EY looking for 15,500 new professionals in United States
Professional services firm EY has plans to in the U.S. recruit 6,500 experienced hires and almost 9,000 students in the current fiscal year. The majority of the employees will be recruited for Advisory, its consulting practice that has been growing strongly in the past years.
Big four firm EY has announced plans to recruit 15,500 new professionals in the US in its FY2015, which ends in July 2015. EY’s hiring spree follows strong demand for the services ofts management consulting practice. “The demand for our services and our success in the market is driving the need to bring in more talented people,” says Larry Nash, Americas Director of Experienced and Executive Recruiting at EY, in an interview with Accounting Today.
Of these 15,500 new professionals, approximately 6,500 will be experienced hires - an increase of almost 50% compared to FY2013. “This is particularly significant because the positions rank above entry level, they’re full-time jobs, and they’re well-paying jobs,” comments Nash. The other 9,000 hires will be students, who will either work full-time or as intern.
Nash states that although hires will occur across all service lines, the highest number of new professionals is expected in EY’s advisory practice and assurance services practice. “Our advisory practice we expect will account for 30% of our experienced recruiting. That practice has grown significantly over the last five to seven years. Over the last five years, it’s had double-digit growth.”
Recruiting through employee referrals
To find the right talent in a cost-effective way in the extremely competitive market, EY has shifted its recruitment strategy to a strong focus on employee referrals. According to Nash, this method has turned into the largest and most effective source of EY’s hiring in the US, increasing from 28% in 2010 to almost 50% in 2014. The reason for EY’s choice for employee referrals can be found in the longer commitment referred-to employees might have. “There are definitely some studies and research, both outside Ernst & Young and what we’ve done inside Ernst & Young, that show that referred workers compared to hires from other channels have better performance and stay a bit longer, because they have a built-in network from people they know,” concludes Nash.
