Graduate Consultant

My initial application was for FS Tax. This closed before I had a chance to be interviewed. I asked to be transferred to FS Risk and they accepted (EY are pretty nice about this sort of thing so don't be afraid to ask).

1-on-1 strengths interview by a manager there within one week. Really nice guy, down-to-earth and made a genuine effort to have me feel at ease. Remember to use examples when you're giving your responses - this can be tough after the 36th question but it really makes a difference.

Sadly this is where the happy experiences ended for me... It took them two months to give me an assessment day. The day started out with a group exercise: you have to read an info pack and persuade the rest of the group to invest in your company and your specific industry. Fairly straightforward. Next, you had to work individually to type up a report based on another info pack provided. Again, nothing groundbreaking. You're then asked to take the psychometric tests again - if I'm not mistaken they are the Saville consulting ones. The logical reasoning ones are a bitch btw.

I thought the day went really well. Unfortunately for me, I had my first final year exam the next day, and so I couldn't schedule a partner interview. It took them five weeks to get back to me, despite several phone calls and emails. When they finally rejected me, they gave me some very generic reasons: you didn't draw quiet people into the group and you didn't include enough statistics in your report. Now, fair enough, these are all valid reasons to reject someone - but five weeks after the assessment day? Everyone else in my group was rejected the day after. Not sure why I was kept waiting so long, but either way, not a pleasant experience after the strengths interview. I don't know if this is standard practice for EY or the Big 4, but I found them to be pretty disorganised.