Our application process

At KPMG, we know that this is an important moment in your career. And we want you to feel able to show us that you have the skills, aspirations and experience we're looking for to join our diverse community. So, we've designed an application process to support and prepare you for showing us your potential. We want to discover your individual strengths and attributes to help us to know whether you’ll enjoy working here and how you’ll thrive. That’s why we operate an open access policy and an application process that will assess both your qualifications and your qualities.

Our application process is a virtual and in-person process, starting with an online application and ending with the final stage of our recruitment process, an in-person Launch Pad assessment day.

Launch Pad is a half-day event with both assessed and non-assessed activities. Each of these activities are designed for you to hear about our world of opportunities, feel recognised and see your potential while creating relationships to carry with you for the rest of your career. If you are successful in obtaining an offer to join us after your Launch Pad event, we will be in touch to arrange a time for you to meet us in person at one of our offices.

As you progress through each stage of the recruitment process, our Student Recruitment team will be in touch to explain the next steps. If you do have any adjustments, please let us know on your application, email us at graduate@kpmg.co.uk or call the team on 0800 328 5764. You can find out  information in our Need Support section. 

To help you prepare for each stage of the recruitment process, our Student Recruitment team have created some useful videos. Whether you need help with the application form, have questions about your Launch Pad event or are unsure about how we consider your strengths at KPMG, our Student Recruitment team is here to support you. You can watch these videos in our applying to KPMG section.  Please note that the application process may vary for a small number of routes.

We also run other virtual and in-person events for other job applications throughout the year, which you can find on our Student Events page. 

Stage 1: Your application 

This is your chance to tell us about your academic background and any work experience you may have undertaken. This should take about 30 minutes to complete, and you won't need to upload a CV. 

You can find the general entry criteria for each of our programmes on the relevant programme pages. These have been carefully considered based on ongoing evaluation of how prior achievements and our selection process predict future performance at KPMG. If you are a few grades or points short, we would still encourage you to apply, as your application will be reviewed together with your performance in our assessments. You‘ll also have the opportunity to provide additional information for us to assess your application and potential in the context of your socio-economic background and/or any extenuating circumstances, which may have a positive uplift on your academic achievements through contextual recruitment. You also have the option to opt out of sharing it. You can find out more information in our FAQs. 

Stage 2: Transforming Small Businesses 

After submitting your application, you will be automatically invited to our first online assessment, Transforming Small Businesses. This assessment will ask you to consider a range of material relating to three fictional small businesses, each with their own challenges.

Throughout the assessment, you will be asked how you might respond to specific business scenarios and rank what you'd be likely to say or do and how you would feel. You will also be asked to analyse information and provide responses to it. To do this, you will need a pen, paper and a calculator (a phone calculator is acceptable).

Although this assessment isn’t timed, we recommend that you allow 90 minutes to complete it in one sitting. You will need to complete the assessment within five calendar days from the date of your invitation. We would also encourage you to familiarise yourself with what to expect by exploring our practice assessments. 

To access the assessment, the majority of browsers will work, but we do recommend using Chrome and checking whether you have a stable internet connection on your laptop or desktop beforehand.

Please let us know before you start the live assessment if you need any adjustments. Once you have completed the assessment, you will receive a personalised feedback report based on the KPMG strengths we assess you with.

Stage 3: Delivering Outcomes

If you are successful at Stage 2, you will be invited to our next online assessment. This stage will provide you with more of an insight into your chosen business area and take you through a fictional project that is linked to one of the small businesses in the previous stage: Transforming Small Businesses.

Throughout this assessment, you will be asked to rank what you'd be likely to do in specific business scenarios by providing both written responses and video responses on your webcam.

The majority of the assessment is untimed but we do suggest that you allow 60 minutes to complete it in one sitting. You will also need to complete the assessment within five calendar days from the date of your invitation.

Make sure you let us know before you start the assessment if you need any adjustments.

Stage 4: Launch Pad 

If you are successful at Stage 3, you will be invited to attend the final stage of the recruitment process: Launch Pad, an in-person, half day event. Here, you will be able to meet our diverse community and people within the area you have applied to, from our Partners to our Trainees.​

Launch Pad combines two assessed activities (an interview and group assessment) with five non-assessed group activities. Both the assessed and non-assessed activities will provide you with a chance to find out more about our inspiring career opportunities and meet our supportive community, but we’ll also be looking to learn more about you too.

To succeed at this stage, we will be looking for you to demonstrate the KPMG strengths that will give us the confidence that you will be successful with us.​ If successful, you will receive a job offer within two working days and if you are unsuccessful, you will be offered the option to request feedback.

We want you to have a fantastic experience with us, reducing any barriers or worry as far as possible. Full instructions around what to expect and how to prepare for your Launch Pad, including travel expenses and what to wear will be provided ahead of  the event, and our team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Launch dates:

We'll publish our Launch Pad dates soon!

Candidate conduct and integrity

In line with our Values and Code of Conduct, we expect candidates to demonstrate integrity throughout the assessment process. By completing our assessments, you are confirming that you are doing so independently and without the assistance of others, or any artificial intelligence or other resources, to provide responses that are not your own. Candidates who are found to have acted dishonestly during any part of the assessment process, including sharing, copying assessment content, or using assessment content shared by others, will be withdrawn and further action may be taken (including reporting to professional bodies, law enforcement or relevant fraud databases) as deemed appropriate. We will also be conducting periodic reviews of candidate activity and re-testing elements of the online assessments. Please note that reviews or re-tests could take place at any stage of the application or offer process.

We want to warn you that any external sources (paid for or unpaid) offering to support you through the KPMG recruitment process (including taking assessment tests for you) are not supported or endorsed by us in any way. Please note that any KPMG assessment material provided by these sources has not been obtained from us legitimately, and we advise that you do not use these channels. 

If you become concerned that someone may be acting dishonestly, please let us know either by contacting graduate@kpmg.co.uk or via our confidential whistleblowing hotline. The hotline is independent of KPMG, and anything reported will remain confidential.