Can you refer to notes during an interview

One trick Newell recommends is to collect business cards of all the key people you meet that day and categorize them within your padfolio. Wrong, said Newell. The best course is to prepare, to study, to know the facts cold before you enter the interview. Then if you forget something important, either roll with it or bring up the point during the follow-up correspondence. Interview Tips.

Andrew Klappholz. In the event you have an interview coming up that seems like it would be inappropriate to bring notes with you, there are several other items you can have with you instead. In this article, we discuss when it's appropriate to bring notes to an interview and when to avoid it, what items you can bring with you instead.

There are times when it is appropriate to bring notes with you to an interview. If you have a list of questions to ask the interviewer or a few extra highlights about your skills or experience, these can often be perfectly fine to bring with you.

Additionally, it can be a good idea to bring an extra copy or two of your resume or CV to an interview. Essentially, the appropriateness of having your notes with you can depend on the interviewer you are meeting with, however, the following information can serve as a guideline for bringing notes with you to your interview, including when you:.

It is acceptable to bring notes with you to an interview if the notes contain the questions you plan to ask your interviewer. You might also include questions about the company that you were unable to answer from your research. Showing up to your interview prepared with questions can show that you are eager and motivated to learn about the position and the company.

This can actually increase your chances of being contacted for the next steps in the hiring process. It can always be beneficial to have a few extra copies of your resume in case other professionals at your interview would like to see it. It can also be appropriate to take short notes on which points you wish to highlight or discuss during your interview.

Referring to your resume or CV during an interview can also help you stay focused on your relevant qualifications and experience and avoid detailing irrelevant information. If you have a list of specific talking points that you want to discuss during your interview, it can also be acceptable to bring these with you. For instance, if you found out that the company you are interviewing with has a specific tech problem that you can solve, you might write that down to refer to when talking with the interviewer.

These types of notes can be beneficial because it can show that not only have you done your research but that you have taken initiative to identify ways that you can help the company. This demonstrates your enthusiasm for the job as well as your preparation. It's also highly beneficial to bring a list of questions you would like to ask the interviewer. You might be asked if you have any questions for the interviewer, and referring to a list of things you would like to know about the company, extra details about the job or other important information that you may have been unable to find during your initial research on the company is helpful.

It can also be perfectly acceptable to take notes during an interview. If you are thinking about doing this, you might want to double-check with the interviewer as you arrive at your meeting that it is okay for you to take notes during your conversation.

This can also show your motivation to learn about what will be expected of you if you are hired as well as your ability to recognize when you need more information. Learn more: How to Prepare for an Interview. Bringing notes with you to an interview can also be inappropriate in certain situations.

For instance, if you have a list of all the answers you plan to address the interviewer's questions with, it can be a good idea to leave those at home. Relying too heavily on notes like these can actually make you seem unprepared and that you haven't researched the job details or the company. There are several other situations where it can be inappropriate to bring notes with you to an interview, and some scenarios include:. It can be perfectly fine to arrive at your interview with a list of questions you plan to ask or some highlights from your resume, however, relying on notes to answer your interview questions can make you look unprepared and unprofessional.

Interviews serve as discussions and interactions to gauge a candidate's qualifications for the job, and your interview should be treated as a two-way conversation.

When you rely too much on your notes for answering interview questions, you can become distracted from building a genuine connection with the interviewer through your natural conversation.

Unless you plan to ask specific questions about the company or job requirements, you should leave your notes at home for a behavioral interview. Behavioral interviews rely on questions that get you talking about your specific experiences, and interviewers want answers that are authentic and not read from a paper. This is a tricky topic, as different interviewers will have different attitudes or opinions regarding the use of notes.

If you need to use them, ask the interviewer first. I would also recommend using dot points instead of having pre-written answers to prevent you from giving static responses.

When provided the opportunity to ask an interviewer questions, it is usually more appropriate to use notes. Yes you can, provided you are doing so for the right reasons. Notes are not advisable if they comprise prepared answers to questions you expect to be given, primarily because what you may then tend to do is try to fit them to the actual questions raised, even if they do not then end up answering those questions.

Regularly relying on notes to answer interview questions makes you look unprepared. In an interview, you need to present yourself in your best light. If you do wish to bring notes to the interview, try to restrict them to a list of questions you would like to ask the interviewer.

This helps to show you are keen and have prepared for the interview.