EY HR interview questions and answers

12 EY HR interview questions with sample answers: why HR asks each one and how to answer. From public candidate reports. Free.

At EY, the HR round usually comes after your technical and managerial rounds, and for many candidates it is the last step before the offer discussion. It is run by an HR recruiter or a talent acquisition partner, and candidates commonly report it lasting around 30 minutes. For freshers it often doubles as the fit and compensation conversation; for experienced hires it is mostly notice period, salary, relocation and document talk.

What the EY HR round checks:

Communication and clarity
Genuine interest in EY and the role
Salary expectation fit
Notice period and joining date
Relocation and shift flexibility
Document readiness

The first question is always some version of "tell me about yourself". Write your self introduction for the interview (free, no signup).

EY HR interview questions with answers

3 of these 12 questions appear in public EY interview reports; the rest are standard HR questions the company is known to ask.

1. Walk me through your background and why you are interested in this role at EY.

Why they ask: They want a short, structured story that connects your past work to this opening, not a full resume read.

How to answer: Keep it to about 90 seconds. Start with your current or last role, mention one or two things you actually built or owned, then say why this EY role and team caught your attention. End by asking nothing here, let them lead the next question.

Sample answer: I have been working as a [backend developer] for [X years] at [current company], where I mostly work on [Java and Spring Boot services]. Before that I did my [B.Tech in Computer Science] from [your college]. The reason I applied to EY is the kind of work this team does for [financial services clients], which is closer to what I want to build long term. I also spoke to a friend who works here and the way he described the delivery model sounded like a good fit for how I like to work.

2. What are your salary expectations?

Why they ask: They are checking whether your number fits the band before they take you to the offer stage.

How to answer: Give a range, not a single number, and anchor it to your current fixed pay plus a reasonable hike. If you are a fresher, say you are open to the standard EY fresher band and focus on the learning. Do not throw out a random high number you cannot justify.

Sample answer: My current fixed pay is [X lakhs] and I am expecting something in the range of [Y to Z lakhs], which is roughly a [30 to 40 percent] hike. I am flexible if the role and the team are a good fit. For me the bigger factor is the kind of projects I get to work on, so I am open to discussing the final number once we get there.

3. What is your notice period and when can you join?

Why they ask: They need to match your joining date to the project start and the offer timeline.

How to answer: State your notice period exactly as it is in your contract, then say what is negotiable. If you have buyout options or leave balance you can use, mention that. Do not say two weeks if your contract says 90 days, it will come back to bite you during background verification.

Sample answer: My notice period is [60 days] as per my current contract. I have some leave balance that I can use to bring it down to around [45 days], and I can try to negotiate a buyout if the team needs me earlier. I would like to have the offer in hand before I resign, so I would appreciate knowing the expected joining date from your side.

4. Are you open to relocation and to working in shifts?

Why they ask: EY serves clients across time zones, so they want to know if you will say yes now and back out later.

How to answer: Be honest. If you can relocate, say yes and name the cities you are open to. If you have a genuine constraint, say it clearly now rather than after the offer. For shifts, say what you can commit to and ask what the actual rotation looks like.

Sample answer: Yes, I am open to relocating to [Bengaluru or Gurgaon] and I do not have any family constraint that stops me. On shifts, I am fine with [late evening overlap] a few days a week as long as it is planned in advance. Can you tell me how the shift rotation works for this team, so I know what a normal week looks like?

5. Why are you leaving your current company?

Why they ask: They are checking whether you are running away from something or moving toward something, and whether you will badmouth your employer.

How to answer: Keep it forward looking. Talk about what you want to learn or the kind of work you want, and mention the current company neutrally. Never complain about your manager or team, it reads as a red flag.

Sample answer: I have learned a lot at [current company], especially around [production support and debugging], but the work has become repetitive over the last year. I want to move into [client facing delivery work] and get more exposure to [cloud and microservices], which is what this role seems to offer. There is no issue with my current team, I am just looking for the next step in my career.

6. Do you have any questions for us?

Why they ask: They want to see if you have thought about the role seriously or if you are just collecting offers.

How to answer: Ask two or three specific questions about the team, the project, or the next steps. Avoid asking only about salary and leave in this round. If the offer timeline is unclear, this is the right place to ask about it politely.

Sample answer: Yes, a couple. What does the team structure look like for this role, and who would I report to? Also, what is the typical timeline from here to the offer, and is there any document verification step I should start preparing for? I want to plan my notice period properly, so knowing the rough dates helps.

7. Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation with a teammate or a client.

Why they ask: They want a behavioural signal on how you handle conflict and pressure, since EY work is client facing.

How to answer: Pick one real incident, keep it short, and use a simple structure: situation, what you did, what happened. Do not make yourself the hero of a fake story, they can tell. End with what you changed in your own approach after that.

Sample answer: In my last project, a teammate and I disagreed on how to handle a [database migration]. I wanted to do it in phases, he wanted a single cutover. I asked him to walk me through his plan and we realised his approach was faster but riskier for the client window. We took it to our lead with both options and data, and ended up doing a phased rollout. The migration went through without downtime, and after that we started doing short design reviews before big changes.

8. Are you comfortable signing a service agreement or bond if the role requires it?

Why they ask: Some EY roles, especially fresher and training heavy tracks, come with a service agreement, and they want to know if you will commit.

How to answer: Ask for the exact terms first, duration and amount, before you say yes or no. If you are fine with it, say so clearly. If you are not, say you would like to see the document before committing, that is a fair answer.

Sample answer: I do not have a problem with a service agreement in principle, but I would like to see the exact terms, the duration and the amount, before I sign. If it is a standard [one year] agreement tied to training, that is fine with me. Can you share the document along with the offer so I can read it properly?

9. What documents will you need to submit for background verification?

Why they ask: EY runs a formal background check, and they want to know early if anything will be missing or delayed.

How to answer: List what you have ready: payslips, offer letter, relieving letters, education certificates, ID proof. If something is missing, say it now and explain how you will get it. Do not hide gaps, they always surface in BGV.

Sample answer: I have my [last three months payslips], the offer letter from my current company, and my [degree certificate and marksheets] ready. I am still waiting for the relieving letter from my previous employer, which should come in about [two weeks]. If you need anything else, tell me now and I will arrange it before the joining date.

10. Write the syntax for dynamic cast in C++ and explain why it is used. (reported)

Why they ask: This came up in a reported EY interview that was scheduled as a 30 minute round, so some EY rounds mix a few technical checks into what candidates expected to be a general round.

How to answer: Give the syntax, then one line on why it exists: safe downcasting in a polymorphic hierarchy, returns nullptr or throws for references. Keep it short, they are not testing depth here, they are testing whether you can explain clearly.

Sample answer: The syntax is dynamic_cast<B*>(a), where a is a pointer to the base class and B is the derived type. It is used for safe downcasting at runtime, and it only works if the base class has at least one virtual function. If the cast fails on a pointer it returns nullptr, and on a reference it throws std::bad_cast. I use it when I have a base pointer and I need to check whether the actual object is a specific derived type before calling a derived method.

11. What is the difference between a vector and a list in C++? (reported)

Why they ask: Another question from the same reported EY round, checking basic data structure understanding.

How to answer: One line each on the underlying structure and the access pattern. Do not over explain, then give a quick example of when you would pick one over the other.

Sample answer: A vector is a contiguous array, so random access is O(1) and inserting in the middle is expensive because elements shift. A list is a doubly linked list, so insertion and deletion anywhere is O(1) once you have the iterator, but random access is O(n) because you have to walk the nodes. In practice I use vector almost everywhere, and list only when I am doing a lot of insertions and deletions in the middle of a large collection.

12. What is the difference between a multimap and an unordered map? (reported)

Why they ask: Same reported EY round, checking whether you know the container internals and when to use which.

How to answer: Name the underlying data structure for each and the complexity difference. Mention that multimap allows duplicate keys and unordered map does not. Keep it to three or four sentences.

Sample answer: A multimap is usually implemented as a red black tree, so keys are sorted and lookup is O(log n), and it allows duplicate keys. An unordered map is a hash table, so average lookup is O(1) but the keys are not sorted, and duplicate keys are not allowed. If I need ordered traversal or duplicate keys I go with multimap, otherwise unordered map is faster for plain key value lookup.

What candidates report about the EY HR round

Round length. A candidate who interviewed at EY Bengaluru for a senior software engineer role reported the round was scheduled for 30 minutes, and it included a few C++ questions rather than only HR questions.

Round content for senior hires. The same reported EY round covered dynamic_cast syntax, storing shared pointers in a vector, move semantics with a singleton, vector vs list, multimap vs unordered map, and virtual constructors. So an EY round labelled as general can still have technical depth.

Offer timeline and approvals. Candidates at other large firms commonly report a gap between the final round and the offer while internal approvals and document checks happen. EY candidates should expect to be asked for payslips and documents before the written offer, though exact EY timelines are not confirmed in the reports.

Background verification. EY runs a formal background check for most hires. Keep payslips, offer letters, relieving letters and education certificates ready, and flag any gap or missing document early rather than at the last minute. This is a general norm for large consulting firms, not an EY specific figure.

Relocation and shifts. EY has delivery centres in Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Kochi, Pune and other cities, and client work often needs overlap with other time zones. Expect to be asked about relocation and shift flexibility. Exact shift policy for a specific team is not confirmed in the reports, so ask the recruiter directly.

Feedback after rejection. Candidates across companies report being ghosted after HR rounds, and one widely shared post urges candidates to insist on feedback. Do not assume silence means rejection at EY, but do keep other interviews running in parallel until you have a written offer.

How to prepare

Prepare a 90 second background story that ends with why EY and this specific team, not a generic line about the company's reputation.
Have your salary range, notice period and joining date ready as exact numbers. Vague answers here slow down the offer.
Keep payslips, offer letter, relieving letters and education certificates scanned and in one folder before the HR call, because document checks can come up early.
Do not treat an EY round as purely non technical. A reported EY round included C++ questions, so revise your core language basics before you walk in.
Ask about the offer timeline and the next steps at the end of the call. If you do not hear back in the time they give you, send one polite follow up email and keep interviewing elsewhere.

Practise the EY HR round in a free 5-minute mock

EY technical rounds

Quick answers about the EY HR round

What is asked in the EY HR interview?

Candidates report questions such as: Walk me through your background and why you are interested in this role at EY.; What are your salary expectations; What is your notice period and when can you join; Are you open to relocation and to working in shifts. Each one is answered on this page.

How long is the EY HR round?

Can I fail the EY HR round?

Yes. Candidates are rejected in the HR round for unclear answers on relocation, shifts or the package, for contradicting their resume, or for seeming uninterested in EY. Decide your honest answers before the call.

Are these questions official?

No. They come from public candidate reports and are unofficial. PortLume AI is not affiliated with EY.

Sources

Based on 14 public reports: YouTube (8), LeetCode Discuss (6), last updated Oct 2026.

Unofficial guide from public candidate reports. PortLume AI is not affiliated with EY. HR questions for other companies · all company interview guides.

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