client. Sorry if my previous post was misleading, I hope this clarifies the task.
One of the points on the brief is to outline what the main areas the CEO should consider when developing the company in the future. This can be inferred from the information you are given quite easily. Another of the points on the brief is to outline the developments in the recycling industry recently. Don't worry too much about the tasks, they're all achievable with good time management. Good Luck.
15 November 2008 - 6:42pm
aliroo
If anyone needs help about the new AC I had mine this week. Just the partner interview to go now... Has anybody had one yet? At the AC the assessor told us to think about our strengths but wasn't really giving much away. Any help would be much appreciated!
Jonny - I agree with you it was the hardest numerical test ive done so far
16 November 2008 - 2:39pm
trecrosby
Congrats aliroo for progressing to the parner's interview and thanks aliroo for ur readiness to share. I just want to know whether the format was just as jonny described or there was/were any variation(s).
Thanks!
16 November 2008 - 6:05pm
aliroo
Thanks trecrosby.
Yeah it was the same format although my topic to prepare for beforehand was 'The Business Benefits of Virtual Working'. All of the tasks are as Jonny describes.
The business analysis thing to me was the hardest and the fake telephone call to the person who's work you have gone over is a bit wierd but overall everything was fairly easy, just time pressured.
One thing I would say is before the review make sure you think about what you have enjoyed, what you have learned, where you could improve for next time, what strengths do you think you have used in the day.
Let me know if you need anymore help. Im still clueless about the partner interview!!
16 November 2008 - 6:15pm
trecrosby
For the partner interview i guess jonny could be of help after tomorrow because he said his is tomorrow!
16 November 2008 - 6:22pm
trecrosby
Thanks aliroo.
i've been given the same topic. Did they actually insist on statistics? I've not found any real research paper on it yet. It's pieces of informationf from different websites. Which sources did you use?
Thanks!
16 November 2008 - 6:28pm
witchwheat
Thanks Jonny,
Thanks Aliroo~~~
Hope you guys all good luck!!!!!
16 November 2008 - 8:12pm
aliroo
hey my research came from the internet and some work from my degree course, I just had a couple of sides of typed notes and that was more than enough to be honest.
Let me know if you need anymore help
17 November 2008 - 3:59pm
Phuong Thai
Hi guys^^
I am going to have my AC on 3rd Dec in London. I really dont know how to prepare for it. I tried to do some practice for the Numerical tests and revised my English. Can u guys(anybody who had AC before) advise me how to prepare for the AC, please???
And Jonny, about the test on E&Y career day, do u think it is quite similar to e-tray or in-tray tests??
Thanks a lot guys
18 November 2008 - 12:35pm
ghinuk
Thanks Jonny and all other guys sharing information in this thread!!
It is really helpful and informative!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
19 November 2008 - 3:51pm
_jonny
Phuong Thai - I have never done e-tray or in-tray tests, however I don't think the careers day planning task is anything like these. You just get a booklet of information and have to decide wot needs doing, who can help you do it, and when it needs to be completed by. This is the most time pressured task at the AC, and I was told that it was my weakest task at the AC. However I still got through so if you think you've done badly in one of the tasks just keep going. The EY AC tests you in more ways than other firms AC, they are looking for an all round good performance. Good Luck i'm sure you'll be fine.
Just want to say thank you to everyone who's contributed to this site, I was just made an offer today form EY and the application process was made so much easier because of the contributions made here. Its an excellent resource for job seekers, so please keep on contributing.
19 November 2008 - 4:24pm
witchwheat
Hi jonny, thanks for your contribution, so that I can move to the next stage...
and could you plz give more details about the partner interview? ^_^
Many many thanks~~~~~~~~
And congrats!!!!!!!!
19 November 2008 - 4:39pm
Aingel6
Thanks Jonny and ev.one else too! MY AC is on tuesday, and im hoping it'll be ok, my research topic is on the benifits of virtual working.
Congrats Jonny on ur offer! will u accept?
19 November 2008 - 7:27pm
_jonny
Cheers everyone for the congratulations. I am guna accept the offer as EY gave me the best impression from the firms I applied to.
Seems like they must change the research topic, not surprising really. Or maybe they have different topics for different offices.
witchwheat - http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/ernst-and-young-partner-interview
I wrote up my partner interview experience on another thread, the link is above, if u av any follow up questions get back to me on that thread.
20 November 2008 - 11:05am
traineewannabe
well done jonny! man, I have a EY london assessment day..but it's on Jan30th! places are gonna be filled up by then i reckon..:s
22 November 2008 - 12:22pm
trecrosby
Thanks Jonny, aliroo and everybody on this great forum. I am thankful to God that I'm through to the Partner's interview.
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OMG! what a complicated process, It clearly indicates EY is no longer interested in attracting applicants and wants to keep graduates away.