EY Situational Strengths Test

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Ben Hopgood Updated:

About EY Situational Judgement Tests

EY looks for employees with a high ability to handle various situations in a specific manner. Applicants have to pass a situational judgement test before being offered a position. This is also referred to as a situational strengths test.

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EY use the following tests in their selection process:

  • Business behaviours test
  • Numerical reasoning test
  • Situational strength test

Situational judgement tests are a fair and objective way for EY to assess a wide range of applicants, each having different experiences and different qualifications. By analysing the results of a standardised situational judgement test, EY are able to quickly see which candidates are suitable for the role and which are not. This sort of information about candidates’ skills is difficult to glean from interviews and qualifications alone, so that EY use professional psychometric tests.

Often, EY will ask applicants to take a situational strengths test online, which you can take from home. When the situational strengths test is used early on in the application process like this you will have to achieve a minimum score before you progress to the next round (typically a score in the top 50% of applicants is required however this does vary role to role). Further along in the selection process you might be asked to attend an assessment centre or interview where you will be asked to sit a situational strengths test again. This is so EY can verify the person scoring highly in the test is indeed the person applying for the job.

EY Application Process Stages

Here is the typical process for your application to EY.

Stage 1

Application

The whole application process will vary depending on the EY region you are applying to. Some of the stages may not apply, and some may appear in a different sequence. However, all will require that you complete an application form.

Stage 2

Online Assessments / EY ONE Assessment

Once your application has been reviewed and successfully passed screening, you will have to answer some apitutde tests. The selection of tests will depend upon the role you are applying for but it will usually be a combination of numerical, verbal, logical, and situational judgement.

The EY ONE Assessment is a blended assessment where you are required to take three tests: strengths-based (sjt), problem solving and numerical reasoning. You may be required to video record your answers for the strengths-based answers. This stage is all about giving you a feel for real scenarios you might face in this role at EY, as well as showcasing what it’s like to work at EY.

Stage 3

Interview

Upon passing the psychometric tests, you will then be asked to take part in an interview. Typically, in an interview you will be given a set of questions to respond to. You will then use the software provided to record your responses to these questions. Responses are typically 30 seconds to a minute long. Use the freedom here to plan your responses to the questions well, even if that means redoing the recording. Ensure that your answers are relevant to the questions asked.

Stage 4

Assessment Centre

For the final stage of the process you will be invited to an assessment centre and asked to take part in some exercises:

  • Commercial exercise and interview
  • Written exercise
  • Psychometric tests

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What is the EY ONE Assessment?

During this stage, you will be presented with various real-life scenarios that you may encounter in your role at EY. This stage is an opportunity for you to semi-experience what it would be like working at EY. The questions will take different forms, including strengths-based scenarios, problem-solving and numerical reasoning sections, and video response questions.

The assessment should take around 40 minutes to complete. You must complete it in one sitting.

To complete the assessment, you will need access to a computer equipped with a webcam, a pen and paper, and a calculator. It is also important to have a quiet and distraction-free environment to work in. For optimal performance during the video section of the assessment, it is recommended to use Google Chrome as your browser. Alternatively, if this is not feasible, you will need to have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed.

EY Situational Strengths Test Questions

Like most situational judgement tests, the one used by EY looks at how you would handle and respond to typical, and rare, situations and scenarios that occur in the workplace. The situational judgement test will be assessing your speed and accuracy. The answers are multiple choice and you should try to work quickly within the time limit, but also accurately. It may be that you will be asked to record answers for this test. If so, the format will be like a video interview where you record and submit your answers. The questions will be in a strengths-based interview format, where they are asking questions in which they will be able to assess your strengths from your answers. Negative marking is unlikely to be used but do not guess answers, as this will show up in your accuracy score. With practice you will become familiar with the type of situational judgement tests used by companies such as EY.

Situational judgement tests and who uses them

Companies are using situational judgement tests more and more in their application process that candidates must go through. A person's score in a situational judgement test is a good indicator of how closely their attitudes and responses to situations mimics those of the company they've applied to. This is important in any sector or position.

EY use situational judgement tests as part of their recruitment process to help them select the best candidates for a particular role.

So as a graduate or senior candidate applying for a job at EY you might feel like the situational judgement test is an unnecessary hoop to jump through. But you should bear in mind that EY are asking you to complete the situational judgement test as much for your own benefit as theirs; if you are not suitable for the role, a psychometric test will usually identify this. Research has shown that psychometric tests, such as those used by EY, are a better predictor of job performance than traditional selection metrics such as level of degree achieved.

What you should know before taking your situational judgement test

The situations described in standardised situational judgement tests are ones which applicants can expect to face whilst performing the job they've applied for. The difficult aspect comes with identifying the details in the situation, which would help you to choose the appropriate courses of action to take, quickly and accurately within the time limit.

Different types of numerical tests

Most questions in most situational judgement tests follow a standard format displaying a passage of text, the question and answer options on screen. These can be arranged differently, but each test will stick to the same layout throughout. The question text may contain extra information which adds to what's given in the sequence of images, this might also be necessary to answer the question correctly. You might have to guess which answer option is the next in the sequence, or which options represents a missing step in the sequence. Lastly, the answer options are almost always multiple choice. Multiple choice answers can vary, however. You may have 2 options to pick from, 4, maybe 5, and these will have to be ranked too. The more answer options to pick from, the slimmer the chances are that you can obtain the correct answer by guessing.

Answered questions

Are these tests suitable for EY?

Yes. EY use Cappfinity's reasoning tests (provided via Jobmi) to assess applicants in the recruitment process. The practice tests we provide have been designed to mimic TalentQ's style to create an environment similar to the real assessment. This provides you with confidence that the questions you practice with us now are an accurate reflection of the real assessment.

How difficult are your tests?

The same difficulty as real tests. Generally real employer selection tests don't differ that much in terms of difficulty which is why they compare your score against norm groups. Our practice tests are pitched roughly at graduate level, but this means they are actually suitable for preparing for all levels of job: entry; apprentice; graduate; senior; director.

Are they compatible with my Mac / Tablet / Phone?

Yes, and PC, and Linux and smartphone and Android and... everything. Our practice tests will run on all systems and they are responsive so they will work well on tablets and smartphones too!

How many times can I take the tests?

Unlimited. You can take our practice tests as many times as you like; there is no limit. But to be honest, after taking the same test a few times you start to remember the answers, so that’s why we have lots of tests.