To think it was weird they wrote my questions down.

[30somethingellla]

I had an interview for a job I really wanted. I didn't do anywhere near my best, can't have got the job based on those answers but will use the interview as exprience.

When it came to asking questions I had written them down as it was a job I had really wanted and wanted to make sure I remembered my questions. One was on a report that had been written two years ago on the company and I wanted to know what changes had been done to implement the suggestions.

As I asked the first question they all suddenly wrote down my question, asking me to repeat the wording for their notes.

My subsequent questions were all written down too.

My friend who also interviewed did not have her questions written down.

I'm a little nervous about this. There's no way I could have got the job based on my answers. Was there something wrong with the questions I asked do you think? An issue that wasn't discussed?

They weren't controversial in any way but I've not had an interviewer wrote down my questions at the end before.

I'm probably over analysing but just wanted opinions as it was a bit strange! :-s

After Each question they asked for my exact wording for their notes!

😳

Wouldn't worry about it. Seems normal enough, with more people requesting feedback after they aren't offered jobs, I always keep a detailed written record of everything that's said/asked. They probably wrote your friends answers down too and she just hasn't noticed.

Good luck for the job

Difficult to tell but it could be that they liked the questions and wanted to remember them when discussing the candidates later. When you're interviewing a lot of people sometimes the interviews blur together a bit

I won't have got the job. No chance. That's why I was worried about it.

It may be a good sign. If your friend just asked practical questions about employment conditions maybe they don't need to write those down, but you asked a question that demonstrated depth of thought and analysis so they wrote it down as relevant to the selection process?

Either that, or if the report you referred to was something really awful they may have suspected you of being an undercover reporter and are planning to investigate you!

Seems a strange question for you to ask from what you've put here.

Sounds more like you were trying to interview them than the other way round.

Sounds more like you were trying to interview them than the other way round - well an interview is supposed to be a two-way street.

That's why I'm worried. I only wanted to know what changes would be expected as I'm interested in working for the company. It wasn't meant as an interrogation! 😂

I do thorough research so only ask question I cannot find online.

The best interview I've ever had was one where I felt I interviewed them though. The feedback was I came across as very in control and confident!

So it can be a positive.

When you get interview feedback, why don't you ask?

Yes I could do. I never get detailed feedback though. Interviewers seem reluctant to give it now.

Sounds more like you were trying to interview them than the other way round.

It's absolutely standard for interviewers to ask whether the interviewee has any questions. When I've interviewed candidates, I've always been impressed by the ones who asked questions which showed both that they've done their research on the company and were taking an interest in plans for the future, current projects etc, so that may be why they made a note of the questions.

I do a lot of interviewing and often make a note of the Qs asked by candidates. This can be for many reasons but most usually it's as an additional way to differentiate between candidates, especially if it's a more thoughtful / considered / unusual Q than the more mundane "what's the training like" type. It's never been a negative when I've done it.

It is a bit odd that they wrote down your questions word for word, but it was almost certainly just so they could distinguish one candidate from the next after however many hours of interviewing. It can be hard to remember that the good question about X came from Edna and not Mavis, who wore the same coloured blouse and was 2 interviews later. I do take lots of notes when I interview because obviously you can't get candidates muddled and I don't trust myself to recall everything without notes. The notes are filed with the applicant details. But I agree that the word-for-word thing was a bit weird, unless they have some scoring system worked out.

It sounds like it was more of a considered question compared to the usual ones they get asked which they perhaps liked and they wrote it down to be able to compare with other candidates and to use in any feedback they need to give.

Sounds more like you were trying to interview them than the other way round

totally normal!

Nothing say 'lame applicant' like someone who doesn't have any questions or asks about pay/hours/holiday.

Were they able to answer your question about the company's response to this report?
If not, you have exposed a weakness in the interview panel and they most probably wrote your question down so that they could format a proper response should it be asked again. I would look on this as a point in your favour that you asked such a penetrating question.
Candidates whose only question is about annual leave etc get marked down in my eyes

It's odd to write word for word, but in my company when we are interviewing we have to make a note of the questions each candidate asks - sometimes this can tell you a lot about the candidate and how well they have prepared. We have to hand all our notes back into HR afterwards as well

Maybe your questions were interesting and they wanted to remember them for future reference. Perhaps your friend's were more run of the mill?
I wouldn't over-analyse if I were you, unless you know that an interview has gone really badly, with many of them it's impossible to tell.

The odd interview goes badly, a few go really well, most are somewhere in the middle.
The interviewers may well have felt nervous too.

They did know the answers but asked me if I felt that answered the question well 😂

I don't think I'm even in the running to be honest.

They ended by letting me know they had a few more interviews (5 positions going) and would let me know within the next few days.

I'm certain I haven't got the job.

My friends wuestions were very generic! Showed no research.

You're entitled to see the notes they made during the interview, perhaps request this when asking for feedback if you're unsuccessful

I think they were doing it it so they had an accurate record of what you'd asked, for HR reasons, and in interests of fairness. If they're debating afterwards who to hire, they'd want to discuss which candidates had done thorough research and which were winging it.
I don't see anything nefarious in their behaviour tbh.

And yes- you should be interviewing them too! How else will you know if it's the right place for you to work.?

When I was interviewing I loved questions like that. They show that the candidate has made an effort to find out about the organisation and demonstrates genuine interest.

Pancaker - you are not entitled in law to see notes made during interview. Not sure where you get that from.

I suspect they were impressed by the questions you asked. Didn't know the answers (did they answer?) and were going to ask the relevant people in the company what the answers were themselves. Altneratively it might be an ongoing 'issue' internally and they wanted to say "look even an interviewee has picked up something needed to be done about X".

Do you know for certain that you haven't been successful?