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The cold drink stirring up a viral debate about professionalism

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  • A recruiter's TikTok video has set off a viral online debate about whether it's appropriate to bring an iced coffee to an interview.
  • While some commenters agreed that bringing an iced drink into a job interview was unprofessional and too informal, others argued it was an arbitrary way to judge a candidate.
  • Wehniainen later joked on LinkedIn that she had accidentally started a national debate and her comment section had become a battlefield.
  • As workplace norms evolve, she said it's easy to look at younger generations and think: "In my day that was different."

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It's yet another debate dividing generations and the internet.

A recruiter's TikTok video has set off a viral online debate about whether it's appropriate to bring an iced coffee to an interview.

"My Gen Z candidates are showing up to their interviews with iced coffee, iced latte in hand," US-based recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen said in the video.

"It is perceived, from my opinion, my hiring standpoint, that when you show up with an iced coffee or an iced latte that this interview is just like a stop on your list of errands on the day."

"It looks a little too casual to me," she added, advising candidates to finish their drinks before or after meeting with prospective employers.

While some commenters agreed that bringing an iced drink into a job interview was unprofessional and too informal, others argued it was an arbitrary way to judge a candidate.

"Are you expecting my whole day to revolve around a 30 min meeting?"

"It's not about coffee it's about professionalism," another commented.

Wehniainen later joked on LinkedIn that she had accidentally started a national debate and her comment section had become a battlefield.

Amy Slade-Symons has been a career coach for around 10 years and worked in talent recruitment and HR for more than a decade before that.

With Generation Alpha beginning to enter the workforce in the coming years, that could soon become five.

As workplace norms evolve, she said it's easy to look at younger generations and think: "In my day that was different."

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 6.6 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is SBS News's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingHappiness
SBS Newsas they published this story 8.7 10 79 52.3
Mundane Readneutralized from SBS News 6.7 8 79 52.3

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