Interview note taking?

[Mkjl-]

During the 3 minute prep time, are we allowed to take notes to refer to? I thought I saw somewhere that we can, but I’m not sure.

Thanks!

[burnerboy]

I emailed them because I had the same question! Copy + pasting their response:

Thank you for your email. You can make notes during the 3-minute 'brain-storming' period, however, once the answer begins you cannot make reference to or read from your notes.

 

[nrcplstake]

I don't think for the first interview date, there was any information on that :(( I believe all the information provided was that notes are allowed. Do you think this would affect people from the 1st interview round?

[AB27]

On 4/11/2021 at 1:44 PM, nrcplstake said:

I don't think for the first interview date, there was any information on that :(( I believe all the information provided was that notes are allowed. Do you think this would affect people from the 1st interview round?

I was in the first round and in one of the info sessions they said it was allowed

[123321123321B]

9 hours ago, AB27 said:

I was in the first round and in one of the info sessions they said it was allowed

allowed to look at your notes you mean?

[AB27]

Just now, 123321123321B said:

allowed to look at your notes you mean?

That's what I understood but I could be remembering that from a different school. Big oof if we weren't allowed cause I def looked at mine (they were stick to my screen though) lol

[123321123321B]

.

[EthicsForBreakfast]

When I emailed twice, they were adamant about no note reading. I expressed concern that I didn’t think that was clear in communications and was worried about being at a disadvantage if I didn’t read from my notes just because I decided to inquire and get the info myself, and they reiterated that it was not allowed. 

[Student98]

On 4/15/2021 at 1:06 PM, EthicsForBreakfast said:

When I emailed twice, they were adamant about no note reading. I expressed concern that I didn’t think that was clear in communications and was worried about being at a disadvantage if I didn’t read from my notes just because I decided to inquire and get the info myself, and they reiterated that it was not allowed. 

.

[amiralangs]

45 minutes ago, Student98 said:

This is actually ridiculous. I went through every form of communication we had available to see if this was ever expressed in the first round and it was not. Even at the first coffee house they said that we could, in the interview prep video, etc. I'm sure no one word for word read their notes, but is glancing and reminding yourself of key points to guide your answer not the entire point of them in the first place? So frustrating. 

That would be very hard for them to know that you were referencing your notes. Do they expect us to stare at the camera hole the entire time? Some people look down briefly when they are thinking. I can't imagine them penalizing us for that if they were just quick glances. 

 

I think if you were reading everything word for word, I could definitely see that as a problem. 

[AB27]

1 hour ago, Student98 said:

I went through every form of communication we had available to see if this was ever expressed in the first round and it was not. Even at the first coffee house they said that we could, in the interview prep video, etc. I'm sure no one word for word read their notes, but is glancing and reminding yourself of key points to guide your answer not the entire point of them in the first place? 

Yea you would think they would make this clear because it makes sense that if you're allowed to take notes you're also allowed to use them lol

[veryhopeful]

I just checked all my emails after seeing this thread because I actually remembered seeing not to use notes for UofT. Sure enough, at least for March 21st, they explicitly said in our reminder email we can jot down notes during the thinking time to 'brainstorm', but cannot refer to them during the interview response. It's in the "Interview Reminder" email under "A few reminders". Not sure if this is true for the other dates though. 

That said, I'm sure either way its not a big deal if you used them and just glanced a few times. Unless you were pausing mid- response to read them or something, I can't imagine then penalizing people for it. 

[nrcplstake]

On 4/19/2021 at 10:08 PM, albertahopeful21 said:

I just checked all my emails after seeing this thread because I actually remembered seeing not to use notes for UofT. Sure enough, at least for March 21st, they explicitly said in our reminder email we can jot down notes during the thinking time to 'brainstorm', but cannot refer to them during the interview response. It's in the "Interview Reminder" email under "A few reminders". Not sure if this is true for the other dates though. 

That said, I'm sure either way its not a big deal if you used them and just glanced a few times. Unless you were pausing mid- response to read them or something, I can't imagine then penalizing people for it. 

If I'm understanding correctly, for the last interview date, U of T send out specific instruction to interviewees about not reading notes. But for the first two dates, they didn't get anything like that ;-; For the second date, people who took the initiative to email got instructed to not look at their notes. For the first interview date, even when U of T was emailed to confirm if notes are allowed, they just said that notes are allowed in the 3 mins only and didn't say that they are forbidden in the 5 mins that follows.

[amiralangs]

Honestly, now that I think of it, it would be difficult for them to know if you glanced at your notes. Not everyone has their cameras in the same spot, and some people may look down for a moment to think. I think there would be a problem if you were reading your notes verbatim.