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Commercial Awareness for EY Apprenticeship Applications
Commercial awareness is tested at every stage of the EYapplication: from motivational questions on the form through to case studies and interviews at the assessment centre. Here's what you need to know.
The Business Context
EY UK revenue exceeds £3.7 billion. Service lines include Assurance, Consulting, Strategy and Transactions, and Tax. EY recently dropped a planned global split (Project Everest), which is worth knowing about.
Key Facts to Know
Starting salary
£22,000–£26,000
Programme length
5 years
Acceptance rate
3–5%
Application window
October–January for the following September start
Commercial Awareness Questions to Prepare For
“What do you think are the biggest challenges facing EY in the next year?”
“Tell me something recent in the news that you think is relevant to what we do.”
“What trends are affecting our industry right now?”
“Can you explain what EY does in a couple of sentences?”
How to build commercial awareness fast
- Read EY's latest annual report introduction (10 minutes, just the CEO letter)
- Set a Google Alert for “EY” and read one article per week
- Read the FT, BBC Business, or The Economist for 10 minutes each morning in the 4 weeks before your assessment
- Be able to explain what EY does in two sentences without using industry jargon
Free prep pack
Preparing for EY? Get a full pack free
The full PwC School Leaver pack is free: application stages, the competencies they score, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist. The process it walks through is close enough to the other big schemes, EY included, to prep you for all of them.
Want the EY pack specifically?
EY Apprenticeship Prep Pack
Application stages, competencies, real interview questions, commercial awareness, and a pre-submission checklist: in one complete pack.