Is it such a big deal if an applicant brings a coffee to an interview?

If there is one thing that almost every job requires, irrespective of industry or seniority level, it is professionalism. Employers want to hire people who are capable of taking their role seriously, or at least looking like they do at the more critical moments. An employee can only contribute to the success of a company by demonstrating a commitment to that success.

This is something that interviewers always screen candidates for, and it is one of the easiest things to get right—or catastrophically wrong. Something as simple as not conforming to a dress code or forgetting to ask appropriate questions at the end can instantly mark an interviewee as someone who shouldn’t be hired.

It may be true that conforming to these arbitrary rules of workplace etiquette can sometimes seem overly harsh or unfair, and there are definitely employers who will take things too far. However, one of the more valid reasons that they exist at all is that they demonstrate a person is capable and willing to follow basic rules, even when they are not necessarily explicit. We all have to conform to some degree if we want to be considered a worthy part of the average workplace.