Early careers
A first interview with a graduate trainee should answer three questions. How fast does this person learn? Do they act without being told? Do they actually want to join this program? Their work experience won’t tell you much yet. How they talk about projects, feedback and setbacks will.
Graduate programs get many applicants. Asking everyone the same scripted questions makes them easier to compare fairly.
What to look for
The questions
Ask them in order. Listen for real details: what happened, what the candidate did, and how it ended.
Strong answer
Names a specific skill, where they found things to learn from, where they got stuck and how they got past it, 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
Says the feedback was simply wrong, or that they’ve never had critical feedback.
Strong answer
Connects to something specific about the program, like its moves between teams or the kind of work, and describes a realistic next step.
Weak answer
A general answer that could be about any graduate program.
Strong answer
Names a specific problem in the group, 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 technical terms, or loses track halfway through.
Strong answer
Tells it honestly, owns their part, and names a specific thing they changed afterward.
Weak answer
A strength dressed up as a failure, 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 another trainee or a colleague, 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
Short form questions the candidate answers before the interview. You read the answers next to the interview. They aren’t scored.
Listen for
Avoid
Use this in LessRounds
Paste the questions into a scripted interview, where the AI reads each question word for word. Add the skills from the scorecard, then share one link. Every graduate trainee candidate gets the same questions. You get a score for each skill, with the candidate’s own words that explain it.
Learning ability, initiative and motivation. Ask about projects, part-time jobs, clubs and things they taught themselves. How someone talks about those tells you more than a résumé at this stage.
Only if the job truly needs a minimum. Grades show how someone does in exams, not how they learn on the job. If you need a minimum grade, ask it as a screening question and let the interview answers count for more.
Start with 100 free credits, enough for about 20 interviews. No credit card or sales call needed.