{"id":17545,"date":"2026-09-23T20:46:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17545"},"modified":"2026-09-23T20:46:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T20:46:51","slug":"gen-z-bringing-iced-coffee-to-job-interview-career-experts-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17545","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z Bringing Iced Coffee to Job Interview: Career Expert&#8217;s Take"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"tw:border-b tw:border-slate-200 tw:pb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"tw:mt-0 tw:mb-1 tw:text-2xl tw:font-heading\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"tw:font-normal tw:font-serif tw:text-base tw:marker:text-slate-400\">\n<li>Some Gen Z candidates are showing up to job interviews with iced coffee.<\/li>\n<li>A TikTok on the subject spurred divided comments and response videos.<\/li>\n<li>Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster, breaks down the issue and other faux pas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Is it appropriate to show up for a job interview with an iced coffee in tow?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The question has divided social media since last week when a TikTok video posted by recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen gained traction.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, Wehniainen, who has 16 years\u2019 experience in recruitment and works primarily with Fortune 500 \u201csuper buttoned-up corporations,\u201d says Gen Z job candidates should stop bringing iced coffee to their interviews.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\"\/>\n<p>\u201cIt looks like you went to Target, then you went to Starbucks, now you\u2019re stopping by your interview, then you\u2019re onto the next thing,\u201d Wehniainen says. \u201cIt looks a little too casual to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tiktok-video-leads-to-question-is-it-acceptable-to-bring-iced-coffee-to-a-job-interview\">TikTok video leads to question: \u201cIs it acceptable to bring iced coffee to a job interview?\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Wehniainen\u2019s stance sparked a slew of opinions and more than 5,000 comments on the post itself:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cBut an interview IS just a stop in my day. It\u2019s not my whole day.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAs a millennial, can we please let go of the weird rules boomers and Gen X imposed on us? Interviews are stressful enough.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThis comment section proves that generation has lost the art of professionalism.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cYall are complaining but there\u2019s absolutely no reason to bring your coffee to a 30 min to 1 hour interview.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s not about coffee it\u2019s about professionalism lol. Surprised people aren\u2019t getting that.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additionally, the post prompted countless response videos from other social media creators \u2014 and even led to some comedic takes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A sketch by @ariisaysso highlights the potential absurdity of a job candidate who brings iced coffee to an interview:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-traditional-interview-etiquette-don-t-show-up-with-an-iced-coffee\">Traditional interview etiquette: Don\u2019t show up with an iced coffee<\/h2>\n<p><em>Entrepreneur <\/em>asked Vicki Salemi, a career expert at <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.monster.com\/\">Monster<\/a> with 15 years\u2019 experience in corporate HR and recruiting, to weigh in on the contentious iced coffee debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraditional interview etiquette has generally been to arrive without a drink,\u201d Salemi says. <\/p>\n<p>She doesn\u2019t recommend candidates show up with their beverage of choice, but she also doesn\u2019t think walking in with an iced coffee or other (non-alcoholic) drink should disqualify someone automatically. <\/p>\n<p>The candidate\u2019s demeanor, communication, preparation and engagement with interviewers reflects their suitability for the role \u2014 not the cup in their hand, Salemi notes.<\/p>\n<p>Still, candidates who want to do everything in their power to make the best first impression should probably follow typical interview protocol: Toss the drink before entering the building.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-other-major-mistakes-can-hurt-an-interviewee-s-chances\">Other major mistakes can hurt an interviewee\u2019s chances<\/h2>\n<p>What\u2019s more, Salemi cautions against a few other missteps that can turn hiring managers off much faster than an iced coffee. <\/p>\n<p>For instance, when Salemi worked in corporate recruiting, one candidate brought in a \u201cbig, messy sandwich\u201d he intended to eat in the conference room between interviews. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe second interviewer arrived before the scheduled time while the candidate was in the midst of eating,\u201d Salemi recalls. \u201cAwkward. Eat your meal before or after your interview, not during it, even if there\u2019s a scheduled break.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Being rude to someone during the process, even if they\u2019re not part of the core interview team, and arriving late without communicating an unforeseen delay, will also derail someone\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when you crush your interviews as a strong candidate, major faux pas can be what interviewers remember most about you, rather than your stellar skills and experiences,\u201d Salemi says. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"tw:border-b tw:border-slate-200 tw:pb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"tw:mt-0 tw:mb-1 tw:text-2xl tw:font-heading\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"tw:font-normal tw:font-serif tw:text-base tw:marker:text-slate-400\">\n<li>Some Gen Z candidates are showing up to job interviews with iced coffee.<\/li>\n<li>A TikTok on the subject spurred divided comments and response videos.<\/li>\n<li>Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster, breaks down the issue and other faux pas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Is it appropriate to show up for a job interview with an iced coffee in tow?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The question has divided social media since last week when a TikTok video posted by recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen gained traction.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, Wehniainen, who has 16 years\u2019 experience in recruitment and works primarily with Fortune 500 \u201csuper buttoned-up corporations,\u201d says Gen Z job candidates should stop bringing iced coffee to their interviews.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/business-news\/the-concept-of-bringing-iced-coffee-to-a-job-interview-is-dividing-generations\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Some Gen Z candidates are showing up to job interviews with iced coffee. A TikTok on the subject spurred divided comments and response videos. Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster, breaks down the issue and other faux pas. Is it appropriate to show up for a job interview with an iced coffee in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-green-brands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}