Methodology

Evidence first. Then the score.

GritChecker evaluates demonstrated behaviour inside a controlled hiring scenario. Here is exactly how the GritChecker Score is built — and what it never claims.

How GritChecker scores

Five challenges. Four scores. One rule: no evidence, no high score.

Three standardized behavioural challenges produce the GritChecker Score.
Each Core score combines 70% behavioural substance and 30% pressure-delivery evidence.
The three Core scores contribute equally to the Overall GritChecker Score.
Two employer-defined questions provide additional role-specific evidence and are not scored.

The Core 3

Three behaviours. Each scored 0–100.

Street Smartness

Street Smartness means spotting the real underlying constraint instead of getting lost in surface-level noise or corporate theory. It is reading the situation, adapting when the script stops helping, and making practical, high-leverage trade-offs.

Situational ReadDoes the candidate understand what is actually happening?
Signal vs NoiseCan they identify what actually matters?
AdaptabilityCan they operate when the script stops helping?
Practical Judgment & Trade-offsDoes the proposed decision actually make sense?
Specificity & Forward ThinkingDoes the candidate translate judgment into action?

Grit & Backbone

Grit & Backbone means standing your ground under pressure without folding or becoming needlessly aggressive. It includes accountability, constructive persistence, defensible pushback and knowing when evidence warrants changing course.

Constructive PersistenceDoes the candidate maintain purposeful persistence when they encounter meaningful resistance while continuing to reassess the situation?
Appropriate PushbackDoes the candidate push back effectively when warranted without becoming unnecessarily aggressive or alienating the stakeholder?
Ownership & AccountabilityWhen something goes sideways, does the candidate take ownership and drive resolution rather than deflect responsibility?
Judgment Under ResistanceDoes the candidate know when to hold their position, when to adapt, and when the evidence warrants changing course?
Recovery & ResolveDoes the candidate recover from a setback or disruption and establish a constructive path forward?

Stubbornness is not grit.

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct means commercial momentum and bias toward action: recognizing an opening, making the necessary ask, creating the next concrete step and treating time and opportunity as valuable without becoming reckless.

Opportunity RecognitionDoes the candidate recognize a meaningful opening or leverage point and understand how to act on it appropriately?
Bias to ActionDoes the candidate convert insight into decisive action rather than getting stuck in unnecessary analysis or passivity?
The AskDoes the candidate make a clear, direct and well-timed ask when the situation calls for it?
Forward MomentumDoes the candidate create a concrete next step that meaningfully moves the situation forward?
Commercial Judgment & OwnershipDoes the candidate balance commercial urgency, decisive ownership and risk without becoming reckless or counterproductive?

Recklessness is not killer instinct.

The equation

70%

Behavioural Substance

30%

Pressure Delivery

Every Core score uses the same equation. The Overall GritChecker Score is the equal average of the three Core scores.

What Substance means

Polished language is not the same as strong evidence.

Each Core has five equally weighted criteria, rated against a fixed evidence scale. A high rating needs scenario-specific reasoning or concrete action — taken from what the candidate actually said. Buzzwords don't count, and smooth delivery can't cover an empty answer.

What Pressure Delivery means

How they held up in the moment.

Engagement
Continuity
Recovery
Control
Completion

Measured from observable evidence such as when the response started, how long it ran, pauses and completion. A pause is evidence, not a penalty — a candidate can hesitate and still recover into an excellent answer.

Role level

Role level changes the expected context and complexity — not the scoring mathematics.

Junior

Immediate problem recognition · Practical action · Sensible reasoning · Basic adaptation

Mid Level

Independence · Prioritization · Competing considerations · Stronger trade-off reasoning · Adaptation

Senior

Ambiguity · Stakeholder complexity · Strategic consequences · Second-order effects · Leadership judgment · Sophisticated trade-offs

Sales + Marketing

Same Core 3. Role-specific situations.

Sales and Marketing use the same Core 3 behavioural methodology. The scenario and context change to fit the role and track.

The 2 Yours

Evidence, not scores.

Your two questions come back as the question, the original audio, the full transcript, a factual summary and delivery notes. No score, no pass or fail, and no effect on any GritChecker Score.

The Tape

How the response was delivered.

Observable performance and delivery evidence captured during the response — start time, duration, significant pauses, completion. Facts, not psychology.

The Receipt

What they actually said.

Transcript-grounded evidence behind the behavioural assessment. Every quote shown is the candidate's exact words — never a paraphrase.

What GritChecker does not claim

Clear limits.

Accent never affects the score.
GritChecker does not diagnose personality, intelligence, honesty or mental state.
Switching tabs is recorded as neutral context — never treated as cheating or a score change.
GritChecker does not decide who should be hired.
GritChecker does not reject candidatesGritChecker provides behavioural evidence and scores for the hiring manager to review. It does not automatically reject, advance, shortlist or make hiring decisions about candidates.

GritChecker provides the evidence. The hiring manager makes the decision.

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