Q&A: Shirley Young, director of Ernst & Young's EMEIA hiring, says they're looking for 10,500 graduates for 2013
Shirley Young, director of recruitment for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) at Ernst & Young has answered our questions about their recruitment plans for 2013.
Q: If you are adding to headcount in EMEIA next year, which countries will be targeted?
Shirley: Our business globally has ambitious growth targets. We're continuing to hire strongly in all markets, but so far this year we have particularly strong year-on-year hiring growth in mature markets such as Germany, as well as emerging markets like Africa and Turkey
Q: Which business areas will be targeted?
Shirley: All of our Service Lines - Assurance, Tax, Transactions Advisory Services, and Advisory - are growing and showing an increase in headcount from the same time last year
Q: Is Ernst & Young in EMEIA benefiting from the problems at investment banks?
Shirley: Certainly I think our profession benefits in the student community from the current decline in popularity of the banks. This is particularly true in countries like Spain, where the financial crisis is particularly acute, but is true for most of the Eurozone. Interestingly, the banks are increasing in popularity again in the UK, and also in eastern European countries like Poland. There is still a reasonable amount of activity in the experienced hiring market and we will always see movements between professional services and banks in both directions, however current data shows we are attracting more than we are losing.
Q: How many graduates do you plan to hire in EMEIA in 2013? How many did you hire in 2012?
We hired over 10,500 last year, and expect that we will hire a broadly similar number this year. In addition to this, we hired over 5,000 interns. Again, I would expect at least this number in 2013.
Q: What percentage of your hires are referrals from existing staff or alumni?
Referrals in EMEIA last financial year for experienced hires were over 28%.
