The idea for this tip came to me recently when I was doing a practice interview with a candidate. She asked a good question I hadn't had to address in a long time. The question was simply: "Is it okay to take notes during an interview?"
My answer was "Yes, but ...."?
Obviously, the 'but' indicates there's a little more to it. To be clear, no interviewer will think it strange or inappropriate for the job candidate to take notes during the interview.? Yet, here are a few important things we want you to consider before whipping out that pen and paper.?
- In a first interview, it's unlikely that you will hear something that necessitates you to take notes.? Yes, it's possible, but in most cases unlikely. For an onsite follow-up interview, it's more likely that you would want or need to take notes.
- If taking notes, be very judicious about what notes you are taking. The danger is that you become so immersed in your notetaking that you lose focus on the interviewer. The result is that you could lose the ability to interpret the nonverbal language cues used by the interviewing team. Similarly, it can limit your ability to provide your own effective nonverbal communication.
- Taking notes is a mental activity as well as a physical one. So as you take notes, your brain might not be as engaged in thinking about the implications or nuance of what you are hearing. Mentally processing what you are hearing, as you hear it, can be more important than capturing it on paper.
- One more point is that sometimes pens and paper become distractions during an interview. It's natural for a job candidate to be nervous during an important interview. For some people, a way to release that nervous energy is to play with whatever objects are within their reach. I've seen that manifested by candidates twirling or clicking their pens or by fanning through the pages of their notebooks. All of that can be pretty distracting.
- The last warning addresses a situation that may not be as common, but I know it happens because it actually happened to me. After an on-site interview is over, you can be so focused on delivering the perfect close that you forget to grab your notebook that you accidentally leave it behind. Pretty embarrassing, as I can attest.
Given all of the above, here is my recommendation. Take along a pen and a small notebook or some note cards, but it may be wise to keep them in your breast pocket where they are out of the way. But as I said, there is a good?chance you may not need it.?
