Note-Taking in the Employment Interview: Effects on Recall and Judgments

Although note-taking in the employment interview is highly recommended, little research has examined its effects. This study investigated the effects of note-taking styles, review of the notes, and content of the notes on participants' cued recall of information and decisions made from videotaped employment interviews. Note-taking increased recall accuracy but not judgment accuracy. Being able to review notes resulted in increased judgment accuracy for those taking conventional-style notes. The content of the notes also had important implications for conventional note-takers, suggesting some benefits of recording notes using the key-points style. The findings suggest that the act of note-taking may be more important for memory and legal reasons than for improving the decisions made by interviewers.