A 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 â from my opinion and a hiring standpoint â 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.Â
“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 dont like waltz into your interview all casual with an iced coffee. It just looks like you didnt 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
But others stood up for candidates getting their caffeine fix during an interview.
“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.
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.”
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.
Diane Gottsman, a national 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 bot
