Would you reject a job candidate who brought an iced coffee to an interview? Your answer may not matter. In any case, someone on the internet thinks you’re wrong. And career experts say she’s at her limit.
Phoebe Gavin, a Washington, D.C.-based career and leadership coach, says the current iced coffee debate on social media platforms across the web reflects “everything that’s wrong with hiring today.”
The conversation began with a Sept. 16 TikTok video posted by a company recruiter in which a Gen Z candidate brings an iced coffee to a job interview. Her take: Drinking iced coffee during an interview “looks a little too casual” and could hurt your chances of getting the role.
The video, which had been viewed more than 465,000 times on TikTok as of Friday afternoon, sparked heated debate and quickly spread to other platforms. Some commenters on the original video argued that bringing iced coffee had nothing to do with a candidate’s qualifications, arguing, “What does that have to do with a candidate’s work ethic, experience, or intelligence?”
“It’s not about coffee, it’s about professionalism,” another agreed with the recruiter.
Gavin said this conversation reflects a broken job market because it shows “how skewed the power relationships are in favor of employers.”
In her view, it is “grossly unfair” for recruiters to prioritize something as trivial as a drink over a candidate’s qualifications. “You spent hours and hours on these (job) applications,” she says. “You have 10 years of work experience and a master’s degree. So you can’t get that job because of coffee?”
“Battle” over workplace norms
In some ways, the iced coffee controversy is actually about “the unfairness of the hiring process,” Gavin said.
Many job seekers feel hopeless and exhausted after months of searching. More than a quarter of unemployed people, or 27%, have been looking for work for more than six months, according to August data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For those struggling to find work right now, “the idea of being rejected because you’re thirsty is just infuriating,” Gavin says.
In another way, the iced coffee controversy represents a “generational war” between Gen Z and older workers, said Katherine Fisher, LinkedIn’s vice president of communications and career expert.
“Gen Z brings a different perspective to work,” Fisher said. They bring “a little bit of their personality” to the office and are more likely to “challenge some of the company’s norms.”
Despite the buzz online, there’s no hard evidence that Gen Z is more or less likely to bring an iced coffee to a job interview than anyone else. They may simply be more likely to rebel against workplace rules and standards that seem arbitrary or outdated to them, Fisher says.
But what seems like a reasonable pushback to Gen Z may seem unprofessional to older employees, says Jamie Close, a corporate recruiter at Hirequest, a staffing and recruiting firm.
For some hiring managers, Close says, seeing young candidates bring iced coffee to interviews reinforces workplace stereotypes: “They’re going to have a Gen Z mindset. They’re going to be lazy. They’re not going to fit in.”
What experts say you should do
From Close’s perspective, whether a candidate brings drinks or not “at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me as a recruiter.”
“If they’re a great candidate, I don’t care if they brought iced coffee,” she says.
But other employers may have a different opinion, so it’s better to keep your iced coffee in your car, Close says. “I don’t want distractions. I don’t want to spill anything. I don’t want a lot of noise,” she says. “We want to focus on you and your interest in the job.”
Fisher agrees. “It’s kind of ridiculous” that iced coffee could be a deciding factor in whether or not a candidate gets a job offer, but “in a job market this competitive, you really need to think about these things.”
Setting yourself up for success means staying focused on your skills and experience and avoiding anything that could detract from your interview performance, she says. For example, you don’t want to be late or misspell your interviewer’s name.
In short: “Don’t take any chances,” Fisher says.
Find “the perfect place for you”
In Gavin’s view, rejecting an applicant because they brought an iced coffee is less about the candidate and more about the interviewer and the work environment they represent. For one thing, she says, it could indicate that they’re polite or place too much importance on appearance.
If you’re picky about your next opportunity, take that as a sign that the company isn’t right for you, Gavin says. “I’m glad they took you out of the process of showing up with a drink.”
If you’re in a position where you have to consider every opportunity (as many job seekers are), be sure to ask lots of questions about the workplace culture, says Gavin. “I don’t know if you can use that information to say ‘no’ to a position, but at least you can go into it with your eyes open,” she says.
Fisher says keep in mind that job interviews are a two-way street. You are evaluating the company just as much as the company is evaluating you. Job seekers should go into each interview with a clear idea of what kind of work environment they’re looking for, she says. Whether that’s a traditional office with a buttoned-up, formal dress code, or a relaxed office where hoodies and jeans are welcome. Perhaps you are trying to strike a good balance between the two ends of the spectrum.
But “if you feel like you really have to play a certain role and it’s not comfortable for you, it might not be the right place for you,” Fisher says.
She added that job seekers should be given “a little bit of leeway” when it comes to interviewers. “They’re probably very nervous. They’ve been through it. It’s a tough job market right now, so get past those superficial things and really focus on, ‘Will this person be successful in this role?’
