EY Assessment 2026: Job Simulation, Online Tests and the EY Experience Day

The EY assessment is the multi-stage selection process EY (Ernst & Young) uses to hire graduates and experienced professionals: an online application, a set of online reasoning tests published by Cubiks (now part of Talogy), a recorded video interview, and a final assessment centre that EY runs as the EY Experience Day. Each stage measures something different: reasoning speed and accuracy first, then motivation and communication, then how you actually behave in a simulated client situation. The exact mix varies by country, service line and role, so your invitation email is always the authoritative source for what you will sit.

What Is the EY Assessment?

EY is one of the Big Four professional services firms, alongside Deloitte, PwC and KPMG, with 395,000+ employees across assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax. Because intakes attract very large applicant volumes, EY front-loads the process with online assessments that can be scored at scale, then spends its expensive human hours only on the candidates who clear them. Understanding that logic tells you where to spend your preparation time: the online tests are the cheapest stage to improve and the one that eliminates most candidates.

The part that catches people out is that EY does not use SHL. It uses Cubiks assessments, which are now part of Talogy. The underlying constructs are the same (numerical data interpretation, verbal comprehension) but the interface, the answer options and the pacing differ enough that practice built purely on SHL mock tests will feel unfamiliar on the day. Preparing in the right format is worth more than preparing for longer.

The EY Hiring Process, Stage by Stage

1. 1Online application (about 30 minutes). An application form with motivational questions built around EY's purpose, 'building a better working world', plus your CV. Answer the motivation questions about the specific service line, not about EY in general.
2. 2Cubiks online tests (40-50 minutes). Numerical and verbal reasoning in the Cubiks format. The interface differs slightly from SHL; the reasoning demands do not.
3. 3Video interview (20-30 minutes). A pre-recorded, one-way competency interview with motivational questions. You record answers against a timer with no interviewer on the other side.
4. 4Assessment centre: the EY Experience Day (full day). Group exercise, case study and a partner interview, run as a realistic simulation of client work rather than as a series of exams.

Which Tests and Publishers You Will Meet

The table below sets out the assessments reported in EY's process and the formats of the neighbouring Big Four publishers, so you can see exactly what a Cubiks test is and is not. Match your practice to whichever publisher your invitation names.

• Publisher background: Talogy (Cubiks): what the publisher builds, how its tests are structured and what they reward.
• Practise the two constructs EY actually tests: numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning.
• Firm-specific detail (process, roles, salary bands and reported tests) sits on the EY company page.

The Cubiks Numerical Reasoning Test

You are shown a data table or a chart and asked questions that require you to read the right cell, apply one or two operations, and pick the closest option. A calculator is provided, which means the test is not measuring arithmetic. It is measuring whether you can find the relevant number fast and avoid the traps built into the question. The classic traps are unit switches (thousands versus millions), percentage-of versus percentage-point changes, and a chart axis that does not start at zero.

• Read the question before the table. You are hunting for two or three numbers, not studying a dataset. Reading the table first is the single most common way candidates lose time.
• Check the units in the header and the footnote. A footnote reading 'figures in EUR millions' changes every answer on the page.
• Estimate first, then compute. If the options are far apart, an estimate identifies the answer and the calculator only confirms it.
• Set a per-question ceiling. Roughly 60-75 seconds. When you hit it, take your best option and move on. One question you fight costs you two you would have got right.

The Cubiks Verbal Reasoning Test

The verbal test uses the True / False / Cannot Say format: you read a short business passage and judge statements strictly against it. The discipline is closed-world reading. If the statement is true in the real world but the passage does not support it, the correct answer is Cannot Say, and importing outside knowledge is the habit that punishes experienced candidates hardest. Qualifiers decide a large share of items: all, some, most, may, will, only.

Worked Example: an EY-Style Verbal Item

The Video Interview

EY's video interview is pre-recorded: a question appears, you get a short preparation window, and then you record your answer against a timer. There is no interviewer to read, no follow-up question, and no chance to recover a rambling opening. That makes structure the whole game. Answer behavioural questions in STAR form (situation, task, action, result) and put the result in a single sentence at the end rather than trailing off when the timer runs out.

• Prepare the motivation answer properly. 'Why EY, and why this service line' is asked in almost every intake, and generic answers about prestige are the ones that score lowest. Anchor it in EY's purpose ('building a better working world') and in something specific about the service line you applied to.
• Prepare an exceptional-client-service story. EY's insider guidance is consistent on this: have a concrete example of going above and beyond for a client, customer or stakeholder.
• Show technology awareness. EY invests heavily in digital transformation, AI and data analytics. Being able to talk credibly about what that means for audit or consulting work is a differentiator.
• Rehearse to camera, not in your head. Read the STAR method guide and record yourself once. The gap between the answer in your head and the answer that comes out of your mouth is always larger than you expect.

The EY Experience Day and Job Simulation

The EY Experience Day is EY's assessment centre, and the name is a signal about how it is run: it is designed to be collaborative and to give you a genuine sense of EY's culture, not to grind you down. Typically it combines a group exercise, a case study and a partner interview. Some EY intakes also run a scenario-based job simulation online before this stage (an inbox, a set of documents, a stakeholder with a problem) and it scores like an interview even though it looks like a game.

• The group exercise rewards inclusion, not domination. Assessors score each candidate against a fixed framework, so everyone in the room can pass. Acknowledge other people's contributions and build on them; talking over the group is one of the most reliable ways to lose marks.
• The case study rewards a routine, not brilliance. Structure the problem, do the analysis, land on one clear recommendation, name the risks. Practise finishing in the time allowed rather than producing perfect work.
• The partner interview rewards commercial awareness. Be able to discuss a current business issue and what it means for EY's clients. This is the thing assessors most often find missing.
• In a job simulation, answer as the professional the firm wants. The best responses usually consult the right person, check the data and escalate proportionately. They are almost never the ones where you solve everything alone.

How EY Scores You

Reasoning tests are scored against a norm group (other applicants for the same kind of role) and reported as a percentile rather than as a raw percentage. That is why '70% correct' means nothing on its own: it can be strong against one norm group and weak against another. EY does not publish its cut scores, and any specific pass mark you read on a forum is somebody's guess. The bar differs by role, by service line, by country and by intake, so the only sensible target is to be comfortably fast and accurate rather than to chase a number.

The Experience Day works differently. Assessors score you against EY's competency framework, using evidence they observed. This is why specific, concrete behaviour matters more than being generally impressive: an assessor has to be able to write down what you actually did.

Your 3-Week Preparation Plan

1. 1Days 1-2: Baseline. Sit one timed numerical and one timed verbal test cold. Record your accuracy, your seconds per question, and which error type dominates: misread data, wrong operation, imported outside knowledge, or ran out of time.
2. 2Days 3-7: Numerical foundations. Drill percentage change, ratios, growth rates and multi-step table questions. Work untimed first: build correctness before speed.
3. 3Days 8-11: Verbal discipline. Drill True / False / Cannot Say until you apply the rules automatically. Force yourself to answer only from the passage.
4. 4Days 12-15: Timed, format-specific practice. Switch to full-length timed sets. Deliberately cut your per-question budget by ten percent so the real test feels slow.
5. 5Days 16-18: Video interview. Write and rehearse eight to ten STAR stories, plus the motivation answer. Record at least three of them to camera and watch them back.
6. 6Days 19-20: Case and group practice. Run one case study end to end in 30-45 minutes. Read a week of business news and form an opinion on one story you could discuss with a partner.
7. 7Day 21: Full rehearsal, then stop. One complete timed battery in the morning, then rest. Cramming the night before reliably lowers scores.

Common Mistakes

• Practising the wrong publisher. EY uses Cubiks, not SHL. Generic practice builds the foundations, but format-specific practice is what moves your percentile.
• Treating the video interview as a formality. It is a scored stage. Candidates who wing it produce unstructured answers because there is no interviewer to rescue them.
• Applying to 'EY' rather than to a service line. Assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax want different things. Motivation answers that could apply to any of them read as motivation for none of them.
• Importing outside knowledge into the verbal test. If you know the industry, actively suppress what you know. In this format, expertise is a liability.
• Competing with other candidates in the group exercise. You are scored against a framework, not against the person next to you.
• Chasing a rumoured cut score. Pass marks are not published and change by intake. Optimise for speed and accuracy, not for a number somebody posted online.

Frequently Asked Questions