Could an iced coffee make or break your next job search?
Picture it: A job candidate walks into an interview holding an iced coffee. Are they making a harmless beverage choice or signaling that they don’t quite understand the moment?
If you’re not terminally online (like me), you might have missed the whole thing. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you up to speed. I’ll also explain why this whole conversation really isn’t about coffee at all.
The scenario
From Inc. magazine:
The debate has been raging since last week, when a recruiter who says she has 16 years of experience with what she calls “super buttoned-up” Fortune 500 companies advised Gen-Z job candidates to slake their thirst before or after an interview, not during it.
“When you show up with an iced coffee or an iced latte, it says that the interview is just a stop on your list of errands for the day,” @caitlinrecruiter posted in a TikTok clip that quickly went viral. “It looks like you went to Target, you went to Starbucks, now you’re stopping by for your interview, and then you’re on to the next thing. It looks a little too casual to me.”
I suggest you read the entire article for hot takes on both sides of the issue.
What some people think happened
As usual on social media, many people blew this story way out of proportion and imagined heated conversations playing out in corporate offices around the country.
Recruiter: “Let’s talk about Jane.”
Hiring manager: “I was totally offended by her behavior. I would never hire her! Bringing an iced coffee was unacceptable. Next!”
Recruiter: “OK, I’ll …”
Hiring manager: “And another thing! From now on, I insist that you warn all candidates about this. In fact, we need a sign out front instructing people to pour out their drinks. Like TSA at the airport.”
Calm down, folks. I strongly doubt that scenario is happening anywhere.
I’ve seen a lot of people saying they wouldn’t work for a company that made a big deal about a candidate bringing an iced coffee to an interview. It would be a toxic environment. And I agree. If something like the above dramatization took place, it would be a huge red flag.
Given my experience sitting in hundreds of interviews over the years, I would suggest the following scenario is much more likely.
What probably happened
Recruiter: “What did you think about John?”
Hiring manager: “He was great, but we have several solid candidates. I must tell you, I was slightly distracted by him bringing that iced coffee. I got a too casual vibe from him. I would rather move Joe forward instead. He was professional; he’ll do well here.”
Pretty boring, but much more realistic.
Let’s go back to what the real recruiter who set this all off said: “It looks a little too casual to me.”
It’s also important to note that she was talking about clients at “super buttoned-up” corporations. Their expectations are going to be different than other more casual workplaces.
So, what should job candidates do?
My advice is simple: don’t bring the drink. Not because it should matter that much, but because interviews are already filled with subjective judgments. Don’t hand someone an easy distraction.
Interviewing for a job isn’t quite like anything else. It’s a performance. You’re trying to put the best version of yourself forward and part of doing that means limiting distractions.
That’s why you dress appropriately, come prepared with questions to ask and limit anything that could rule you out from getting hired.
Bringing a drink to your interview is something that won’t matter to many hiring managers but will to others. In my LinkedIn poll, a third of respondents said it was a red flag.
At the end of the day, is the risk worth the potential reward? The risk is that you’ll give the interviewer a reason that negatively differentiates you from another candidate. The reward is … drinking something that you could have at literally any other time of day. That’s not worth it to me, but your mileage may vary.
Is a lot of interviewing somewhat silly and performative? Yes. It always has been and probably always will be.
A deeper meaning to all this
At first, I just figured this boiled down to generational differences and selective outrage over an insignificant issue that would become a social media meme we’ll probably be joking about for years. Like millennials and avocado toast. Silliness.
However, I think the online reaction does go a bit deeper. People are super frustrated by the job search process. It has become a grind, and candidates are starting to push back.
The idea of not getting hired because you brought an iced coffee to an interview feels like the last straw. This quote shows a lot of the angst:
“We are already navigating ATS systems, AI screening, keyword matching, automated assessments, multiple rounds of interviews, take home assignments, personality tests, ghosting, and rejection emails that tell you absolutely nothing,” Albanery Badia wrote on LinkedIn. “We finally make it to the human part of the process and now we’re analyzing the fact that someone walked in holding a $6 iced coffee?”
Not leaving your coffee behind feels like an act of defiance — regardless of how many people would actually do it.
Generational differences are certainly at play here as well. Many hiring managers were trained in a version of professionalism that emphasized formality and conformity. Some younger candidates are entering the workforce with different expectations about authenticity, flexibility and performative norms.
To me, both sides have good points here. Too many hiring managers overthink their process and nitpick small details. On the other hand, presenting yourself well and being prepared for an interview is important. Candidates need to consider all of that.
These tensions aren’t going away anytime soon.
The bottom line
The iced coffee probably shouldn’t be a big deal. But until interviewing becomes less performative and subjective, candidates are wise to assume that small signals still matter.
I’m not an iced coffee drinker. I’m not even a coffee drinker. Yet, I wouldn’t bring my matcha or chai — iced or hot — into an interview. It’s just too much of a potential distraction.
Getting hired is hard enough as it is. Don’t make it even more difficult.
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