Story perspectives

TikTok Warns Against Iced Coffee at Job Interviews

By Drooid · Sep 25, 2026, 2:03 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen warned candidates not to bring iced coffee to job interviews, calling it casual.
Her TikTok video earned over 420,000 views and sparked a viral debate on interview etiquette.
A comment with nearly 21,000 likes asked “Do you guys need employees?” while defending iced drinks.
Branding specialist Benjamin Chipman suggested sipping once and avoiding placing the cup on the interviewer’s desk.

History

Historical Context

In 1994, under CEO Louis V. Gerstner Jr., IBM dropped its traditional dark-suit uniform, joining 497 of the 1,000 leading U.S. firms that had already adopted Casual Friday—a practice traced to Hewlett-Packard’s 1950s-60s “Aloha Friday.” The shift signaled a broader move toward informal workplace norms that now extend to interview-room etiquette, such as beverage policies.

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Story summary

U.S. recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen warned candidates not to bring iced coffee to job interviews, calling it casual.
Her TikTok video earned over 420,000 views and sparked a viral debate on interview etiquette.
A comment with nearly 21,000 likes asked “Do you guys need employees?” while defending iced drinks.
Branding specialist Benjamin Chipman suggested sipping once and avoiding placing the cup on the interviewer’s desk.

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