Early careers
A first round for graduate trainees should answer three things: how fast does this person learn, do they act without being told, and do they actually want this program. Experience won’t tell you much yet. How they talk about projects, feedback and setbacks will.
Graduate pools are large, and the same scripted questions for everyone make them easier to compare fairly.
What to screen for
The questions
Ask them in order. Listen for specifics: what happened, what they did, how it ended.
Strong answer
Names a specific skill, how they found resources, where they got stuck and how they got unstuck, and what they can do now.
Weak answer
“I’m a fast learner”, with no example behind it.
Strong answer
Describes the feedback and their first reaction honestly, then what they changed once they thought about it.
Weak answer
The feedback was simply wrong, or they’ve never had critical feedback.
Strong answer
Connects to something specific about the program, like its rotations or the kind of work, and describes a realistic next step.
Weak answer
Generic answer that could be about any graduate program.
Strong answer
Names a specific friction, what they did about it, and what they’d do differently.
Weak answer
Did all the work themselves and blames the others.
Strong answer
Noticed a gap, acted on it without being prompted, and can say what came of it.
Weak answer
Can only describe work they were assigned.
Strong answer
Picks a clear starting point, uses plain words and an everyday comparison, and keeps it short.
Weak answer
Uses jargon, or loses the thread halfway through.
Strong answer
Tells it honestly, owns their part, and names a specific thing they changed afterward.
Weak answer
A disguised strength, like “I care too much”, or a story where nothing was their fault.
Strong answer
Works out what they can alone, writes down specific questions, asks a peer, and shows a rough draft early instead of a finished one late.
Weak answer
Waits for the manager, or guesses and hands in something late without checking.
Before the interview
Quick facts to read alongside the interview. They aren’t scored.
Listen for
Avoid
Use this in LessRounds
Paste the questions into a scripted interview, add the scorecard skills, and share one link. Every graduate trainee candidate gets the same questions, and you get a score for each skill with the quote behind it.
Learning ability, initiative and motivation. Ask about projects, part-time jobs, clubs and things they taught themselves. How someone talks about those is a better signal than a résumé at this stage.
Only if the role truly needs a minimum. Grades show how someone does in exams, not how they learn on the job. If you need a cutoff, ask it as a screening question and let the interview carry the weight.
Start with 10 free interviews a month. No card, no sales call.