KPMG, EY & PwC CV: How to Write a Big Four Application That Works

KPMG, EY, and PwC are three of the four largest professional services firms in the world. Together with Deloitte, they audit the majority of FTSE 100 companies, advise governments, and employ tens of thousands of graduates annually in the UK alone. They are also not the same firm — and submitting the same application to all three is one of the most common mistakes graduate applicants make.

This guide covers what each firm actually values, how their recruitment processes differ, and how to write a CV that signals the right things to the right firm.

How the Three Firms Actually Differ

Firm	Known For	Culture Signal	Key Academic Note
PwC	Largest by UK headcount, strongest audit and tax brand	Collaborative, relationship-focused, client-first	2:1 minimum; removed A-level requirement
EY	"Better working world" values; strong consulting and deals	Purpose-driven, values-led, emphasis on inclusion	2:1 minimum; genuinely holistic assessment
KPMG	Strong forensic, restructuring, and public sector practice	Analytical, technically rigorous, slightly more formal	2:1 minimum; strong STEM background valued in advisory

These differences are real and recruiters notice when candidates have thought about them. An application to EY that reads like a generic "top firm" application — with no mention of its values, its consulting focus, or its specific service line strengths — will be screened out faster than one that demonstrates genuine EY-specific motivation.

PwC: The Relationship Firm

PwC's graduate recruitment focuses heavily on client relationship skills, teamwork, and the ability to build trust across organisations. Its service lines are broad — from traditional audit and tax to digital and consulting — and it recruits more graduates than any other Big Four firm in the UK.

PwC's application process typically involves an online application form, numerical and verbal reasoning tests, a strengths-based video interview, and an assessment day. The strengths-based component is significant: PwC removed degree class minimums in some of its programmes and added contextual recruitment, meaning it assesses your achievements relative to your circumstances.

EY: The Values-Led Firm

EY positions itself more explicitly around purpose than its Big Four peers. Its "better working world" framing is consistent across all its recruiting materials, and candidates who apply without engaging with it — who treat EY as just another large firm — tend to perform poorly at the later stages.

EY's EY360 assessment is particularly demanding. It combines cognitive ability testing, a work simulation, and strengths-based questions in a single assessment. The simulation asks candidates to manage competing tasks and make judgment calls — it is testing decision-making under pressure, not just competency examples.

EY values social purpose alongside commercial drive. Community involvement, volunteering, and any experience working on issues with a social dimension are genuine differentiators at EY in a way they are not at all firms. If you have this experience, it belongs prominently on your CV and application.

KPMG: The Analytical Firm

KPMG's strongest practices in the UK include audit, forensics, restructuring, infrastructure, and public sector consulting. Its culture is slightly more analytically rigorous and formally structured than EY or PwC. Candidates applying to KPMG's advisory and deals practices benefit from demonstrating quantitative ability and comfort with technical financial analysis.

KPMG uses a blind CV process for some of its programmes, removing university name and school from the initial application to reduce unconscious bias. This means your actual content matters even more than at firms that still use institution prestige as a proxy for quality.

What All Three Share: The Non-Negotiables

• Commercial awareness — understanding of business, clients, and current economic events. This is assessed at every stage. You need to be able to discuss how a macro event affects a client's business, not just what the event is
• Genuine service line motivation — applying to Audit when everything in your background points to Consulting is a mismatch that recruiters notice immediately
• Leadership evidence — positions of responsibility, not just participation. Committee roles, team captaincies, project leads, anything where you were accountable for an outcome
• Teamwork under pressure — Big Four work is collaborative and deadline-driven. Evidence of working effectively in teams during high-stakes situations is valued across all three firms
• No typos — professional services firms view any error in an application as a signal about the quality of work you would produce for clients. A single typo can end an application

The CV vs The Application Form

All three firms use application forms rather than relying on CVs alone. Your CV is important as a reference document and at interview, but the form answers are where the real filtering happens. This means the CV's job is to establish a clear, credible factual record that your form answers can then build on. Inconsistencies between your CV and your application form answers will be noticed.

Write your CV first, use it to identify your strongest examples for each competency the firm assesses, then write your form answers using those examples. Working in the other direction — writing vague form answers and hoping your CV fills the gaps — produces weak applications.

The Biggest Mistakes

• Sending the same covering letter or motivation statement to all three — each firm can tell
• Applying to a service line that does not match your background without explaining why
• Listing participation in activities without describing what you did or what changed
• No commercial awareness demonstrated anywhere — no mention of business news, client impact, or sector knowledge
• Generic statements: "I am a hard-working team player" — every rejected applicant has written this