Writing notes in an interview

[hopefulcandidate]

I have an interview later this week and I really want the job. It is with my local council and slightly above minimum wage but a rea
lly good fit for me.
i have practiced and prepped thoroughly however my last interview was about 14 years ago. I am also menopausal so my mind can be quite forgetful at times.
i plan to jot down key words from the questions to avoid forgetting the question. However I’ve never done this before. Should I ask permission first? If so how would you word it? Or do I just open my notebook and start writing?
Will they look less favourably on me if I write down parts of the question in order to answer it properly?

I wouldn't do it.

It's fine just take notes. But I'd say you should never be in a situation in an Interview where you haven't already anticipated the question. You need answers already prepped on organisational skills, teamwork, leadership, project management, examples of what went wrong and how you rectified it, how you live their values etc etc.

I have conducted many interviews and personally I wouldn’t start writing down notes. You need to be looking at the interviewer when they ask the questions. However, you can always say “please can you repeat the question”. At the start of every interview I and my colleagues undertake we always say if you would like us to repeat any questions please just ask.
What industry/sector is it for? Would you like help with some mock interview questions? x

Not really. Just answer the question when they ask it, as practiced.
Have you someone in real life to practice the questions with you?

Are you saying you are forgetting what someone has asked you mid sentence?

Look up STAR technique on how to answer interview questions.
Anticipate and prepare Q&A

Thanks everyone. I have my STAR scenarios all prepped and have practiced several times with my husband. It’s been going really well but I have a tendency to forget the question once I’m in the middle of answering. so am as prepared as I can be. I saw on another post that it was an option but reading these replies maybe it’s not the done thing after all

I wouldn't mind personally. At the last interview I went to, they gave me a printed copy of the question as they asked it, which was brilliant, and really helped me stay focused on what they asked me.

I did at the last interview I had and I got the job. I just said something like 'i'm going to jot down the question to keep me on track". And actually the very act of writing it down seared it into my brain anyway.

If it's a teams interview you could always have a computer sticky note on the screen you're looking into and type onto it as they speak. That way you're not breaking 'eye contact" and they probably won't even notice.

I don't see why anyone would object to it though...

Oh and I've also conducted quite a few interviews and wouldn't have an issue with it. In fact I think that might be where I got the idea from

I carry out a lot of interviews in the Civil Service. I don’t mind a candidate jotting down a few words, but it would annoy me if I had to read the question out a few times so that they could take it down word for word.

Ask the interviewer at the beginning and say it’s because of nerves or something.

STAR format is good but don’t give the answer to a completely different question! Answering the actual question put is the most important thing. Many candidates fail because they recite the answer to a completely different question.

I think it’s fine. I have conducted interviews many many times for local authorities and sometimes people do take notes, and even bring notes with them. I would mention it at the panel at the start of the interview just to be on the safe side.

I think it'd be fine to jot some key words from the question, not the whole thing word for word. Good luck x

Thanks everyone, a few more varied responses now. It is an in-person interview and I only planned on jotting down a couple of words, not writing the full question out exactly. I was thinking it might be a better option than asking them to repeat themselves or not answering the correct question. I may just try answering as normal but if nerves get the better of me ask to jot down the questions quickly

I interviewed someone once who wrote down a couple of key words in the interview. Everyone on the panel agreed that she interviewed really well.

Personally I’ve never felt the need to do it, but there
is nothing wrong with doing it if you want to.

I've had a candidate do that in an interview - they explained that they were nervous and can forget things, and would it be OK if they jotted down some notes as we asked the questions. I didn't have a problem with it - they took some brief notes, and then focused solely on us in their replies with only a few glances at their notebook. Might have been different if they wrote screeds as I was asking the questions, but they didn't.

Interviews are about getting the best out of the candidates, and if that's how I get the best from a candidate on the day who appears to have all the skills and experience I need, then crack on.

We need to normalise this. As a menopausal woman with brain fog, I often lose words. When I’m teaching this can make me seem like I don’t know my subject so I warn my students about it and challenge them to find the word when it’s missing. In my professional job, I do presentations and interviews to win work. When asked a question, I write down the key points of a question to make sure I hit the elements they are looking for. If you watch people doing things like debates and press conferences, they often do the same thing.

It would not bother me if someone did this at a job interview. I’d see them as diligent and engaged. I had a first chat about a potential new job yesterday, it was over teams but I was taking notes. Frankly, if anyone was bothered enough about me doing this in an interview, I wouldn’t want to work for them. It’s an abelist and sexist thing to suggest that every person must be capable of sitting for an hour talking with no notes.

I’m 51 and have no more fucks to give. Things that I would have felt were a problem in my younger years were so ridiculously important now barely even register. If you need to take notes in an interview, just do it.

@BoredZeldai completely agree with this. I also lose words so this is another worry I have! I feel it makes me look so incompetent and is frustrating at times. HRT helped my symptoms massively but didn’t put an end to this

I wouldn't tbh

Update: I don’t take notes in the end and my memory was fine. I got the job!

Congratulations! 💐

Congratulations!

I was going to say at my council candidates are provided the questions minutes for 15 minutes prior to interview so the candidates can think about the questions. It helps so much and gets the best out of the candidate..

It is absolutely fine OP just say do you mind if I jot down a few words while you speak. I work for a massive firm and we wouldn't bat an eyelid at this - or if you had your star examples all written out in front of you! It's an interview not a memory test !

Practise keeping your answers short, so you can't lose the thread.
It would be way better not to make notes.

Other things I would do are;
1.) casually mention the positives of hiring someone your age. Sneakily address the elephant in the room with something like: I've don't need to worry about childcare cover any more so I am really looking for a role I can focus on. Or: 'travel and overtime are no problem at all - my children are grown now.' Helkp them reframe any bias against age as a lot of younger employers have it without realising.
Also - don't say anything negative and do stay energetic. I used to recruit for a company that occasionally had people in their late forties and fifties applying for jobs that were typically done by much younger people. While technically they could have done the job, they often came over as a bit negative about life and tired. As the job required ridiculous amounts of energy and short stints of crazily long hours, we never employed them and they always seemed so baffled about why. (We gave feedback in those days.)
2.) Ask questions about what they most want and need from the role and when they have answered, come back to them with an enthusiastic: I would love to help you develop X. Or I do have skills and experience in Y so I would really like to put them to good use for you here.
3.) Look up council websites and newsletters and find out as much as possible about the role, the department, its recent achievements or developments (including budget cuts) and practise incorporating some of that knowledge into your answers. E.g. I was really interested in your forthcoming proposal to...
(They sometimes look surprised and say, 'how do you know about that?' and then you say - 'I had a look at the annual report - I'd really like to work here.' As long as it's genuine and doesn't sound desperate or gushing, employers like to hear that this is not just one of many job applications, but a place you are truly committed to.

Of course you can take a few notes, it’s not a memory test-they want to get the best out of you and if that means a few notes then that fine. And if they don’t want to get best out of you-you don’t want to work there anyway.

You sound very well prepared so you may find you don’t end up needing to on the day but if it makes you feel more comfortable go for it. Good luck!

Ah just read your update-congratulations!!