Should i bring notes to an interview

If the interviewer notices you reading your notes more than you're engaging in a dialogue they may comment on it or ask you to put them away. The good news for you is that graduates are often cut a lot of slack when it comes to interviewing. Most interviewers know that it's a stressful situation, especially for people entering the workforce for the first time. If your interviewer comments on your notes or if you feel the need to explain them, just mention that they contain short bullet points from your resume and work history that you've prepared for the interview as well as a list of things to ask during the interview.

No reasonable interviewer will refuse them. A final note: while I think it should be okay for people of any experience level to bring notes to an interview, especially to list questions to ask of the interviewer, people will generally expect more experienced candidates to refer to their notes much less than a recent graduate , especially when it comes to answering standard interview questions.

Referring to your notes to refresh you memory on past projects will probably become more common as your work history expands though. And while this doesn't apply to your situation, candidates applying for positions where presentation, debating and discussion skills are key qualifications will likely have to ace their interview without such notes or be very good at hiding that they're checking them.

Since forgetting can go both ways, use these notes also to record what you learn in the interview. So summarize things you think you'll be asked, but also things you want to know - regular working hours, travel policy, dress code, whatever. Many interviews start with the interviewer "telling you a little about us" which can be a real information dump. By already having the headings in your notes, you can just jot down the things that matter to you.

Stuff like when they were founded or the name of their most important product you don't need to record in your notes, so having these headings will help you cope with the stream of information. More importantly, it will get the interviewer used to you interacting with your notes. Because if I ask you "so, you graduated 18 months ago? People generally know these things about themselves.

You probably know what your best classes are, and that your highest mark ever is a 98 or an 83 or whatever without notes, right? I don't need to be told the 16 most recent grades you received. I probably don't even care what your average is. So make sure you can answer simple questions without the notes, or that you can cover up the fact you're checking your notes for even the simplest question.

But if it's just about not forgetting to ask if they pay for overtime, then absolutely write that question in your notes and leave room right next to it to write the answer.

Then as the interview progresses if you are told things without you having to ask them, make a note in that blank space. When you get to the end and they ask if you have any questions, now is the time to let them see you running through the list and asking any that didn't come up, or saying "we seem to have covered everything I came here to find out, thanks!

I would add to the other good answers here that as an interviewer, I am certainly bringing notes and taking notes because I am not an expert on the candidate. I understand that people get nervous and forget things in interviews and I am totally fine if a candidate brings or takes notes. The candidate is not an expert on the company they're interviewing at. I emphasize expertise there because something I will probe on in an interview is what level of expertise the candidate actually has, particularly if expertise in a particular subject is indicated on their resume.

I expect people who claim to be experts in a subject to be able to talk about many aspects of that subject without recourse to looking things up. Don't claim to be an expert in, say, agile methodologies and then have to look up what a scrum master does. I have had candidates try to claim expertise and then fake it; the interview usually does not go smoothly for either of us.

No, you should not bring notes. Some interviewers may deem it unprofessional. Even among those that don't, it may put you in a poor light compared to other candidates.

It is not worth the risk. I've been on the interview panel for a number of software development jobs, and I've never seen a candidate bring notes.

If someone did, I cannot say for certain that I would not react to this negatively. Consider: you state you want notes to cover the questions you're planning to ask the interview team and prepared answers to possible questions. If I'm going to an interview, I try and prepare four or five questions. I would expect most candidates to be able to commit that many to memory ahead of time. In the second instance it could cut both ways.

Some people might think it demonstrated thorough preparation and dedication , which is a good thing. On the other hand, if you refer to notes in answer to personal questions such as "tell me about a time you worked as part of a team", it could be taken as a sign you are not giving an honest answer.

Other answers have said that they might find it understandable behaviour from a graduate or someone who was clearly nervous. However, a good interviewer ought to be able to make allowances for that in their judgement. If you take notes, you are effectively assuming the interviewer will treat them with good grace. It it likely to be less risky to assume the interviewer will compensate for your nervousness in other ways.

You would normally be asked at the end of the interview if you have any questions, so it is best to wait until then. For more Careers news, advice and reader questions answered, visit adelaidenow.

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Careers Don't miss out on the headlines from Careers. Join the conversation. Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. While you wait, we have plenty of expert career advice on our blog. Each week, TopResume's career advice expert, Amanda Augustine, answers user questions like the one below from Quora and the Ask Amanda form.

Have a question for Amanda? Submit it here. Yes and no. It is percent acceptable to bring notes to a job interview if those notes contain a list of questions you've prepared in advance to ask your interviewers. In fact, bringing this type of information to an interview demonstrates to the recruiter your genuine interest in the job opportunity.

Also, if you've done some research on the organization, I don't think it's wrong to have that information on hand, in case you'd like to reference it during your discussion. However, it is not a good idea to bring notes on how you plan to respond to certain interview questions.

For instance, if you've prepared short stories using the STAR method in anticipation of a behavioral-based interview , you can't bring your talking points with you.

If you'd like to take notes during the interview, ask your interviewer if he or she minds before you break out the notebook or iPad.