The director of campus recruiting at EY, the professional services firm, said that the Big Four auditor will continue to invest in the recruitment of MBA students because they will be an “important part of our overall growth goals”.

Mapping out the leading services firm’s MBA recruitment process, Kristina Liphardt said that EY looks for MBAs who demonstrate skills in problem solving and analytics, written communication, leadership, presentation and teamwork.

In addition to three to five years’ applicable work experience, the recruiter looks for MBAs who have “positive and enthusiastic attitudes”.

“We also seek candidates who are flexible, who exemplify the ability to deal with change, and who show they’ve historically adapted to different situations and experiences,” Kristina said in an interview with QS.

“New MBA hires need to have the ability to work in teams and to show initiative, and seek out projects – rather than simply waiting to see what you are scheduled for next.”

She added that other key qualities needed to get hired by EY include technical proficiency and the flexibility to work with different types of clients in different locations. “A lot of our client work requires travel,” she said.

EY, formally Ernst & Young, is one of the biggest professional services firms along with PwC, KPMG and Deloitte. It had 190,000 employees as of June this year, with global revenues of $27.4 billion in 2014.

MBA are typically hired for its assurance, tax, transactions and advisory units.

EY was one of the top recruiters at a host of leading business schools in 2013, including HEC Paris and IE Business School, and also hired students from MBA programs at INSEAD, London Business School and IESE Business School.

“EY has the career-making reputation, opportunities and culture that MBAs are seeking,” said Kristina, who is based in California. EY has been included in Fortune’s Best Companies To Work For list 16 times.

The firm announced plans earlier this year to hire 3,700 new employees in the UK by the end of June 2014.

Kristina said that it is important that MBA candidates attend events during their first year of studies – applicable to the two-year programs which are common in the United States – so that firms get to know them ahead of the formal recruiting season and the on-campus interview process.

Opportunities to engage with EY recruiters include presentations and “office treks”.

For MBAs, there is an on-campus interview that will include a case study and a writing sample assessment, and during the second round candidates attend an in-house interview process that includes a case study and a team exercise assessment.

Kristina said MBAs need to differentiate themselves during these interviews, and should come prepared to share experiences and examples of their accomplishments.

“In addition, they need to demonstrate their critical thinking and problem solving skills,” she added.