What to take with you?

[MakeYourself]

I was just planning on taking a small notebook with my notes and questions in it for my visitation weekend. But recently I've been hearing that it's good to take copies of your CV? Is this really necessary? I feel like it will make my load much heavier (something that would be a nuisance considering I'm there all day for lunch and dinner, I don't really want to carry a giant folder with me).

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[noyoo]

I haven't carried my cv with me. No one have asked me for a copy...most of these weekend are them trying to get to know you and assess you...they would have already read your file...

If u want to be at ease...just carry a copy or two

[ltodd]

I only bring a notebook and hardly ever write in it. I wouldn't worry about bringing any supplemental materials.

[Heather Hoffman]

I'm bringing a very small, slim case (about the size of a file folder) with my notebook, notes/questions about the program, and two articles by profs in the department with my annotations. I'm tempted to bring my laptop, as it's extremely thin and would fit in there, but I also think I'll just want to pull it out all the time but then I won't take it out because that's way rude... so I'll leave the laptop at home (thus elmimating that internal debate) and just keep my iphone on silent.

That said, I will be there all day, it's gonna be hard to go a day without my laptop... but honestly I think it's necessary.

Oh, I'm also bringing small items that make me calm and happy, like breath strips, for example - gives you the nice calming flavor of mint without the rude chewing thing you could do with gum.

[coonskee]

I carried a nice leather folder with my notes, a notepad, and my CV in it to my interviews (one afternoon in a weekend-long event). Nobody needed to see my CV, but I liked having it there just in case (be prepared!). I left the folder in the hotel room for the rest of the weekend, though - no need lugging it around for non-interview events!

[snes]

I also carried around one of those leather folders with copies of my CV and notes, but I ended up using my small spiral notebook the most to take notes, just because it was so convenient and easy to carry around in my hand everywhere.

[MakeYourself]

Thanks for the replies.

It seems like most of you didn't really need to have your CV with you?

I'm hoping to just take my small notebook - it's perfect because it fits in my purse so I don't have to carry it around the whole time. Taking a CV means upgrading to a large portfolio that I'm sure will become a nuisance when we go out for dinner and whatnot.

I'm leaning towards not taking a CV but if anyone can convince me that it's crucial to take some copies with me then please do!!

[crazygirl2012]

I haven't been carrying a notebook or folder, and so far it has worked just fine. From what I've seen, most people don't carry that stuff. Some, mostly clinical candidates, do. If it makes you more comfortable and you can keep it subtle and professional-looking, go for it.

[snes]

Yeah, if I count every professor I've interviewed with so far, that would be 14 interviews and I've never needed to produce my CV even though I always took it just in case. It's true, most people I've seen weren't carrying much of anything. But I really really relied on my little notebook to jot down answers to my questions; interview days are such whirlwinds, you think you'll remember everything they say but you won't. Or maybe that's just me--I'm an obsessive note-taker (I even took a note or two while talking to grad students at the dinner/social event... ).

[eisoj5]

I've got a recruiting weekend next week, and I plan to take my (as-yet unpurchased) tablet for note-taking during important sessions. (Also an obsessive note-taker here!) Plus, I can load my CV and other documents I need (flight itinerary, email from my student host, etc) on it without shuffling a bunch of papers around all the time.