Interview experience
EY Interview Questions
Overview
Section titled “Overview”EY GDS (EY’s technology delivery arm, and the entry point for most CS/IT campus hires) runs a 3-4 stage process anchored by a timed aptitude-plus-coding OA, a project-heavy technical interview, and a closing HR round.
EY interview process at a glance
Section titled “EY interview process at a glance”| Round | Duration | What they test |
|---|---|---|
| Online Aptitude Test | ~30 min per section | Quantitative, logical reasoning, verbal ability |
| Coding round | ~45 min | One easy coding problem - arrays, hashing |
| Technical Interview | 30-45 min | Resume/project depth, DBMS (normalization, constraints) |
| HR Interview | 20-30 min | Teamwork, conflict-handling, fit |
Online Aptitude Test
Section titled “Online Aptitude Test”Sections are timed separately - quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, and verbal ability each get roughly 30 minutes, with no moving between sections once a timer starts.
Common questions
- Quantitative: percentages, ratios, time-and-work problems
- Logical reasoning: puzzles, seating arrangements, syllogisms
- Verbal ability: reading comprehension, sentence correction
Coding round
Section titled “Coding round”A single easy coding problem, typically array or hashing-based, to be solved within about 45 minutes. It’s a filter more than a deep DSA test - correctness and clean logic matter more than optimisation tricks.
Common questions
- Array manipulation - find duplicates, subarray sums, or frequency counts
- Hashing-based problems - two-sum style, grouping by key
- Basic string processing (palindromes, anagrams)
Round-by-round breakdowns are on the EY interview experience page.
Technical Interview
Section titled “Technical Interview”Mostly a conversation about your resume projects - stack choices, hardest bug, what you’d rebuild - plus DBMS questions on normalization and constraints. EY GDS interviewers tend to probe for conceptual understanding rather than syntax recall.
Common questions
- Walk through your most complex project - architecture, your specific contribution, hardest bug
- Explain how a hash table handles collisions (conceptually, not necessarily coded)
- DBMS normalization forms (1NF/2NF/3NF) and why they matter
- Explain a primary key vs foreign key constraint with an example
- SQL joins and aggregation on a sample schema
HR Interview
Section titled “HR Interview”A closing conversation on motivation, teamwork, and fit. EY HR frequently asks about a time you worked in a team that disagreed on approach, since GDS roles are collaborative and client-facing.
Common questions
- Tell me about yourself and why EY
- Describe a time your team disagreed on approach - how was it resolved?
- Why audit/assurance or your chosen service line, if applicable?
- How would you handle an ethical dilemma or a conflict of interest at work?
- Are you comfortable with the location and shift EY GDS has offered you?
Sample answer frameworks for each of these are on the EY HR interview questions page.
Audit/Tax vs GDS/Technology: why the track matters
Section titled “Audit/Tax vs GDS/Technology: why the track matters”EY hires across genuinely different business lines - Audit & Assurance, Tax, Consulting, and GDS (Global Delivery Services, the technology and business-services arm doing actual software, data, and analytics work for EY’s global member firms). This page describes the GDS/technology track most CS/IT campus hires enter: an OA with a coding section, a project-and-DBMS-heavy technical interview, and HR. Audit and Tax hiring, aimed largely at commerce and accounting graduates, runs a lighter process built around aptitude, group discussion, and HR, with no coding component. Confirm which business line your registration or offer letter names before you prep.
Frequently asked questions about EY interviews
Section titled “Frequently asked questions about EY interviews”What is the EY interview process for freshers?
For EY GDS (EY’s technology delivery arm and the entry point for most CS/IT campus hires), the process usually runs 3-4 stages: 1. Online Aptitude Test - quantitative, logical reasoning, verbal ability, sections often timed separately (about 30 minutes each). 2. Coding round - typically one easy coding problem (45 minutes), focused on arrays/hashing. 3. Technical Interview (30-45 minutes) - mostly project-based, plus DBMS questions on normalization and constraints. 4. HR Interview (20-30 minutes) - motivation, teamwork, and fit. Total duration: 2-3 weeks from application to offer.
What questions are asked in EY interviews?
The OA covers aptitude (quant, logical, verbal) plus one easy coding problem on arrays/hashing. EY GDS technical interviewers lean toward understanding over syntax recall - expect “explain how a hash table handles collisions” more than “implement one from scratch” - alongside a deep dive into your resume project and DBMS questions on normalization and constraints. HR checks teamwork and conflict-handling with real examples.
How many rounds are there in the EY interview?
EY typically runs an Online Aptitude Test, a separate coding round, a Technical Interview, and an HR Interview - so 3-4 stages, sometimes with a Group Discussion added at some campuses. Some drives merge HR with a managerial round; check that cycle’s college placement email.
How should I prepare for EY interviews?
Practise timed aptitude sections (quant, logical, verbal) plus easy array/hashing coding problems, and be ready to explain your approach conceptually, not just recite syntax. Revise DBMS fundamentals (normalization, constraints), prepare a project you can discuss in depth - a GitHub repo involving data work or API integration reads well - and use STAR for HR answers.
What is EY GDS, and is the interview different from Audit or Tax roles?
EY GDS (Global Delivery Services) is EY’s technology and business-services delivery arm, and it’s what this page’s process describes - aptitude plus a coding round, a project-heavy technical interview, and HR. EY’s core Audit, Tax, and Assurance hiring runs a separate, largely non-coding process centered on aptitude, group discussion, and HR, aimed mainly at commerce/accounting graduates.
Does EY ask coding questions for freshers?
Yes, for GDS/technology roles. Expect one easy coding problem in the OA (usually arrays or hashing) and conceptual coding-adjacent questions in the technical interview - EY GDS interviewers often care more about whether you can explain a concept like hash collision handling than whether you can code it cold on a whiteboard.