Interviews over meals are tricky. I’m not just talking about formal job interview type lunches. If your manager or even a client invites you to lunch, it’s really an interview too, isn’t it?
This is not about your gang at work going out for pizza on a Friday. Those meals are meant to be fun and casual. If you spill your iced tea or end up with pepperoni in your hair, it just becomes fodder for the Christmas party.
Accepting a lunch invitation is like accepting a new project. Scope out where you are going and who will be there. Have a few ice breaker questions in your back pocket and chew a piece of gum on your way over.
I arrived at a lunch yesterday and the person I was meeting was already there and had ordered a beer. It was tempting but instead, I opted for Diet Coke, citing my waist line. Truthfully, while it was a benefit to my waistline, it was really a way to keep myself from getting light headed and giggly.
The menu was harder. How do you choose something tasty and minimize the risk of looking like a goof while I eat? Carrying a Tide Stick is not enough. Prevention is the way to go. Trust me.
Here are some things to avoid:
- Any pasta or noodle that may require slurping.
- Things that come with a red sauce.
- Be careful with food that you eat with your fingers. This may sound silly but only choose this option if the filling is solid or holds together. I attempted a club sandwich yesterday and no matter how well I managed to wrap my fingers around those little triangular layers, they fell apart resulting in a shower of bacon and tomato pieces. Ugh.
- Burgers. They look so good but ketchup and mustard running down your arm leaves a) a nasty residue and b) a sketchy impression.
- Food with a lot of bit and pieces. Poppy seeds are a real killer. The person across from you will be staring at your right incisor instead of making eye contact. Even if they are gracious enough to tell you that there is a seed in your tooth (which they won’t), it’s almost impossible to dig it out without floss.
So good luck and bon appetit!
Recruiter's Couch 
In the “leave your fingers off the food” department, I’d like to nominate ribs as one of the WORST interview foods ever. I recall a young man who ripped the meat off the bones with his over-sized canines, then chewed with his mouth open so that I could see the charred flesh stick to his front teeth. Did he get the job? I don’t think so.