EY is a leading global professional services company and one of the Big Four, which also includes Deloitte, KPMG and PwC. EY has a London HQ and employs 230,000 people globally. Candidates applying for jobs with EY face a rigorous selection process and competition is fierce.
Ernst & Young uses a suite of tests designed to assess a range of skills including numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and situation judgement. These are tailored to the various service lines and roles within the company, from Technology to Assurance.
This guidance covers UK early careers. The assessment mix and final stages depend on the programme.
Strengths, reasoning and programme-specific exercises
EY describes rank-order, written and recorded video responses, with a time-recorded numerical reasoning test where applicable. Its FAQ suggests around 60 minutes for EY One and 20 minutes for numerical reasoning. These are preparation estimates, not a single universal time limit.
Process sources checked 11 September 2026 · Your invitation takes priority for role and location details.
Calculate gross profit from sales and cost figures. This is our independent numerical practice for candidates preparing for business-data questions, not an EY assessment item.
Practise with our independent preparation tests, then review the working behind each answer.
A leader in professional services, EY helps other organisations make better decisions about business, finance and technology.
As well as roles for experienced professionals, it offers a number of opportunities for those just starting out in their career. These include apprenticeships, industrial placements, summer internships and graduate programmes.
Jobs and placements are available in a range of business areas, such as consulting, tax, technology and assurance.
Students or recent graduates who are keen to apply to EY but are unsure which business area is right for them can complete the EY Pathfinder survey. This will give them a good indication of which role would be the best match for their strengths and interests.
The application process for EY depends to some extent on the role and level you are applying for, although most follow a fairly similar path. Here, we focus on the application process for graduates, which has five stages:
The applications process can take around two months from submitting an online application to receiving an offer.
The first step is to create a profile and fill out an online application form. This will include stating the job or programme you are applying for, as well as your preferred location.
You will also need to give personal details, along with information about your academic achievements and relevant work experience.
After submitting your completed form, you will find out immediately if you have made it through to the next stage. If you have, you will be sent login details to complete the online assessments.
EY groups its online assessments into one immersive sitting that mixes ranking exercises, written and recorded video answers and a time-recorded numerical reasoning test where applicable. The whole thing is strengths-based, so EY is looking for what you naturally do well rather than what you have revised, and it is widely reported to be built by Cappfinity, whose strengths format is used across much of the sector. The exact mix varies by programme, so check your invitation email for what you have been asked to complete.
This aptitude test presents a series of challenging scenarios that one might encounter in the workplace, followed by a number of possible responses to the scenario.
You will watch 16 videos setting out specific situations and must indicate which approach you would choose in response to each scenario. You may be asked to choose one answer from a selection, or to rank possible responses from one to five, based on how likely it is you would choose each approach.
The test should take around 30 minutes, and it is advisable to complete it as soon as you can after receiving the link. Read our situational strengths guide for more information and practice tests.
EY recommends allowing around 20 minutes for numerical reasoning. It is time-recorded, and the invitation confirms the format; follow the on-screen instructions for each part. The questions relate to graphs, percentages and tables, and you will be asked to analyse data and choose from a set of multiple-choice answers.
You do not need advanced maths knowledge – a good grasp of basic GCSE-level maths should be enough to answer these questions. EY is more interested in testing your ability to apply reasoning to numerical information, and how well you perform under pressure.
You will have less than a minute for each question, so it’s important to practise beforehand and get used to working under timed conditions. Our numerical reasoning tests guide has lots of practice tests for you to try.
Verbal ability tests are designed to assess your level of written and verbal comprehension, as well as your communication skills and ability to analyse text quickly and accurately.
In the EY verbal reasoning test, you will be presented with passages of text followed by questions based on what you have read. Your choice of response to these questions will either be ‘True’, ‘False’ or ‘Cannot say’.
As with all the EY online assessments, you should aim to take this test as soon as possible after receiving the link. Check out our guide to verbal reasoning tests.
You may also be asked to take a logical reasoning test as part of your application process with EY. This is a non-verbal test that assesses your problem-solving skills through a series of questions relating to sequences of shapes and patterns.
In each question there will be a missing step and you will be provided with a number of possible answers to complete the sequence. This type of psychometric test is sometimes also known as a diagrammatic reasoning test.
Our article on logical reasoning tests provides more detailed information, along with practice questions.
If you complete the online assessment stage successfully you will be invited to move on to the job simulation. This stage aims to explore your individual strengths, and how good a fit you are for the EY role or programme you have applied for.
The job simulation uses workplace scenarios relevant to the programme you have applied for. For some questions you will be asked to rank possible responses in order; others will require written answers and some questions involve recording your answer via video. Some questions will have a time limit, while others will not.
All together, this section should take you about an hour to complete and you must do it all in one sitting.
As you will be recording some of your answers, you should make sure you are dressed appropriately and that you are in a room with good lighting and free from background distractions.
You will be given a practice round to get used to recording yourself, but when it comes to the actual questions you will not be able to re-record your answers.
After completing this stage, EY will give you detailed feedback on the strengths you displayed and how you could develop these further.
The EY Experience Day – which may also be referred to as the assessment centre – is the penultimate stage of the application process. This is a day of exercises, activities and interviews designed to assess your strengths and qualities, and also for you to get a taste of life at EY.
During the day you will take part in a group exercise and a case study, both of which we outline below. You may also have your partner interview either at the beginning or the end of the day.
During the experience day, candidates will be split into groups of four and given a package of information about a work-related task or scenario. You will have 15 minutes to read through the information on your own, then 30 minutes to discuss what you have read and how you should approach the situation with the rest of the group.
You will be assessed on how you work as part of a team, so you should listen to the other candidates and respond to their comments and suggestions respectfully. But also make your own voice heard, and take the opportunity to display leadership skills wherever you can.
In this task you will be provided with information about a fictional company that needs to make some difficult business decisions, along with extra documents and materials relevant to the task. You will then have 30 minutes to go through all the information, analyse the situation and come up with a recommended plan of action.
At the end of the task you must present your findings and recommendations to the EY assessors, who will ask you questions about how you have approached the case study. For this task you will need to be able to work quickly to find the key issues in the documents.
These may be scheduled for the start or end of your experience day, or on another date. The interviews usually last about 25 minutes and the questions are strength-based.
As such, you may be asked about significant achievements, how you approach tasks, what you like doing in your spare time and what motivates you.
What candidates ask us most often
Like most pre-employment assessments, the Ernst & Young tests can be challenging. They are meant to gauge your aptitude and fit for the job at hand. The difficulty lies in the time pressure and the level of preparation of the candidate.
Preparing for Ernst & Young tests is all about practice. Familiarize yourself with the types of questions you’ll see and work on areas where you might be weaker. Practice Aptitude Tests offers a wealth of practice tests that simulate the real experience.
The recruitment process at Ernst & Young varies depending on the role and department. It typically includes several stages, from online assessments to interviews, and can take several weeks from the initial application to the final decision.
Ernst & Young is committed to building a better working world. Their core values include respect for the individual, integrity, teamwork, and energy. They seek individuals who align with these principles and demonstrate them in their work.
Rated 4.8 out of 5 across 58 reviews. A selection:
I found that the time limit was well-designed—it created pressure and forced me to be quick in making decisions. The questions were not too difficult but were thoughtful enough to require careful consideration and reflection
I liked that the test was a perfect balance of easy and moderate questions ranging from calculative to analytical. The thing I disliked was it was to lengthy and was very hard to finish on time.
I was unprepared so it did come off as difficult to me, but if I were prepared, It would be pretty easy, considering the questions are basically maths
EY is a trademark of its respective owner. Practice Aptitude Tests is not affiliated with EY and our practice tests are not endorsed by them. Visit EY careers.
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