Coffee chat
Also called: intro call, informal chat, exploratory conversation
When a coffee chat is the right format
Three common situations:
- Passive candidate first conversation: a candidate who isn’t actively looking won’t apply through a form. The coffee chat is the start.
- Senior candidate exploring fit: someone who could be persuaded into a search but isn’t committed yet. A coffee chat is a way to talk without the formality of “I’m interviewing for your role.”
- Internal mobility exploration: an employee considering a different team. A coffee chat lets both sides explore without making it official.
In all three cases, the candidate’s psychological commitment is lower than in a formal interview. That’s a feature, not a bug — the conversation surfaces things the formal interview wouldn’t.
How to run one well
A useful coffee chat has:
- Clear framing: “this is exploratory, no commitment from either side.” The candidate’s signals are honest because the cost of declining later is low.
- A short structure: 5 minutes on what the company does, 10 on what the role would actually be, 10 on what the candidate is looking for, 5 on next steps.
- A clear next-step: even if it’s “I’ll send you the formal job posting, and we’ll decide separately whether to start.” Open-ended exits damage candidate experience.
What it isn’t
It’s not a hidden interview. If the candidate later realises they were being assessed without being told, trust collapses. The conversation can produce signal without being framed as an evaluation, but it cannot pretend to be informal while actually being formal.
Where Join fits
Coffee-chat candidates can sit in Join’s talent pool with notes from the chat attached, ready to convert into a formal pipeline entry when the timing’s right. See the features page.
