QUESTION TIME~!

[candyland]

I was talking with my parents about interviewing. FYI, my dad is a warehouse manager, so he does interviews and hiring for his warehouse, and my mom is a Human Resources manager, so she does interviewing and hiring where she works. And both my parents said that it is acceptable to go into an interview with a notecard or a piece of paper with some questions written on it. To use Mom's words, "It shows that they give a shit."

When I mentioned this to a friend, she said that if she were interviewing, she would not think highly of someone who did that--that you should memorize the questions first, and not bring anything written like that into an interview.

I realize that every situation is different, but as a general rule: what do you guys think?


ETA: I'm not sure if I was being clear, but the notecard would have written on it questions that the interviewee wanted to ask the interviewer when it came to the "Do you have any questions?" point in the interview, so as not to forget anything in the case of nerves. Something that sits in your pocket until it gets to that point, at which point you pull it out and ask your questions of your prospective employer.

And I'm not really talking about academia, which everyone keeps bringing up @_@

Comments

[gracie-musica.livejournal.com]

*brings up academia* ;)

Sorry to say this, but to put it bluntly? Your friend doesn't know what they're talking about. Kids today.

I had to take a jobs class last semester. Having a list of prepared questions is TOTALLY okay. In fact, it's recommended: While having your questions memorized is all right, having a list there to not only check off but to write down the answers is even better because you might forget something, you have the answers to look over so you're not asking again and again in the second interview. Or, to quote your mother, it shows you give a shit. Go Mom!

On a non-school note, when I applied for my current job (at a restaurant), I was eating and had a doddle pad to write in. I got interviewed the second I handed my application over and wrote a brief outline on my notepad of what was expected of me through the job, used it to reference questions from, et cetera. He later told me that using a notepad was refreshing to see someone acting like a professional because most people who come in for interviews in their school uniforms and just want to know about paid vacation.

TL;DR version: YES TO NOTECARD. It makes you look professional. And if someone doesn't like you using a notecard, do you want to work for a company that isn't that professional?