Gen Z’s iced coffee habit in interviews could be costing them jobs, recruiters warn: ‘It isn’t really about coffee’

Gen Zers have blown open a whole new debate on job etiquette—and this time, it’s over iced coffee.

Last week, recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen posted a TikTok discussing how Gen Z candidates have been showing up to job interviews with an iced coffee in hand.

But instead of seeing it as just a drink, she believes it gives the impression that the interview is just one “stop on your list of errands for the day.” In her opinion, it’s “too casual” for buttoned-up corporate opportunities, and she advised young workers to get their caffeine hit before or after the meeting.

Some commenters argued that interviews are realistically just one part of their day and it’s absurd to “pretend we aren’t human,” while others “couldn’t believe” that people were disagreeing with standard “professionalism.” @caitlinrecruiter Coffee & interviews … finish it beforehand 😅 ♬ Rain on the Spool – Jazz Rocks Triangle And it didn’t take long for others to chime in.

Content creator Josh Lora, also known as @tellthebees, posted on TikTok that people are trying to rewrite the reality of professionalism to their liking—and that those who bring coffee into an interview won’t get the job.

He called out those who are “willing to die on the hill that the iced coffee is a symbol of your rebellion,” yet believe they should face no consequences: “That is not the way that the world works.” Another creator, Miss Redacted, said that working in corporate America comes with “unwritten rules”—no matter how trivial they look to most.

And the debate has even made it past the internet; a TikTok video reportedly shows a poll inside of an elevator at one TikTok user’s “extremely corporate office job,” with 92% voting it’s unacceptable to bring iced coffee to an interview, while only 8% felt it was fine.

Workers are divided over whether the drink is harmless or a breach of professional etiquette—and recruiters are split, too.

While most believe bringing an iced coffee to an interview doesn’t rule out a candidate’s chances, some still argue it violates unspoken interview etiquette.

And while Gen Z is bringing new expectations to the workplace, this benign habit could potentially impact their odds of landing a job.

“An iced coffee tells an interviewer very little about whether someone can do the job, which is why this debate has struck such a nerve,” Ashley Daugherty, market manager at recruiting company Randstad Professional, tells Fortune.

“It isn’t really about coffee.

It’s about who gets to define ‘professional.’” How hiring experts feel about the iced coffee debate Hiring experts agree a latte shouldn’t outweigh a candidate’s qualifications—but it could still have an impact.