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EY Experience Trainee Program FAQ

What to expect when applying to our EY Experience Trainee Program? We'll let you know!

With what kind of academic background can I apply?

• Often, we’re looking for the right personality and set of skills to fit into our various teams – not a certain academic background. That being said, you do have an advantage for instance, when applying to auditing teams in case you’ve studied accounting. Please also note that the requirements regarding academic background might differ between our teams.

What Service Line can I apply to, if I study…

• Before answering each of these individually we’d like to point out that your major doesn’t exclude you from applying to different Service Lines. We have for instance people who’ve studied marketing or leadership that are working within our tax teams. Remembering this, we’ll address the following:

§  Finance

• Generally, people that study Finance have been interested in our Strategy and Transactions teams (i.e. Corporate Finance, EY-Parthenon, Valuation Modeling & Economics, Transaction Diligence, Restructuring). Some have also been interested in Assurance (working in audit or process excellence-teams) or Tax.

§  Marketing

• Marketing students have generally been interested in working closely with clients in either Assurance, Tax or Consulting teams, especially when their minor subjects have been relevant.

§  Accounting

• Accounting students can be found spread out in different Service Lines, but the majority of them are part of our Audit, Process Excellence and Transaction Diligence teams.

§  (Corporate) law

• Law students in general tend to flock towards our Tax teams (People Advisory Services, Indirect Tax, Global Compliance & Reporting, Business Tax Services, International Tax & Transaction Services). Those studying to become a lawyer will often also apply to our Law team.

§  Leadership

• Students studying leadership can be found within several of our service lines, but most flutter towards our Consulting teams.

§  Mathematical subjects (physics, mathematics, business mathematics etc.)

• Mathematics is needed in all aspects of the business and hence students studying mathematical subjects find a home in several Service Lines. Just to name a few examples: Strategy and Transactions’ teams can need to visualize data while as the Data Analytics team within Assurance needs to clean the data used by audit teams. Our Consulting services also have their own Data and Analytics team. Our Financial Services Organization’s Risk team is also a home for Finance Mathematics-students.

§  Industrial management

• Industrial management students can be found especially within our Strategy and Transactions and Consulting teams, where they combine technical knowledge with business acumen, but are welcome to other Service Lines as well.

§  Economics

• Our employees that have studied economics often end up within our Assurance teams, working for instance with data analytics, auditing, process excellence or Economics team in Strategy and Transactions. 

How long is the recruitment process?

• The recruitment process itself lasts approximately a month, the application period starting from 24th of January and ending 20th of February. We’ll be conducting interviews during the process as well.

Tell me more about the recruitment process

• The recruitment process starts off by you choosing which position(s) you are applying for. Having reviewed your documents, we’ll let you know whether or not we will be continuing the process with you. You will receive this information in the beginning of March at the very latest. In case we wish to continue the process with you, we’ll be inviting you be interviewed for the position you’re applying for. 

Can I simultaneously apply to multiple Service Lines (teams) with my application?

• Yes, you can. In case you’re interested in several Service Line’s you can let us know when you apply.

What kind of communication can I expect to receive during the recruitment process?

• After having received your application it is our #1 priority to decide rather sooner than later if we think an interview is in order. Hence, expect an answer in the beginning of March at the latest.

How far along in my studies do I have to be to be able to apply?

• We haven’t set in stone how far along you have to be in your studies, as long as you can handle the tasks given to you. However, we’ve noticed that generally third-year students (120 ECTS and above) have had enough academic knowledge bestowed upon them to succeed in given assignments.

What kind of interviews will there be during the recruitment process?

• Due to COVID most of our interviews are nowadays held virtually via Teams. We have had both individual interviews and group case exercises in Teams as a part of our trainee recruitment processes.

What should I bring with me to the interview?

• An excited and happy vibe! Besides that, nothing is required.

How should I prepare for the interviews?

• Usually we don’t require you to prepare by doing assignments beforehand, although it might benefit you to refresh your memory on subjects and theories that could be relevant to the position you’re applying for.

What kind of questions are asked during interviews?

• You should prepare for questions regarding your motivation and areas of interest, teamwork skills, social skills, your strengths and weaknesses and then questions regarding the subject matter (such as taxation, corporate finance, accounting…). In group interviews (when COVID isn’t impacting our society) we want to know how you work in a team, what kind of role you take and what kind of input you have on the topic that you are working together on.

How long does the Trainee-program last?

• The Trainee-program usually lasts between 3-6 months, depending on the wishes of both parties. In some cases, you can also continue as a Trainee along with your studies.

When does the EY Experience-program start?

• The answer to this varies again depending on your Service Line. For example, the majority of audit trainees start the first days of January. Strategy and Transactions, Consulting, TAX & LAW trainees on the other hand might start some time during spring or autumn.

Can I apply to Trainee-positions starting a year from now or even later, during this application process?

• Yes, you can in certain Strategy and Transaction teams. We’ve given you the option to apply for fall 2022.

When is the next Trainee application period?

• The next Trainee application period for all Service Lines would be around September 2022. Service Lines may look for candidates separately before that as well (later in the Spring 2022).

Do you use cases in your interviews?

• Yes, in most interviews we do. Usually our cases simulate what kind of work you’d be doing as a trainee, so you’re prepared for what to expect.

Do you use tests during your recruitment process?

• Yes, we do. All applicants are asked to do our ability tests.

Am I allowed to own shares when applying to EY?

• Yes, you are. In case you have significant holdings, please let us know during the recruitment process. Due to our independence-policy, owning shares might limit your possibilities to work for our audit clients (in case you own shares of our clients). But just to play safe, it’s good to have this discussion already during the recruitment process.

What’s the average length of a Trainee’s work day?

• This depends on the Service Line you’re in and what time of year it is. Generally, 7.5h a day is the norm during your traineeship, but during the busy season it tends to be longer.

What kind of career paths does EY Experience provide me?

• As previously stated, as long as the traineeship goes well, we strive to provide a fixed employment to our trainees. The majority of our employees from Staff to Senior Manager-ranks have started off as a trainee at some point during their career.
• Our employee value proposition is “It’s yours to build.” This means that you can build your own path at EY by changing teams/service line at some point of your career. You can also tailor your experience by participating in various activities, for example EY Ripples voluntary activities or EY staff club activities to name a few.

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