Interview opinion

empirix

Hey all,

just wondering what your opinions are of the following, do you think its ok to bring in a document with a list of questions you want to ask your interviewer, just general things about the company etc or do you think its better to memorise them, i used to be of the opinion to memorise them but now i am thinking of bringing in the doc, are times a changing

What ya's think

Btw i am talking about interviews here for decent jobs etc

cheers

captainfuture

Well I'd say whether you do it or not is entirely up to you, but it won't do any harm actually. Interviewers often use notes for interviews as well, so why shouldn't the interviewee do? Better having a reminder instead of forgetting essential questions and having bad surprises afterwards - this is definately not in the interst of the employer either.
I'm doing interviews myself quite regularly, and if someone is bringing along a set of questions on a piece of paper about the job and company, it can even show me that this person has done some preparation in advance, is organised and has ambitions; But it's the same if the person has memorised them. If you choose the document option, I'd recommend rather writing down the points you have instead of printing out a word doc, latter could make the impression of an unpersonal (downloaded) template that is being used for interviews with other employers as well.
More important in my opinion is the amount of questions (do always ask at least one or two but not a thousand - remember you're not the interviewer) as well as the type: They should cover your questions about the tasks, environment and contract but also show some interest in the job responsabilities and career paths. Avoid questions that could could raise any doubts, like "how many smoking brakes do I have" or "what's your sickday policy". And NEVER EVER ask about the salary in the interview itself, this can be sorted out later on with HR once you got the job offer.

Best of luck for any future interviews!

kjbsrah

Being able to show that you are interested in the job enough to have researched it in advance of the interview is a great way to give a good impression. The interviewer will recognise your ground work if you ask 'intelligent' and 'educated' questions. If the company has been in the news recently maybe refer to that, or if having read up on the company you have a question that was not answered in your research, say where you have looked and then ask your question.

Don't feel you have to ask any questions either - and certainly don't ask questions just for the sake of it.

If its a job you are properly interested in, that will show in your appearance, posture, presentation, attitude etc. Thats mainly what a potential employer will be looking for.

Best of luck.