Job Interviews

I was reading a kerfuffle on line about people being judged for bringing iced coffee into job interviews.  Around 2004 I got a job in an office in New York. I had worked in recruitment in Sydney and part of my job was interviewing applicants.  I was surprised (not shocked, not offended but surprised) when candidates came in with their own water/coffee.  Not everyone,  but I would say at least a third of applicants did so. That would never have happened in interviews in Australia.  But I took it as a me issue,  me not being familiar with the New York norms.  And I guessed it was about self sufficiency.  We didn't have to offer them anything,  they were ready to go. 

Now people are saying that iced coffee is a no go.  The cups sweat,  they may leave marks on the furniture,  they make your hands cold and damp for the handshake,  you might forget it in the room and leave trash. In a tight market (which it certainly is for people I speak to in NYC) anything that is not a positive,  is a negative.  So if I notice and think about your coffee, or anything about you that isn't relevant to the job,  then you are standing out in the wrong way.  It's not about the coffee,  iced or not,  it's about what are you bringing into the room with you. 

I talk to applicants about having job interview outfits that are more conservative and bland,  because you don't want them thinking about your clothes,  you want them thinking about your thoughts.  I never wear skirts,  so I had a nice pair of black pants that I would wear to give presentations.  And a top that did not draw attention to my ample decolletage, because I did not want them to think about that either! Also,  I have a clean and easily accessible bag.  I don't want to have to hunt through it to get anything necessary out.  I want everything easily to hand. 

I remember going to a presentation where the woman who was in her 40's was standing in a very short skirt on the stage in front of us,  and when she sat down,  she had to wriggle several times to adjust herself.  That was not a good look. If you are going to sit higher than your audience,  you don't want a mishap!  

So it's not to squash your individuality,  or to make judgements about your beverages.  It's just you want to make an impression of how you will fit into the company,  and in the first instance,  it's better to err on the side of professionalism.  My suggestion - don't bring in the iced coffee.