A debate over whether candidates should bring iced coffee to a job interview has spread across social media, after a recruiter argued that the drink can make an applicant appear too casual.
Caitlin Wehniainen, who posts as @caitlinrecruiter on TikTok, said she had noticed Gen Z candidates arriving at interviews with iced coffee or iced lattes in hand. She argued that the drink could suggest the meeting was merely another stop during a day of errands.
Her comments, posted on 16 September, prompted a sharply divided response. Some users agreed that candidates should leave coffee behind before entering an interview, while others questioned why a drink should be treated as a sign of poor professionalism.
Critics of the advice said an interview should be judged on a candidate’s qualifications and performance rather than whether they preferred their coffee hot or cold. Others argued that carrying any drink could create an unnecessarily informal impression during an important meeting.
The discussion has since moved beyond TikTok, with users debating whether hot coffee would be more acceptable, or whether applicants should bring nothing at all.
For now, the iced coffee question has become an unlikely test of workplace etiquette, reflecting a wider disagreement over how much traditional expectations of professionalism should influence the hiring process.
