Ask the CC

Hi everyone!

This week’s question: Can you take a cheat sheet to an interview to help you remember what you’d like to say at the interview? Also, if the interviewer(s) notice you looking at a piece of paper before answering a question, is that bad?

That is a great question!

When going to an in-person interview, the Career Center would suggest having a sheet of paper that can be looked over before the interview, but not actually referencing it during the interview.

The sheet of paper for prep before the interview can contain:

  • Talking points
  • Company mission, vision
  • Anything about that company that resonated with you

During the interview, it is common for an employer to ask you if you have any questions for them. A cheat sheet comes in handy at this time! You can bring a notebook, pad folio, or just a piece of paper to reference at the end of the interview. When the employer answers the questions, make sure to write down notes to reference later!

This cheat sheet can contain:

  • Five questions, plan to ask three
  • Relevant questions that show your research on the company
  • Questions that cannot be found on their website

For a phone interview the Career Center would advise if a cheat sheet is preferred, it could contain:

  • Talking points
  • Story examples
  • Questions for the employer

It should not include:

  • Exact word-for-word phrasing – avoid sounding robotic and scripted with responses
  • Too much information

If you do use a cheat sheet during the phone interview, make sure you are not focusing too much on saying exactly what you wrote down beforehand, let your passion and enthusiasm genuinely come through to the employer!

An example of questions to ask the employer, as well as other interviewing tips, reference this link!

https://career.ndsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/03/CARS-1974-PT-Interview-4.pdf

That concludes this week’s blog. Please write your questions on the lower, right side of the main page of our website!

https://career.ndsu.edu/

I will be answering them every Friday. Ask any question you like, no question is too small!

Signing off,

The CC

By Andrea Richard
Andrea Richard Graduate Career Mentor