I would never bring food or drink to a job interview.

However, the debate has been distorted and a bit strawman'd. The original question was "would you bring an iced coffee to an interview for a Fortune 500 job?"

I'd agree that most interviewers probably wouldn't care but also most interviews are not for Fortune 500 companies.

also working for fortune 500 companies is extremely overrated anyway

I was holding a (hot) coffee in the interview for my current job tbf lol

Culture fit is part of the process for sure

Why blow it up at all? If it doesn't fit in with the company culture, just don't hire them. Making it a big deal, like yelling at the candidate simply reeks of corporate entitlement. Plus, are you really telling me yould reject the golden candidate if he or she is exhibiting some subjectively questionable personal judgement? Like turning away Gabe Newell because he didn't shave before the interview, or Steve Jobs because he didn't turn up in a tie? Really?

If you want to do the candidate a favor, maybe tell them on the way out, and if their behaviour is so repulsive, they'll eventually get the idea and adjust, or find a company to which they are a better fit.

Ha, I've been following this whole thing and it's just so funny to me. It's such a younger generation thing, maybe I'm older and so I've just "played the game" a lot. The whole thing is should you be able to take your drink of choice? Of course! However, would I do that? Hell freaking no I wouldn't.

Going into an interview from the first glance they're judging you to see if you're a good fit. Granted you're also judging them but let's be honest, it's pretty lopsided. If I go in I want them to see my best foot forward, it means I'm putting on a show for the next hour (or more nowadays) so that you want to hire me. I'm not bringing in anything that alters that view of me. Iced coffee, hot coffee, nothing. Maybe a neat folder of a couple spare resumes and a notebook I can take notes in. I plan ahead, I'll usually be at a coffee shop before the interview anyway (it helps make sure I'm there on time, get there 30-60 mins ahead of time and chill at a coffee shop), and then walk over for the interview.

Bringing a drink or anything extra is just something that now they're thinking about, and you don't want them thinking about you in that way. It's something else that you put on the table, you're taking sips of, for cold drinks it's condensing and leaving a ring, and then you have to ask for a trash. All benign things but again, you're in their house and why would you want to bring any negative attention at all to them? I've had interviewers who were obviously just having bad days say no to me for arbitrary bullshit already, why add to that? It all seems like an unnecessary gamble for no reason at all.

Now if they offer coffee or a drink when you get there (hopefully they do) I'm all for it. They offered, it's free game. Go wild. Just don't get picky.

I know this is a wall of text but I'll also say that as an interviewer I don't care at all if they do, as long as they're professional and it doesn't get in the way. If it's distracting, you're shaking the ice, or slurping out the last bits, or whatever, yeah it's going to distract me. I'm not going to be annoyed because you brought coffee, but I will be annoyed if you aren't appearing to take an interview seriously.

And now unfortunately bringing it after this whole social media thing is basically wearing a target on your... front? face? that says "I'm making a statement" and will absolutely label you a troublemaker to any HR person (because you know every HR person has seen this). It's also probably tainted it for 5-10 years as they'll keep remembering this.

"Fitting into a company culture" is an enormous barge-sized excuse to practice every form of discrimination.

Does the fact that the coffee is iced have anything to do with your decision? Would you bring hot coffee to an interview?

I am a hiring manager for a small engineering team. I don't think I would notice as long as there wasn't extra attention drawn to the drink for some reason.

It's a stupid reason to not hire someone, it's a stupid reason to not get hired. Best to avoid the whole thing. People are so worried about how they should be able to do whatever they want, but people have been passed over for less. If you can afford to miss out on a job, go nuts.

How dare the plebs drink.

Of course a drink of choice should be allowed. They are employing someone for their skill set. What they drink and when they drink it is irreverent (as long as its not alcohol or blood). Its just another control tactic, and tells you everything about the company.

This should not be a conversation for any org that appreciates understanding their talent, and the value of trust & motivation.

How many higher ups are hired at a fancy drink and a whisky or two. I bet the logic is not applied the same across all employees.

No and no.

as long as there wasn't extra attention drawn to the drink for some reason

If you accidentally spill coffee everywhere, you've just brought a lot of extra attention to it. Best not to risk it.

Sorry, they went with another candidate.

Coffee-based discrimination?

Because that’s the discussion we’re having here

strawman'd

Straw-manned. Apostrophes are going extinct from over-hunting and misuse.

''''''

Here have a few, I've got a captive breeding population going.

Bringing coffee in is a power move if you're employed already. It says "my time is just as valuable as yours and I intend to make the most of it regardless of what you think." As someone who just interviews to keep his skills sharp at this point, it's not the worst thing you can do so long as you don't make a big deal out of it.

I'd be more offended if they require you to prepare a slide deck of some useless example you probably made up anyway. That's working for free and I won't do it.

No, that was funny

If you can, undelete that comment

Iced coffee is fine, but cold brew is definitely a red flag.

Thanks! I just replied to the wrong comment. I meant to reply to OP

lol, still, it was pretty funny

Whatever you bring is part of your "costume" for the interview. This is true for your clothes, any binder or notepad you bring, and yes even a drink. It all gets measured (even if subconsciously) against the company culture and job requirements. For customer-facing roles, where an iced coffee would be inappropriate, it's probably a bad idea to bring one.

One thing that other commenters (and the article) are missing is they are making the assumption that an interview is one-way. That you truly want the job, and you're just doing whatever it takes to get there. And if you're unemployed/desperate, that might be the case.

But if you're interviewing them as well, it's really important to locate the bullshit right away. If you won't be a good fit, getting the job will be bad for everyone. This is especially true if you're leaving a decent job elsewhere. If an iced coffee is a deal breaker, is that the culture you want to step into?

I've seen places that refuse to hire men with long hair, regardless of style. You can imagine what the rest of the culture is like. Going in with long (professional-looking) hair can bring out the problems faster and in a way that no other interview tactic would. Getting rejected here is dodging a bullet. Same with a coffee.

Having needed to hire for engineering teams, I think the iced coffee would be a big deal if the position was client facing and wouldn't be if it was internal.

The answer for me of "who defines professionalism" is the client. If the effective end client is me, I don't care. I'm pretty lax and chill.

However, if I'm hiring for a client facing role and you bring an iced coffee, you are saying that you don't know or don't care about client expectations and that is a red flag. I work in an industry where it is still the expectation to wear a suit and tie to certain client meetings. If you can't play the game with me, how can I trust you to play the game with the client?

Oh yeah, long hair. I wear mine in a braid at work, down to my lower back. I had a job that I was hired for, met all the requirements but someone fairly high up saw my hair and was like "Nope, let him go, men don't have long hair." The guy who hired me told him "Ok, seeing as I hired him and YOU want him gone YOU can pay him 6 months salary, for no work, and he's gone today." Kept that job for 5 years, the higher up that wanted me gone? Gone that summer, 3 months after I started.

What about a slice of pizza?

if that is my company, i'm not hiring you if you bring starbucks iced coffee. that's not because i don't like iced coffee, but because you clearly lack a brain. who would pay $8 for that overpriced stuff.

It's fine we'll just turn some hyphens sideways.

Sure, that|s a great way to save apostrophe|s.

You can’t just do that, there’s a lot of paperwork involved.

I'm glad somebody else understands this. Normies are so fucking easy to game because they often care more about appearances over anything else. Just gotta put on a good costume and play their game against them.

I dream of the day we get over this stupid lust of appearances and start focusing more on actual value and abilities. Anybody can get dressed in the morning, not anybody can do what I do when it comes to work and abilities.

Can't break the stupid norms if we just keep confirming to them. I used to think I was born too late, but the older I get the more I realize I am way more fit for this current generation. They managed to rally the masses I never could.

Does the iced coffee do anything with the work involved? Then it should have no weight on the interview. I'm glad these fucking clowns are finally being called out for how stupid they are.

Dress codes like that are racist. As a Native American I should be allowed to have my hair and clothing in a traditionally Cherokee style if I want to and if your clients have a problem with that then they are racist fucks who can go fuck themselves.

At the end of the day “the customer is always right” doesn’t mean I should be expected to sell my scruples for your ROI.

Hey I say go for it. You're risking your chance at the job, but it's not my life.

The employer is also risking their chance to hire me.

A little blood is ok for a night shift job or work-from-coffin.

If you have the means and ability to pick your jobs and that's the hill you want to die on, more power to you.

No, I've got a guy who can easily get me that kind of stuff. Semicolons, demicolons, tax-free umlauts, sawed-off em dashes. It's all available for a paltry sum, just don't ask him how he gets his stuff.

Bring it in an insulated travel cup and as long as it doesn’t have offensive stickers you’d negate most of the negatives the article presented.

The "honestly ask questions about the organization during the interview" advice is such bullshit. Your questions can and will be used against you. If you are sniffing around after a toxic work culture, a toxic work culture will sniff that out and reject you.

It reminds me of all the straight men who read a gay sex columnists advice about the importance of communication in a relationship then think its OK to ask their wife how they would feel about a three-way with her sister.

If you are sniffing around after a toxic work culture, a toxic work culture will sniff that out and reject you.

Isn't that exactly the point?

Depends on your preferences.

Do you like to sleep inside and eat food you bought at the grocery story?

or

do you enoy waking up in the outdoors and finding breakfast in the dumpster behind Dunkin Donuts?

But you make a good point. If I'm going to work in a toxic environment, I might as well not risk not working in a toxic environment by pretending I won't work in a toxic work environment.

I wasn't talking about hair? I feel like we're starting to mix appearance requirements with non-appearance presentation.

And I don't care about hair other than it would be considered "neat" in the culture it came from. Given the multicultural mix of where I work, people wear a wide variety of different hair styles including afros, turbans, beards, and marks on their forehead. Even worked with a non-federally recognized Native American engineer who wore his hair long in a ponytail.

You just said that iced coffee was enough to let you know someone wasn’t serious about client expectations and that you still work at a place that requires a suit and tie on occasion. I’ve never worked somewhere that had a dress code, even one that didn’t apply all the time, that didn’t mention hair.

Regardless, I find it hard to square the idea that iced coffee wouldn’t fly but an Afro would. But maybe I just live around a lot of racist people.

People are ignoring the Fortune 500 part because it is meaningless. Walmart is a Fortune 500 company.

As someone in a position to hire, I don't give a shit if you bring something to drink as long as it isn't booze. Show me you know your stuff and that's what really matters.

You're just suggesting preemptive compliance. Go ahead and bend over backwards for the first employer to give you a few minutes of attention. The same one that will give you the boot the second they smell a hint of dissatisfaction with your shit pay and toxic work environment.

For the companies that mind you bringing an iced coffee, you should be glad if they reject you. If that is part of their criteria, they probably aren't someone you would want to work for. I didn't like the people who were obviously putting on an act to try to be what they thought I wanted them to be during the hiring process. Culture fit is important. Two people with the same skills will not be equal candidates if one is contrary to the rest of the employment group. Also someone who will not fit in will not be able to fully use their skills due to social conflicts. Soft skills matter more in some positions/companies than others.

I live in an area with a lot of various immigrant groups, so the hair requirement gets limited to neat and tidy without specifying length. There is also a lot more leeway if you aren't seeing a client or you're out in the field.

It sounds like you live around a lot of racist people, but also an unresponsive legal system. The number of successful lawsuits in my state regarding discrimination have generally beat out any desire to measure hair in the industry I work in.

I think it depends on the situation. My interviews typically lasted all day. Lunch was included and I believe at least once I was actually offered coffee. Personally I wouldn't bring mine. I don't consider it a burden to go without for one interview. Plus I usually had some kind of notebook with me with examples of my work and a copy of the interview schedule that was provided to me as well as other documentation. It all becomes a bit too much to carry if you add coffee. But if it's a more casual atmosphere, no biggie. I mean, I wouldn't likely show up in a suit for a job at the Mc Donald's drive-thru.

On the other hand how does the coffee drinker act. Is this person placing a sweaty drink container on the interviewer's desk? Slurping loudly during an interview question?

So I think it's situation dependent.