Hello! I will be interviewing for the first round of EY-P. The role is of Consultant (Corporate Strategy) in the FS practice. I applied through a referral as an experienced hire. What level of technical interview should I expect at this stage? Is it the same as campus interviews akin to case study rounds and behavioural fit? If yes, what kind of cases should I prepare for pertaining to the FS practice role?
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Hi,
Congrats on getting invited to the interview. Many aspiring candidates do not even make it to this stage.
In terms of preparing for an experienced hire in the FS practice, I will give a POV based on my experience at BCG.
- Most of the time, myself & fellow interviewers used the exact same case for campus hires & experienced hires (even practice aligned)
- Because the expectation is that you will have the same tablestakes requirements for problem solving fundamentals as any candidate (whether from campus or not)
- There will be a difference in expectations namely in terms of your
- Depth & maturity of response
- Topic expertise (where applicable)
- If you are in a practice area aligned role - at least some (if not all) of your cases will be based on FS related topics
- Sometimes you may get asked topic specific standalone questions to test your expertise (e.g. if you are FS, they may ask you about your thoughts on latest trends in retail banking)
As an experienced hire, feel free to check out my article that talks about some common pitfalls:
5 Reasons Why Experienced Hires Fail the Interview
All the best!
For a first-round EY-Parthenon Consultant interview in FS, I would expect something broadly similar to a consulting interview, but with a bit more focus on your background and industry knowledge than you might see in a typical campus process.
The exact format varies by office, but I would prepare for three areas:
-Fit / motivation
-Case or business discussion
-Questions on your prior experience
Since you're an experienced hire, interviewers will likely spend more time understanding what you've actually done and less time treating you like a blank-sheet graduate candidate.
On the case side, I'd be prepared for topics such as:
-growth strategy for a bank or insurer
-profitability improvement
-market entry
-customer acquisition and retention
-digital transformation
-operating model and cost optimization
-product strategy (cards, lending, wealth management, payments, etc.)
I would not expect deep quantitative finance questions unless the role is specifically within a corporate finance, valuation, or transactions team.
A common experienced-hire question is: "Tell me about a project where you influenced a strategic decision." So make sure you can clearly explain:
-the problem
-your role
-your analysis
-the recommendation
-the impact
Also be ready for "Why EY-Parthenon?" and "Why strategy consulting?" even if you've already worked in consulting before.
My advice would be to prepare like you would for a Tier 2 consulting interview, but spend additional time making sure you can discuss your past projects in a structured and commercially minded way. That's often where experienced hires differentiate themselves.
Hi,
Before joining BCG, I did an internship at EY-P in Stockholm office and later, applied to London EY-P and got an offer.
The interview process had both behavioral and case interview, as expected. Given that i went through this when I was a graduate and you have more experience, I would expect that there is more emphasis on the behavioral interview.
Useful cases to practice include Market entry, profitability, M&A, strategy (build, buy or partner) cases.
Happy to share my experience in more detail through the chat.
Referral plus experienced hire means they already like your profile. Now you just have to confirm you can think.
What to expect. Yes, it's case plus behavioral fit, similar to campus rounds, with two differences. They'll probe your actual work experience harder, and your "why EY-P, why consulting, why now" story has to be tight.
Technical level. No heavy modeling or finance quizzing in round one. It's structured problem solving, clean mental math, and business judgment. EY-P cases feel close to MBB, just a bit more commercial.
FS cases to prepare:
- Profitability. A bank or insurer with declining margins. Know net interest margin, fee income, cost-to-income ratio.
- Growth or market entry. A bank, payments player, or asset manager entering a new segment.
- Commercial due diligence. A PE fund evaluating an FS target. Very EY-P.
- Disruption. How fintech or regulation reshapes a traditional player.
One point. Don't walk in with a memorized profitability tree. Lead with a hypothesis, structure around the specific situation, drive to a recommendation. That's what separates experienced hires from campus candidates.
The only reliable and accurate answer you'll get to this question is from the recruiter themself.
The format differs significantly from office to office and even role to role. So it's best to align with those who set it.
Best,
Cristian
hello!
EY‑P first rounds for experienced hires are usually a mix of motivation, your FS experience, and a short structured case. The technical depth is low. They want to see whether you can think clearly, communicate well, and understand basic FS concepts. Cases are usually profitability, growth, or operating‑model questions in a banking or insurance context. Nothing exotic.
Your best prep is knowing your story, why strategy, why EY‑P, and practicing a few FS strategy cases and simple profitability cases.
Alessa
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