EY - Ernst & Young - is one of the Big Four professional services firms, operating across assurance, tax, strategy and transactions, and consulting. But what distinguishes EY from its peers in the hiring process isn't the range of services it offers. It's how EY interviews.
Most firms use competency-based interviews: "Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership." EY takes a different approach. Their interviews are strengths-based, which means they ask what you enjoy doing, what comes naturally to you, and when you feel most energized at work. The idea is that people who use their natural strengths every day perform better and stick around longer than those who spend all day working against their grain.
If you're not prepared for that difference, it can catch you off guard. This guide explains what EY's approach means in practice, what questions to expect, and how to prepare so you can have an authentic, compelling conversation.
How EY's Interview Process Works
EY's process varies by service line, country, and level, but the general flow looks like this:
- Online application - Application through EY's careers portal. GPA and academic background matter for campus hiring. Make sure your resume is specific and clearly communicates what you've done and the outcomes you've produced.
- Online assessments - EY often uses online assessments early in the process, including numerical reasoning tests, situational judgment tests, and sometimes a strengths-based pre-interview questionnaire. These aren't formalities - they're used to screen candidates.
- First-round interview - Often conducted by a manager or senior manager. The questions will be largely strengths-based and situational. Don't expect a case interview at this stage for most service lines (consulting may be different).
- Partner interview - For many roles, the final stage is a partner interview. This is a real conversation, not just a formality. Partners want to understand who you are, why you want to join EY, and what you'd bring to the team. It's often more open-ended and reflective than earlier rounds.
- Offer decision - EY partners and the hiring team confer. Consistent performance and clear cultural alignment matter as much as any individual answer.
For consulting roles within EY, there may be a case study component. Check with your recruiter about what to expect for the specific role you're applying for.
What EY Values in Candidates
Teamwork
EY operates in teams, almost always. The firm's work involves collaboration with clients, internal colleagues, and external stakeholders simultaneously. EY wants people who are genuine team players - not just people who say they are, but people who actively make teams function better. That means listening, contributing ideas, supporting colleagues, and being flexible when team needs change.
Integrity
Like all Big Four firms, EY serves clients in regulated environments where honesty and professional ethics aren't optional. EY's culture expects people to do the right thing even when it's not the easy thing. Strengths-based interviews will probe this through situational questions: "What would you do if you noticed something that seemed wrong?" or "How have you handled a situation where you felt pressure to compromise your standards?"
Respect
EY works with clients and colleagues across cultures, industries, and backgrounds. They want people who treat everyone with respect - clients, peers, support staff, everyone. This shows up in how you talk about former employers, colleagues, and difficult situations. Candidates who throw others under the bus in their answers tend to get noted.
Energy and Enthusiasm
EY's strengths-based approach is partly about finding people who are genuinely energized by their work. They believe energy is contagious - that one person's enthusiasm lifts a team - and they actively look for it. This doesn't mean you need to be performatively upbeat. It means you should be able to identify the work you find genuinely exciting and talk about it with real conviction.
Building a Better Working World
EY's stated purpose is to "build a better working world." This broader mission is more than a tagline at EY - it shapes how the firm talks about its community involvement, its sustainability work, and its contribution to healthy financial markets. Candidates who can connect their own motivations to a sense of broader purpose tend to fit well here.
Sample EY Interview Questions (With Tips)
"What types of work activities give you the most energy?"
This is a classic strengths-based opener. EY is trying to understand what naturally lights you up.
Tip: Be honest and specific. If you're energized by working through complex analytical problems, say so. If you get a lot out of helping people learn or grow, say that. The goal isn't to give the "right" answer - it's to give your true answer. Strengths-based interviewers are trained to probe for authenticity. Answers that match the job description but don't match who you actually are will unravel under follow-up.
"Tell me about a time when you really felt in your element at work or studying."
Another strengths question. They're asking about flow - the state where you're fully engaged and performing at your best.
Tip: Think about moments where time flew and the work came naturally. What were you doing? What skills were you using? Why did it feel right? This answer gives EY real insight into what kind of work will get the best out of you.
"Describe a situation where you had to quickly build rapport with someone new."
Client-facing work starts with relationship-building. EY wants to see that this comes naturally to you or that you've developed it as a skill.
Tip: Pick an example with a real outcome - not just "we got along fine" but "the relationship led to X." Show what you specifically did to connect with the person, not just that it happened.
"Tell me about a time you worked in a team where someone wasn't pulling their weight. What did you do?"
This tests teamwork and conflict management. EY doesn't want people who ignore problems, but they also don't want people who escalate immediately or complain behind someone's back.
Tip: Show a direct, respectful approach. Did you talk to the person? Did you try to understand what was going on for them? Did you find a way to reallocate tasks or support them? What happened in the end? Avoid answers where you just complained to someone senior - show initiative.
"Give me an example of when you had to communicate a complex idea to someone with a different background."
EY consultants and advisors communicate with clients across finance, technology, operations, and more. Being able to translate complexity is a real skill.
Tip: Pick an example where the communication challenge was genuine - where the person's background made your default explanation unhelpful and you had to find a different angle. What did you do differently? How did you know it worked?
"What do you find most challenging about working in teams, and how do you handle it?"
This is a self-awareness question. EY wants to see that you know yourself.
Tip: Don't give a non-answer like "sometimes I care too much." Give a real challenge - something you actually find hard - and show how you've developed strategies for managing it. The strength isn't that you have no weaknesses; it's that you're aware and adaptive.
"Why EY? What draws you to this firm specifically?"
Partners ask this almost universally. Generic answers about "culture" or "learning opportunities" aren't enough.
Tip: Connect to something specific about EY's work or approach. Research EY's recent focus areas - their technology transformation practice, their approach to sustainability consulting, their work in a particular sector that interests you. If you've spoken to EY employees, reference those conversations. The more specific, the more credible.
How to Structure Your Responses
EY's strengths-based interviews work a bit differently from traditional STAR-style behavioral interviews. For "what energizes you" questions, you don't need a structured narrative - you need an honest, specific answer. But for experience-based questions ("tell me about a time"), STAR still works well:
- Situation - Brief context. What was happening?
- Task - What were you responsible for?
- Action - What did you do specifically? Show initiative and judgment.
- Result - What happened? What impact did it have?
The modification for EY's style: after the Result, reflect briefly on why you made the choices you did. EY interviewers are interested in your motivations and self-awareness, not just your actions. Adding a line like "I chose to approach it that way because..." or "Looking back, what I found most interesting about it was..." often lands well.
Keep answers to about two minutes and invite follow-up. EY interviewers are in a conversation with you, not just collecting data points.
Mistakes to Avoid
Trying to guess the "right" answer to strengths questions. Strengths-based interviewers are trained to detect when someone's answer doesn't match their experience or behavior elsewhere in the interview. Give genuine answers, not answers you think EY wants to hear.
Being unprepared for the partner interview. The partner interview is a real calibration. Partners are thinking about whether they'd put you in front of a client on day two. Prepare for it with the same rigor as the earlier rounds. Have your narrative ready, know your stories, and be ready to ask thoughtful questions.
Not having a specific answer for "Why EY?" This question is asked and evaluated by every interviewer. Partners especially will push on it. "The culture" and "the people" are not specific. Research the firm's actual work and bring something concrete.
Vague answers about teamwork. EY values teamwork so explicitly that vague answers here feel like red flags. "I work well with others" is meaningless. Tell them a story about a specific team situation, what you contributed, and how it went.
Talking negatively about former employers. Respect is a core value. Candidates who complain about past managers, teams, or companies come across as risky. Even if your previous experience was genuinely difficult, talk about it constructively.
Company-Specific Prep Tips
Take the online assessments seriously. Many candidates assume the online tests are a formality. They're not. EY uses them as a real screen, and performance matters.
Practice answering questions about what energizes you. Before the interview, spend real time reflecting on this. What work have you found genuinely engaging? When have you felt most effective? When have you felt most alive in a professional context? The more clearly you know the answers, the more naturally you'll be able to articulate them.
Research EY's current focus areas. EY has been investing in areas like AI adoption, climate and sustainability, and digital transformation. Knowing what the firm is prioritizing helps you frame your experience and interests in relevant terms.
Talk to EY employees if you can. EY recruits heavily through employee referrals and values candidates who've made the effort to learn about the firm from people on the inside. Even one conversation with an EY analyst or senior associate can give you specific, credible things to reference.
Understand the differences between EY's service lines. Assurance, Tax, Strategy and Transactions, and Consulting are genuinely different in terms of day-to-day work, culture, and career path. Know which one you're applying to and why, and be ready to articulate that clearly.
Final Thoughts
EY's strengths-based approach can actually make interviews feel more natural than the traditional competency-based format - if you come in prepared. The key shift is this: instead of asking yourself "what story demonstrates this competency," ask yourself "when have I felt most engaged, most effective, most like myself at work?" The answers to those questions are the foundation of a strong EY interview.
The partner interview is the capstone of EY's process. Walk in confident, be honest, and show genuine enthusiasm for the work and the firm. Partners have seen thousands of candidates. They can tell the difference between someone who's performed their way through the process and someone who actually belongs there.
Ready to prepare for your EY interview? Interview Igniter has real behavioral and strengths-based questions mapped to EY's values and interview approach. Practice your answers, get feedback, and walk in feeling ready.
Vidal Graupera
October 30, 2025