# What to order at an interview lunch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284 "2009-03-04T16:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/1 "2009-03-04T16:18:48Z")
I just got a call from my boyfriend, who was scheduled for a second job interview with a company he really wants to work for. When he arrived for the interview, the interviewer was tied up on a phone call and asked if they could conduct the interview in 20 minutes, over lunch. My boyfriend knows he shouldn’t order anything messy, and should avoid sandwiches or other finger-food, but he’s not sure what to order. Is a salad too effeminate? And how do you eat lunch and conduct a job interview at the same time? I told him I’d start a thread and text him any suggestions. We’d really appreciate any advice you can give us - quickly! ---
**Author:** ![Alastair\_Moonsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@Alastair\_Moonsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alastair_Moonsong)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/2 "2009-03-04T16:22:20Z")
I would suggest one of those fancy salads with walnuts, mandarin oranges, etc. Knife-and-fork food, not _too_ fancy, but at the same time not boring. Minimal mess too. Just my two cents. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/3 "2009-03-04T16:24:42Z")
I suppose I would order whatever the restaurant specializes in. What kind of restaurant is he going to? If the interview is at a sandwich shop the interviewer can hardly fault him for ordering a sandwich. I think it would be more important to not come across as a fussy eater. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/4 "2009-03-04T16:29:48Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > I suppose I would order whatever the restaurant specializes in. What kind of restaurant is he going to? If the interview is at a sandwich shop the interviewer can hardly fault him for ordering a sandwich. I think it would be more important to not come across as a fussy eater. He’s not sure where they’re going. He just called again and I passed along your (both of your, English needs a proper plural “you”) advice; he said he’ll order something similar to what the interviewer(s) get, but he’ll focus on the conversation, not eating lunch. 🙂 He’s so nervous that he’s not hungry anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/5 "2009-03-04T16:31:53Z")
Shrug, business meetings over meals or non-alcoholic drinks are common in many cultures. Food and drink help people relax. He should eat whatever catches his eye, although I recommend staying away from the lobster 😛 If the interviewer mentions your bf’s food it’s just as a way to break the ice, make chitchat, help him relax - nothing to fret about. The plural you in English is either “you guys” or “y’all.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/6 "2009-03-04T16:34:46Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The plural you in English is either “you guys” or “y’all.” Don’t forget “youse”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/7 "2009-03-04T16:35:04Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > (both of your, English needs a proper plural “you”) Either “your guys,” “you guys’s,” or “yall’s” will serve. Try to avoid the archaic “you’n’s”. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/8 "2009-03-04T16:36:58Z")
Hey, nothing says “I’m confident, strong and can handle anything” like ordering tequila at lunch. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/9 "2009-03-04T16:40:07Z")
If the interviewer orders first, he can order something similar. If he orders the exact same thing, he may come across as pandering, though. He shouldn’t hem and haw, as he might come across as indecisive. He can’t go wrong with chicken, in whatever form except fried. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/10 "2009-03-04T17:00:50Z")
Thanks for all your advice! The interview is now in progress. My boyfriend is under strict orders to call me the moment it’s over and let me know how it went, and I’ll post it here. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/11 "2009-03-04T17:06:39Z")
Don’t order Rocky Mountain Oysters, or dog. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/12 "2009-03-04T18:19:01Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Hey, nothing says “I’m confident, strong and can handle anything” like ordering tequila at lunch. I’ve heard this! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/13 "2009-03-04T18:29:08Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > My boyfriend is under strict orders to call me the moment it’s over and let me know how it went, and I’ll post it here. You’re forgetting something… What he ordered? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/14 "2009-03-04T18:38:57Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > He can’t go wrong with chicken, in whatever form except fried. Yeah, some vegetarians are squicked out about their fellow diners eating mammals, but are less revolted by someone else eating fish or chicken in their presence. That would be one of my concerns, that the interviewer is vegetarian or vegan, but if so, then s/he’d probably pick a vegetarian-friendly restaurant. I wish your boyfriend lots of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/15 "2009-03-04T18:41:15Z")
Soup is a good choice. No chance of talking with your mouth full. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/16 "2009-03-04T18:41:32Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > He’s so nervous that he’s not hungry anyway. Make sure he does eat though, it will be noticed if the food never leaves the plate or just gets moved around. Tell him to relax - I am sure he eats and talks with you all the time, it is no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/17 "2009-03-04T18:45:29Z")
You know, this thread makes me think - if there should ever be an opportunity to take someone on a lunch interview as a hiring manager, we are going to Fresh Choice or some other all you can eat buffet style place where you build your own meal for a fixed price. and the candidate is going through the line first with me watching to see how s/he solves his/her predicament 🙂 Diabolical and tasty too! ETA - or maybe a very ethnic restaurant where the menu is not in English and there are no pictures 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/18 "2009-03-04T20:52:59Z")
It’s too late, but tell your boyfriend never to season his meal without tasting first. There is a story that Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear navy, would reject anyone for doing this, since it was a sign of acting before testing the situation. I know someone who was in the navy in the nuclear program who claims he had lunch with Rickover, but I have my doubts. I’ve been the interviewer far more than the interviewee in this situation, and my recommendations are to order something in the middle of the price range, can be eaten with a fork and knife easily, and is unlikely to spill and stain (no spaghetti.) No alcohol. No appetizers or soup, since there usually is time pressure to get back. When I interviewed for the job I have now, I said going to the cafeteria was good. It was a way of getting an impression what the place was like. It also showed me that the cafeteria had really, really good food. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/19 "2009-03-04T20:54:13Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > You know, this thread makes me think - if there should ever be an opportunity to take someone on a lunch interview as a hiring manager, we are going to Fresh Choice or some other all you can eat buffet style place where you build your own meal for a fixed price. and the candidate is going through the line first with me watching to see how s/he solves his/her predicament 🙂 But you get to go back there. It gives the candidate a chance to escape. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284/20 "2009-03-04T21:10:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I know someone who was in the navy in the nuclear program who claims he had lunch with Rickover, but I have my doubts. Allegedly, Rickover told Congress that he would personally interview every officer candidate for the nuclear program. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-order-at-an-interview-lunch/488284.md?page=2)