Page 74 - John Kador - 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview-McGraw-Hill (2002)
P. 74
CHAPTER 5
DO YOU MIND
IF I TAKE NOTES?
WHY TAKING NOTES IS CRITICAL
Should I take notes during my job interviews?
This controversial question is far from settled, but the majority of ca-
reer coaches and recruiters I talked to give you a green light to take
notes during job interviews. Yes, some interviewers get nervous when a
job candidate whips out a notebook and starts taking notes. But others
are impressed by the professionalism and interest demonstrated by a
candidate taking notes. So what should you do?
Let’s look at both sides of this important question and then consider
the arguments of a cross section of human resources professionals. Let’s
start with the naysayers.
THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST TAKING NOTES
Some job coaches believe that in American society, it is not considered
appropriate to take notes during an employment interview. There are
three facets to this argument.
First, when you are in conversation with someone, it is polite to pay
attention to that person. Taking notes, to these coaches, is impolite.
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