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A cup of coffee might be a daily ritual for most Americans, but some career and etiquette experts say bringing one into a job interview could hurt your chances of getting hired.
A viral debate has erupted over whether an iced coffee sends the wrong message to hiring managers or if it’s simply part of a busy day.
Caitlin Wehniainen, a Florida-based corporate recruiter with 16 years of experience recruiting for Fortune 500 companies, sparked the conversation with a video in which she called out Gen Z job candidates for going to interviews with a coffee in hand.
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“When you show up with an iced coffee or an iced latte, it is perceived — from my opinion and a hiring standpoint — that this interview is just a stop on your list of errands for the day,” she said in a recent TikTok video that has amassed more than 17,000 likes and 5,000 comments.
“It looks like you went to Target, went to Starbucks, and now you’re stopping by your interview before moving on to the next thing.”
It looks “a little too casual,” Wehniainen added. “Save that for well before the interview or after the interview. Go and get one. But don’t like waltz into your interview all casual with an iced coffee. It just looks like you didn’t have time to finish your coffee beforehand.”
Social media users flooded the comment section, with many agreeing that it is “diabolical” to bring a wet cup dripping with condensation and rattling with ice into the room.
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“That generation has lost the art of professionalism,” one TikToker commented.
The viral coffee debate joins a growing list of workplace faux pas involving Gen Z, including bringing parents to sit in on interviews, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
But others stood up for candidates getting their caffeine fix during an interview.
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“An interview IS just a stop in my day,” one woman said on TikTok. “It’s not my whole day.”
“Are you expecting my whole day to revolve around a 30 min meeting,” someone else said.
“If showing up with a beverage like a coffee is an issue … that’s not a company that I want to work for.”
A man who said he was also a recruiter offered another point of view: “If you can show up early or on time with the iced coffee you’re already showing good time management.”
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Others pointed to the already challenging job market.
“If showing up with a beverage like a coffee is an issue … that’s not a company that I want to work for,” someone commented on TikTok.
Others said it’s more nuanced. One TikToker noted that, since Wehniainen recruits for Fortune 500 companies, interviews and candidates tend to be more “buttoned up,” but that won’t be the case everywhere.
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Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and the owner of the Protocol School of Texas, said it’s therefore best to “err on the side of caution.”
“Perception is everything,” Gottsman told Fox News Digital. “What one person may think is fine, another person may not.”
“I think bringing in that cup of iced coffee signals both a distraction, a level of comfort and casualness that may not be there,” she said.
“We’re not pointing the finger only at a certain generation,” Gottsman added, noting that workers of all ages make similar etiquette mistakes.
Beyond coffee, Gottsman said candidates should avoid other distractions or unprofessional impressions by putting away their phones, skipping overpowering fragrances, removing sunglasses from the tops of their heads and avoiding chewing gum.
As distracting as an iced latte can be during an in-person job interview, there’s another item that can irk hiring managers: the cellphone.
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“One job candidate not only placed her cellphone face up on the conference room table during our interview, she also repeatedly leaned over to read incoming texts and even began texting as well while I was speaking to her,” said one New York-based manager.
The interview ended early. The candidate was not hired.
“After your job interview, why not treat yourself to your favorite iced coffee drink as a treat for a job well done?”
If an interviewer offers coffee or water, Gottsman said, it’s perfectly acceptable to accept — but don’t ask for more than what was offered. And if candidates need a drink of water from a bottle tucked away in a bag, she recommends politely asking before taking a sip.
Gottsman also noted that interviews are a two-way street. While employers are evaluating candidates, applicants should also be deciding whether a company’s culture and expectations are the right fit for them.
She and Wehniainen agree that there is a time and place for everything.
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“After your job interview, why not treat yourself to your favorite iced coffee drink as a treat for a job well done?” Gottsman added.
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