Ernst & Young LLP Increases Campus Hiring by 25 Percent and Introduces New Initiatives to Connect With the College Crowd Including Global Internships and Mobile Quiz

NEW YORK, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP will hire approximately 5,000 students from campuses across the US in the 2010-2011 academic year. The firm increased campus hiring 25 percent from last year and has introduced several new initiatives to recruit top talent.

"Hiring the best and the brightest is always a priority for Ernst & Young, including in a down economy, but this past year, the competition for top talent heated up as the economy improved," said Dan Black, Ernst & Young LLP's Director of Campus Recruiting.  "We're increasing our hires from campus, as well as interns, as we're seeing increased demand from our clients, particularly in the areas of Advisory and Transactions."

The firm launched a number of new programs to strengthen its ability to attract top talent in the past year including:

Global Student Exchange Program – The new internship program offers overseas assignments for select summer interns. Internships start at US office locations, then participants spend four weeks abroad at another Ernst & Young office within the organization's global network that spans more than 140 countries. Students then return and complete their internship at their US home office. This year 35 Ernst & Young interns will participate in the Global Student Exchange Program, including US students going abroad and non-US students on assignment from other countries.

"Today's students desire international career opportunities and with good reason," said Black. "The world is more globalized and interconnected than ever before and our clients increasingly want to work with people who have international experience. This program extends our efforts to provide meaningful internship opportunities that help students develop a global mindset."

Emerging Leaders Summit – Ernst & Young also introduced the Emerging Leaders Summit (ELS) this year. ELS is a two-and-a-half day conference for students who have demonstrated leadership potential through their academic and personal lives.  Students in their sophomore to senior year are eligible to participate in the program. The summit will consist of presentations and breakout sessions on topics such as ethics and transparency and how it relates to leadership, the importance of diversity and inclusiveness to the bottom line, and interactive case studies. About 250 students from the US and Canada will attend this inaugural conference in Washington, DC from June 22-24, which will include presentations by James S. Turley, Ernst & Young's Global Chairman and CEO, and other senior leaders.

EY Quiz – A pioneer in connecting with college students via social media, Ernst & Young LLP continued to find innovative ways to connect with the college crowd this year by launching EY Quiz, a branded game and contest for students via mobile devices. The app quizzes participants on their knowledge of accounting and Ernst & Young over several weeks. Users of the app can access the quiz through QR codes found in on-campus advertising, through Ernst & Young's Careers page on Facebook, or through Ernst & Young's mobile Careers site, ey.mobi.  As grand prizes at the conclusion of the content, the top three highest scoring players were each awarded an Apple iPad.

International Intern Leadership Conference – For the 15th consecutive year, Ernst & Young will host its International Intern Leadership Conference. Over 1,900 interns representing 24 countries will attend this year's conference in Orlando, with over 200 interns attending from outside the US. Ernst & Young leaders such as Turley will speak at the four day conference and conduct presentations for the students who will also have the opportunity to network with these leaders and other professionals. Interns will also participate in classroom learning and team building experiential learning activities.

Ernst & Young LLP's innovative recruiting efforts have garnered the firm recognition from various third party organizations. Recently, Universum ranked Ernst & Young LLP number one in the accounting profession and four in the business field overall on its 2011 list of the 50 Top Employers for College Grads and the firm scored the number one spot among accounting majors surveyed for the fourth year in a row.  The firm is also the only Big Four accounting firm to be included on Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list for 13 consecutive years.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 141,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

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Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the US.

SOURCE Ernst & Young LLP