Taking notes into an interview

[Lovingmylife]

Has anyone done it?

I've never taken notes in, only my CV and any questions I have.

I'm thinking of mapping the job spec against my experience so I can have some examples and not forget them as the invite says I can take notes in and I know it's a competency based interview.

You need more than that as prep, in my experience. For a competency interview they’ll ask a really specific question, like ‘Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision related to customers’

Try and think of a few examples for each competency. Practise saying them aloud, in a STAR format. Probably. The interview details will tell you if that’s the case.

But yes, do take notes in. It’s reassuring.

I've taken questions in on index cards to ask at the end which were well received. I wouldn't take answers in though, that looks under prepared

I took a notebook in with all my research and referred to it on various questions.. got the job so it worked.

Thanks all. I've been jotting down some practice competency questions and had a go at answering them. I need to do way more though. It's been ages since I had an interview

I've taken notes in and it's not been a problem. I also write my questions down and get my list out when they ask. They are usually impressed with the preparation.

I always take notes in. I think they actually look impressive - like you’ve put the effort in. In any case, it’s so easy to forget something in the interview so having notes is very helpful. It’s also completely fine, if you’re feeling a bit stuck, to say (confidently), “do you mind if I quickly refer to my notes?”. Gives you a bit of time to collect your thoughts.

I took notes in to the interview for the job I'm in now - so it's clearly okay

I found it reassuring - I didn't read the answers out but I did glance down as we moved through the competency list, just in case my mind went blank.

What do you do if they ask you a scenario based example and you've never experienced that scenario?

I would be honest: I have not yet encountered this scenario but this is how I would handle it.

I also think notes look really good. Can you link competency based questions to things you know about the company? I was able to impress in my last interview by linking my answers to things the company had published online (like annual review, vision statement).

I took notes and got the job. Just bullet points or short phrases to jog my memory as I seem to leave my brain at the door when I go into an interview room.

@Lovingmylife

What do you do if they ask you a scenario based example and you've never experienced that scenario?

Try really hard not to say “I’ve never experienced that”. If they are asking in a competency based interview, that isn’t neutral. They want someone who has the skills to deal with the scenario. They have a list of competencies (skills) they are looking for. They use the scenario questions to see if you have experience of displaying these skills. So try to find an analogous situation - “well, I haven’t experienced that situation in a direct customer-facing role but when I was chair of the finance commitee, I had similar challenges about dealing with what appeared to be an unreasonable complaint. The skills I used to resolve the situation were ....”.

One other alternative, but less good, is “I haven’t experienced that directly but my line manager was in that situation. From how she approached it, I learned that the best way to resolve the challenge is to engage the stakeholders earlier, blah blah”

If I were you, I’d get the job description / advert / whatever info you have on the role. Use that to identify what sort of competencies you think thy are looking for - it should be pretty obvious. So if it’s something like (1) leadership (2) analytical skills (3) written communication (4) negotiation skills, then prepare one or two examples for each one of actual things you’ve done yourself in your career. Also think about what if they ask more specific questions and think what those might be - analyzing information during a crisis ; or leadership in a time of cutbacks.

You could make small annotations on your cv/application form that you take in to prompt you - eg “preparing the 2018 budget” next to where you’ve mentioned your organizational skills or whatever.

But don’t take detailed notes. Some interviewers would find it offputting so you are opening yourself to some risk

Thank you for the tips.

I went back through the JD to pull out the essential. The competencies are easy to spot in the text so I've jotted down two or three points for each. I'll move onto adding examples soon. I want to make sure my examples actually demonstrate the skills required.

Remember that you are interviewing them too. Make notes of questions you want to ask - working styles, overtime handling, responsibility chain, what they're doing about wfh long term (if appropriate), practical office questions like dress code etc (if appropriate)...

Thanks everyone. The interview went quite well actually. Only one not so good question. I now just have to wait to see if I get through to the second round.