Can I take a notebook in to an interview?

[Badgerloco]

Have a really important interview tomorrow & have spent weeks preparing. I have lots of questions, and I don’t want to forget them, is it alright to refer to my notes? Please pray for me at 4pm. I’m so miserable in my current job and this job is so perfect!

Of course!

I’ve taken in notes with questions several times and it’s always been well received. Shows you’re prepared and taking it seriously, I think.

Definitely for your questions and i think it makes you look like you have given preparation and thought

If you brought notes when i interview id give you extra marks for being prepared, organised and committed

Absolutely! I always do

Thankyou very much. it’s a change of direction for me and I have never needed notes before.

God yes. You'll look very organised and professional

Just make sure the notebook you take with you looks professional I. E. : blank cover, preferably a somber colour.

Yup, do it all the time. I take notes during the interview to remind me of key facts and then when they ask if I have any questions I find my list and ask any they haven't covered.

I've only had positive feedback on it.

I did on Friday and got the job
Good luck

Yes of course.

Last interview I also had examples prepared for key skills which I referred to (STAR method) - they want to know about your skills and experience, it's not a memory test!

Good luck 👍

I have to my last 5 interviews and I got offered all those, including one I had in on the wrong day in my diary and so arrived a day late for... So I am saying yes!

What PP said.

If you are worried about it being ok, then ask the panel.

Just sit down, put down your bag etc, take out your notebook and pen and as you put them on the table , say “ Do you mind if I refer to my notes? “ .

Yes! I took some notes in with me and I feel like the interviewers were impressed. I got the job!

My org has a policy against this. It'd be ok to refer to notes for any questions you'd like to ask the interviewers but we would ask you not to refer to notes for answering the interview questions. It wouldn't be an even playing field for each candidate.

We would, however, allow a blank sheet of paper and pen for you to take notes of the question being asked so that you remember each point. Plus, I offer to repeat questions at any time to allow you to check if you've answered all points.

How is the playing field not even when any candidate could have chosen to bring notes but didn't?

Do you work in a field where the primary purpose of your work is memorising things?

My job is mainly knowing how to know things, not remembering everything off the top of my head, so I don't know why they want stuff memorised for an interview. Obviously it would be different if you're sitting there just reading out examples but notes to jog your memory only seems sensible to me?

@Gladioli23

How is the playing field not even when any candidate could have chosen to bring notes but didn't?

Do you work in a field where the primary purpose of your work is memorising things?

My job is mainly knowing how to know things, not remembering everything off the top of my head, so I don't know why they want stuff memorised for an interview. Obviously it would be different if you're sitting there just reading out examples but notes to jog your memory only seems sensible to me?

I assume the policy is to stop people reading out examples, as you say. I have had candidates try to do that with reams of notes and have had to ask them to close their notebooks.

If it's the odd reminder, I wouldn't have a problem with it but policy states I can't allow it. I work in a large, traditional organisation which might account for it.

But If people read out from reams of notes I'd mark them down for poor communication and boring me

Yes! I always take my notepad to interviews with a key word or prompt phrase I can quickly see and remember.

But most importantly I have all my questions I want to ask written down too.

I also use my notepad to write down points during the interview that I find interesting, whether that's thoughts about the company, the interviewer or another question I've thought of.

My notepad also comes in handy when I want to sketch an example out to show too

Best of luck!

The last time I did a round of interviews was back in 2005'ish and I always took notes with me. Not a notebook but I always carried a copy of my CV (surprisingly often they didn't have it at hand) and a copy of the job description. On that I would have jotted down few lines that I wanted to remember to say and few questions I wanted to ask.

I went to an internal interview and was berated for taking a few bullet pointed notes. Totally threw me off course and had a hideous interview. Nearly cried.

I've just moved jobs to a different organisation and I didn't take any notes in with me (fingers still very much burnt). But the interviewers had printed out all the questions they asked so I didn't have to panic about remembering it all - AMAZING!