From first day to first hire-ready skills: learn the craft, do the real work, leave something that lasts.
The Internship Academy exists to offer full‑time roles. This syllabus sets out how Talent Acquisition trains, coaches and assesses Back Office interns during their TA rotation: what they learn, in what order, how we check it, and how we know the programme works.
| Track Leader | Rich Pham |
| Supervisor | Gam, Talent Acquisition (supervisor of record in the Intern Portal) |
| Mentors | Ngoc (Rachel), Nhi |
| Rotations | Duong Vu · 2–30 Nov 2026 · 1 month Trang Pham · 1 Dec 2026 – 29 Jan 2027 · 2 months Thu Nguyen & Minh Duong · 1 Feb – 31 Mar 2027 · 2 months, as a pair |
| Document type | Syllabus and supervisor guide. Companion to the TA intern rotation plan. |
The Internship Academy exists to offer full‑time roles. The interns were chosen from more than 750 applicants. Every part of this rotation is designed to help them grow into a full‑time role, and to give the Supervisor and the Track Leader clear evidence for that decision.
| What Gradion looks for | How the TA rotation builds it | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · AI literacy and delivering above expectations | Daily use of the TA AI tools, always checking the output. One side project held to the bar "would the TA Lead actually use it?". Self-initiative bars that ask for more than the brief. | AI Literacy in every Sprint 1-1 · skill passport · demo · Delivery (35%) in the Rotation Review |
| 2 · Proactiveness | Ownership grows stage by stage until outcomes are checked instead of every step. Risks raised before Friday. A development goal agreed in week 2 and acted on without reminders. | Weekly written status · Growth Mindset · work discipline · Full-time Fit (20%) |
| 3 · Teamwork | Interns in TA at the same time build their projects together. Projects such as Team & Project Info and the market research are done with colleagues across the company. Every handover lets the next person win. | Communication & Collaboration · Attitude & Fit (30%) · handover note |
The three things are checked in every assignment and in the daily and weekly rhythm, not only at the final review. Every assignment ends with three short lines: AI: which tool you used, what you asked, and what you checked or corrected. Beyond the brief: one thing you did that was not asked for. Team: who you worked with or helped, and what they said.
| Assignment | AI literacy and above expectations | Proactiveness | Teamwork |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process map (A1) | Uses AI to draft, then shows what was corrected against the Playbook. Adds one thing not asked for, such as an SLA risk spotted on a live role. | Asks questions during the week instead of on Friday. Submits on time without a reminder. | Has the process map checked by one recruiter and notes what changed. |
| Lever test (A2) | Zero errors in stages, tags and archive reasons. Names one Lever hygiene issue noticed on the way. | Raises anything unclear in Lever at standup the same day. | Asks a recruiter to review the test job and acts on the feedback. |
| Project brief (A3) | Uses AI to pressure-test the scope and risks; the 'done when' lines are measurable. | Names the risks and the scope to cut first before anyone asks. | Brief agreed with the person who will use the result. |
| AI process review (A4) | Maps every TA AI tool to a step and shows where AI could help next; checks each tool's output before relying on it. | Brings ideas nobody asked for, each with the problem, the evidence and a way to test it. | Checks the maps with a recruiter and a recent hire, and builds on the previous intern's handover. |
| Demo and handover (A5, A6) | Shows a measurable result, where AI helped and one AI error that was caught. | Ends with 'what I would do next' and a handover the next person can act on without asking. | Credits who helped and shares one quote from the person who uses the result. |
| What Gradion looks for | Checked every day | Checked every week |
|---|---|---|
| AI literacy and above expectations | Uses a TA AI tool where it fits and writes on the Trello card what was checked or corrected. | Boolean strings tested on the top 20 results. Hiring post drafted with AI and edited by the intern. Weekly LinkedIn report beats its own target. |
| Proactiveness | Blockers raised at standup the same day. Picks the next card without being told. | Weekly status names risks before Friday and one thing done without being asked. Development goal acted on without reminders. |
| Teamwork | Keeps Trello current so others can see the work. Helps the pair or a recruiter when asked. | Win of the week credits who helped. Pair feedback once per phase. Hiring post agreed with Marketing; stakeholders kept informed. |
| What Gradion looks for | Strong signal | Red flag to raise early |
|---|---|---|
| AI literacy and above expectations | Picks the right tool unprompted, checks the output, catches an AI error; delivers more than the brief asked. | Pastes AI output unchecked; delivers exactly the brief and nothing more, or less. |
| Proactiveness | Raises problems early, proposes a fix with the problem, acts on feedback the following week. | Problems surface on Friday or at review; waits to be told the next task; the same feedback comes up twice. |
| Teamwork | Shares progress without being asked, helps others, credits colleagues, leaves work easy to pick up. | Works in isolation; others learn about blockers late; handover needs follow-up questions. |
Mentors note one dated example for each of the three in every Friday review note, so the Sprint 1-1s, the Rotation Review and the Academy gates rest on evidence.
An intern who feels stuck, meets a blocker or needs support to improve talks to their buddy, their mentors, the Supervisor or the Track Leader. Raising it early is itself a sign of proactiveness.
Every intern moves through the same four stages. A mentor shows the work first, then does it with the intern, then hands it over, and the intern finishes by showing what they built. Rotation length stretches the third stage, nothing else.
One TA Playbook module a day from Monday to Wednesday, self-study on Thursday, a knowledge check and three real cases on Friday, then sign-off.
Lever test with every step checked. Walk the candidate journey, inventory the AI tools, map and bring first ideas.
Outcome checks only. The intern designs the agent workflow, tests an idea and leads the project to its milestones.
15-minute demo, handover note, Rotation Review, retro. Nothing left half done.
The programme follows the 70-20-10 model used in workplace learning: most growth comes from doing real work, then from people, then from formal study.
Coaching means standups, Friday reviews, Sprint 1-1s and feedback on maps and ideas. The Academy's 60 / 40 rule still sets the week: 60% TA work and learning, 40% side project.
Outcomes build in three tiers. Each tier has its own evidence, so progress is visible long before the final review.
Each phase ends when everything in the "must be true" column is true. The evidence column says where a reviewer can check it.
| Phase | Must be true by the end of it | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 · Learn | Three days of modules, a day of self-study and the Friday knowledge check passed. Signed off on Lever actions and data privacy. Hiring content and poster #1 started. Side project chosen. | Process map (A1) · sign-off on Trello |
| Week 2 · Do with | Lever test passed; live Lever actions open. AI tool inventory and first journey notes started. Project brief approved. Baseline SPARC note and one development goal agreed. | Lever test (A2) · project brief (A3) · Friday review note |
| Week 3 · Do with | Candidate and newcomer journeys and the AI tool map checked with a recruiter and a recent hire; top ideas proposed. First project milestone met. | AI process review (A4) · Trello milestone |
| Week 4 · Deliver | Project finished, demoed and handed over. Rotation Review saved on the last day. Written handover to the next Supervisor. Retro held. | Final demo (A5) · handover note · Portal |
| Phase | Must be true by the end of it | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1–3 | As in the 1-month rotation. | Process map, Lever test, project brief, AI process review (A1 to A4) |
| Week 4 · Mid-point | Mid-rotation demo shows progress against the brief. Risks named; scope for the second half agreed in writing. | Mid-point demo (A5) · revised plan |
| Weeks 5–7 · Do alone | Agent workflow designed with inputs, outputs and human checkpoints; one connection or idea tested with TA. Milestones met or risks raised before Friday. | Weekly status · skill passport |
| Final week · Deliver | Project finished, demoed and handed over. Rotation Review saved. Supervisor handover sent. Retro held. | Final demo (A6) · handover note · Portal |
Holiday weeks (1 Jan, Tet) carry no deadlines. A Sprint 1-1 that falls on a holiday moves to the first working day after.
Each core TA skill moves from seen, to done with help, to done alone. A mentor ticks each step on the intern's Trello board when it happens. The passport turns progress into something the intern can see every day, and gives the Rotation Review a clear record.
| Skill | Seen | With help | Alone | Expected level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lever stages, tags and archive reasons on the test job | Week 1 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Alone, every rotation |
| Boolean and fielded search | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Alone |
| Hiring post drafted with AI and edited | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 4 | Alone, TA approves the text |
| LinkedIn sourcing scan | Week 2 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Alone |
| Candidate journey mapping | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Alone |
| Newcomer journey mapping | Week 3 | Week 3 | Week 5 | With help (1-month) · alone (2-month) |
| AI tool inventory | Week 2 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Alone |
| Agent workflow design | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 6 | With help (1-month) · alone (2-month) |
| Testing an idea with evidence | Week 3 | Week 5 | Week 7 | 2-month rotations |
| Presenting to TA | Week 2 | Week 4 | Final week | Alone at the final demo |
The routine keeps work visible; the rituals give the rotation shape and give the intern moments to be seen.
Expectations said out loud, including the behaviours judged at the Academy gates. Trello, standup and ground rules explained.
10–15 minutes: today, blockers, who can help. On Mondays it runs right after the TA weekly meeting.
What went well, what to improve, next week's goal, written down every week.
The intern names one thing they did that week that helped the team, in one line in the TA Intern group.
Scores in the Intern Portal, each tied to evidence from the passport, Trello and reviews.
Mid-point demo for 2-month rotations; final 15-minute demo, handover and a retro with the Track Leader for everyone.
Daily work lives on Trello (To Do, Doing, Reviewing, Done; labels Knowledge, On-job, Side project). Interns do not join the TA internal weekly meeting, which carries confidential updates. Mentors log observations in the Intern Academy 2026 evidence log as they happen.
| Day | Module | TA Playbook source | Practice | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Recruitment Process | Recruitment Process (including SPARC, Appendix 1, 2 and 4), TA SLAs | Kick-off. The 12 steps and who owns them, SPARC and candidate levels. Trace one live role from its Resource Request to today. | Wed: recap check (draw the 12 steps and owners; place 3 sample CVs at a level) |
| Tue | Lever | Day 1 Essentials, Tag Guidelines, Archive Reasons | Build a test job; move sample candidates through every stage. | Thu: recap check (explain each stage and archive choice) |
| Wed | Newcomer Onboarding, Countries Benefit, AI Projects | Newcomer Onboarding, Countries Benefit, AI Projects | Opens with the recap check on Recruitment Process. The newcomer journey to Day 60, benefits by country, the 16 TA AI tools. Optimize LinkedIn. | Fri: recap check (walk through the onboarding phases; name the AI tool for a given task) |
| Thu | Self-study | Mon to Wed modules again; Personal Data Protection Policy (Decree 13) | Opens with the recap check on Lever. Then the intern studies alone, practises on the Lever test job and writes down questions. Afternoon: pick the role for hiring poster #1 with the mentor, then hiring content and a first design. Mentors stay available. | Fri: knowledge check on the whole week |
| Fri | Knowledge check and sign-off | Everything from the week | Recap check on Wednesday's modules and a knowledge check on the whole week. Three real cases with the Playbook open. Choose the side project. Submit the process map (A1). | Sign-off on Lever and data privacy<
Recap checks overlap from Wednesday: each day opens with a check on the module from two days earlier, so the intern has a day to study first. The mentors share the modules between them. /td> |
From week 2, three tracks run in parallel: enhancing the recruitment process with AI, the weekly tasks below (hiring content and the poster already start in week 1), and the side project on Tuesday to Friday afternoons. Most of the TA time goes into the AI brief, which carries on from one rotation to the next; each intern starts from the previous intern's handover.
| Part | The brief | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Candidate and newcomer experience | Walk the hiring process and the onboarding process the way a candidate and a newcomer live them; find where AI could make them faster, clearer or more personal. | A journey map from first contact to Day 60, with pain points and evidence |
| 2. A fresh pair of eyes | As an outsider: if you were a recruiter, what would you do differently? New ideas, each with the problem it solves and how to test it. | An idea list, ranked by impact and effort |
| 3. Connect the agents from A to Z | Find the AI tools TA already has, map them onto the 12 hiring steps and onboarding, spot the gaps and hand-offs, and design how the agents work together, with human checkpoints. | An AI tool inventory, a step-by-step map and a workflow design; later rotations test connections |
| Task | When | Guardrail |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring poster and content on a role TA is hiring for | Every 2 weeks, from week 1 | TA approves the text |
| Daily LinkedIn & Social Scan: Open to Work and strong candidates for TA's open roles logged in a sheet; network growth; weekly report | Daily from week 2 · weekly report | Candidates go into Lever as leads; outreach approved by TA |
| Boolean strings for the roles Gradion hires most, tested and shared | From week 2 | Strings tested before they go into the shared library |
| Lever practice on the test job, then the Lever test (A2) | Weeks 1–2 | Live Lever actions only after the Lever test is approved |
Each intern picks one project by Friday of week 1 and scopes it in the project brief (A3) in week 2: sized to the time really available: about 10 afternoons in a 1-month rotation, about 25 in a 2-month rotation. Interns in TA at the same time each lead one project and build both together. A later intern starts only from a finished result. The bar: would the TA Lead actually use it?
| Project | The question it answers, and why it matters | Deliverable | Success looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering: TA Playbook in the TA DashboardPriority: Low · Effort: Heavy 8 weeks only | How do we bring the whole TA Playbook into the TA Dashboard, so TA has one place for its data and its rules?Today the TA Dashboard lives in Dispact and the TA Playbook is a separate website. Two places means two things to maintain, links that drift and lookups that get skipped. One home makes the Playbook part of daily work and keeps TA information in one place for the future. | A content inventory of the Playbook, a target structure inside the Dashboard, and a working version with the most-used Playbook sections migrated by week 8. A simple routine for keeping the content current in one place. | The migrated sections are live in the Dashboard, TA members find answers there without opening the old website, and the Playbook owner agrees the structure and the migration plan for the remaining sections. |
| 2. Engineering: CV Upload improvementsPriority: Low · Effort: Heavy 8 weeks only | Which manual CV steps still cost recruiters time, and which can we remove?The Automatic CV Upload Tool already turns 20 to 40 minutes per batch of 20 CVs into about a minute. The steps around it are still manual, and every minute saved goes back to talking to candidates. | An issue list from real batches and the Upload Log, and an improved version of the Automatic CV Upload Tool or a spec. | Time per batch and the number of Failed or Skipped uploads measured before and after. |
| 3. Candidate-facing brand auditPriority: Low · Effort: Light 4 or 8 weeks | What does a candidate see about Gradion before applying, and does it make them want to apply?Candidates judge Gradion on the careers page, job posts and reviews long before they talk to TA. Old posts, missing benefits or unanswered reviews lose applicants quietly. | A score per channel (careers page, JDs, ITviec, TopDev, LinkedIn posts, candidate reviews) on a sheet agreed with TA, with screenshots, and a fix list ranked by impact and effort that can feed Marketing. | Every channel is scored with evidence, and the top fixes have an owner agreed with TA and Marketing. |
| 4. Team & Project Info (project repository)Priority: High · Effort: Medium 4 or 8 weeks | What does each team at Gradion work on, which roles does it hire, how does it hire, and what does it need from a candidate?Recruiters who can explain the team and the project write better outreach, screen more sharply and need fewer rounds with hiring managers. Today the answers sit with different stakeholders and are not written down in one place. | A project repository: one page per team covering the project, roles hired, hiring process, technical requirements and special requirements, from a template agreed with TA and confirmed by the team. A gap log for anything still open. | Every team on TA's list has a page the team has checked, and recruiters use the repository in intakes and phone screens. |
| 5. Sourcing Guide for Hard-to-Fill RolesPriority: Medium · Effort: Medium 4 or 8 weeks | Why do roles such as Principal Engineer and Integration Developer stay open longest, and what worked the times we did fill them?The longest-open roles cost the most in time and missed delivery. What worked sits in individual recruiters' past searches and notes, so it is lost when people change roles. | One short guide per role: where these candidates are, the keywords and Boolean strings that found them, and the outreach messages that got replies. | The recruiter who owns each role confirms the guide is usable, and it is used on the next search for that role. |
| 6. Market research: companies in Gradion's segmentPriority: Medium · Effort: Heavy 4 or 8 weeks | How do companies in Gradion's segment compare with Gradion on everything a candidate weighs before saying yes?Candidates compare offers on far more than salary. With a side-by-side view, TA and hiring managers can position Gradion, answer candidates' questions with facts and see where an offer needs to be stronger. | A research sheet on TA's template, one row per company: who they are, what they build, how they hire, what they pay and offer, and why people join or leave. Plus a one-page summary: where Gradion wins, where it loses, and what to do about it. | Every company on the agreed list is filled in, with a source per field or the field marked unknown. TA checks the pay data, and the TA Lead reviews the summary. |
The engineering projects (1, 2) run only in 2-month rotations, once engineer hours are confirmed before the rotation starts. Each project also carries a self-initiative bar, set out in the rotation plan. Project list set by the TA team.
How each project moves through the rotation. A 1-month rotation finishes at week 4; a 2-month rotation uses week 4 as its mid-point and finishes in the final week.
| Project | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Weeks 5–8 (2-month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineering: TA Playbook in the TA Dashboard | Playbook inventory; how the Dashboard is built | Usage mapped; target structure drafted | Mid-point: structure and migration order agreed | Migrate most-used sections, test, demo by week 8 |
| 2. Engineering: CV Upload improvements | Time a real batch; read the Upload Log | Earlier tool reviewed; failures grouped | Mid-point: ranked issue list, fix agreed | Build, test on the test job, measure, demo |
| 3. Candidate-facing brand audit | Channels and scoring sheet agreed | Journey walked; every channel scored | Fix list with owners (2-month: mid-point) | Quick wins shipped; re-score; compare with competitors |
| 4. Team & Project Info (project repository) | Template agreed; teams ranked; talks booked | Pages for teams with open roles | Teams with open roles confirmed (1-month: done) | All teams; candidate FAQs; keep-current routine |
| 5. Sourcing Guide for Hard-to-Fill Roles | Roles agreed; recruiter interviews | Past pipelines read; personas drafted | Strings tested; guides ready (1-month: done) | Sourcing sprint on a live role; guide improved |
| 6. Market research: companies in Gradion's segment | Company list and template agreed | Desk research and salary data | Interviewee input; summary (1-month: done) | More companies; battlecards; refresh routine |
Every project brief in the rotation plan also sets out ideas to make it great, how to use AI well, and what to cut first if time runs short.
The Intern Portal numbers the six assignments A1 to A6. This syllabus names each one and keeps the Portal number in brackets.
| Assignment | What the intern submits in the Intern Portal | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Process map (A1) | Hiring process map, candidate level guide, three solved cases | Friday, week 1 |
| Lever test (A2) | Lever end to end on the test job; live Lever actions open once approved | Tuesday, week 2 |
| Project brief (A3) | Side project brief: goal, output, "done when", weekly milestones, who will use it | Friday, week 2 |
| AI process review (A4) | Candidate and newcomer journey maps, the AI tools mapped to each hiring step, and the top ideas to improve them | Friday, week 3 |
| Demo (A5) | 1-month: final demo and handover · 2-month: mid-point demo | Week 4 |
| Final demo (A6) | Final demo and handover note (2-month) | Final week |
| Review | When | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Sprint 1-1 | Every two weeks | Growth Mindset 15%Critical Thinking 15%Communication & Collaboration 15%AI Literacy 15%TA core competencies 40% (process and SPARC, Lever, sourcing, AI and process improvement, work discipline) |
| Rotation Review | Last day | Delivery 35%Attitude & Fit 30%Growth 15%, from the Sprint 1-1sFull-time Fit 20% |
Gate 1 (end of month 2) and Gate 2 (week 2 of month 6) are attitude decisions by the Supervisor and the Track Leader, separate from scores. If an intern does not improve, the gap and a date go in writing at the Friday review, and the Track Leader hears it at the next Sprint 1-1 with the evidence. No decision comes as a surprise.
Share the outcomes, the skill passport and the behaviours judged at the gates in the kick-off. An intern can only be judged fairly against a bar they heard first.
Follow the journey: show how the team works, do it together, then check outcomes instead of every step. Move faster for an intern who is ready, slower for one who is not.
Between the project and the AI process work there is always a next card. Keep the Trello board full, and give the intern the people and tools they need to test ideas.
The same four parts make written feedback usable as evidence and keep three mentors consistent.
By the end of week 2: one baseline SPARC note and one development goal agreed with the intern. Log evidence as it happens: what, when, in one or two sentences.
Ask which TA tool the intern used and how they checked the output. No AI output goes to a hiring manager before TA has reviewed it.
In every Friday review, look for one example of AI literacy and above-expectation delivery, one of proactiveness and one of teamwork. Use the red flags as early warnings and raise them the same week.
Last day: the intern's handover note, the Supervisor's written handover on attitude and working style to the next Supervisor, and a retro with the Track Leader.
We measure the programme at four levels after every rotation, then use the retro to improve the next one.
| Level | Question | Measure | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Experience | Did the intern feel guided? | End-of-rotation pulse: "I knew what to do each day" and "I got feedback every week" | 4 or more out of 5 |
| 2 · Learning | Did the intern learn the core skills? | Skill passport steps signed; all six assignments (A1 to A6) on time | Expected level reached on every core skill |
| 3 · Behaviour | Does the intern work differently? | Sprint 1-1 trend from baseline to the last 1-1 | Upward on the development goal |
| 4 · Results | Did TA gain something lasting? | Project in use by TA after handover; Sprint 1-1s and Rotation Review saved on time | Every project in use · 100% on time |
Continuous improvement. After each rotation the Supervisor and mentors review these measures and the intern's retro, and update this syllabus before the next intern starts. Each version notes what changed and why.
Prepared by Talent Acquisition, Gradion · 2 Nov 2026 · Sources: TA team meeting notes, Nhi's TA Intern Training Plan, TA Playbook v4.1, Back Office Track syllabus, Intern Portal.