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What does iced coffee have to do with a job interview?
The question gained attention after an American recruiter discussed interview attire and iced coffee in a TikTok video. The online debate was often framed as Gen Z versus older generations, but Eddy Ng, Smith Professor of Equity and Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University in Ontario, argues that the more useful issue is how people interpret professionalism and respect.
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An interviewer might see a cold drink as too casual or unserious. Another might read the same choice as confidence or comfort. Those reactions reveal an expectation about how a candidate should behave; they do not establish the candidate’s ability to perform the job.
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There is a practical distinction, too: spilling a drink or slurping during a conversation can disrupt an interview. That is different from treating the mere presence of iced coffee as a meaningful sign of competence or character.
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Can an early impression predict who will perform better?
Ng cites a 2010 study reporting that interviewers can form impressions within the first few minutes, sometimes before substantive questions begin. He also cites a review of job-interview research in which appearance, self-presentation and nonverbal behavior affected interview ratings more strongly than they predicted later job performance. These are summaries reported in Ng’s article; it provides no sample size or effect estimate for the first finding and no coffee-specific test.
The distinction matters: an impression can influence an interview rating without proving that the candidate who made the better impression will be more effective at work. The accessible account gives no numerical estimate for the effect of carrying iced coffee, and no validation statistic showing that a drink is a useful hiring signal.
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When can “professionalism” become a source of bias?
Words such as “polish,” “fit” and “professionalism” can sound like neutral standards, but they may be applied inconsistently. Ng notes that judgments can be influenced by age, race, gender and social class, while unwritten expectations can disadvantage candidates who have not learned the same social rules as the interviewer.
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Scope matters when citing broader hiring research, too. A 2012 meta-analysis by Thomas W. H. Ng and Daniel C. Feldman examined six common stereotypes about older workers across 418 empirical studies and 208,204 participants. Its subject was older-worker stereotypes, not coffee, first impressions generally or the effect of drinks in interviews. The only stereotype it found consistent with the evidence was that older workers were less willing to participate in training and career-development activities.
How can employers make interviews more consistent?
Use structured interviews: ask candidates the same questions and assess their answers against consistent, job-related criteria. This gives employers a clearer basis for comparing evidence of skills and experience, rather than relying on a vague impression of who seems to fit.
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- Set criteria before interviews. Define what a strong answer demonstrates for the role.
- Ask comparable questions. Give candidates the same core prompts so differences in ratings are easier to interpret.
- Evaluate job-relevant evidence. Focus on skills, experience and examples connected to the work, not assumptions about a candidate’s drink or familiarity with unwritten norms.
Ng recommends structured interviews as a way to focus on relevant evidence and reduce the influence of subjective impressions. The article does not provide numerical validity coefficients or a quantified comparison with other interview methods.
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What should candidates do if they are concerned?
Ng’s practical suggestion is simple: if carrying a drink might distract you or make you anxious about how it will be read, finish it before the interview. That is a low-cost way to avoid the issue—not evidence that candidates ought to be judged by the choice.
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As Ng puts it, “The goal of interviews is to find who can do the job, not who already knows every unwritten social rule about iced coffee.” Read his full discussion in The Conversation.
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