Giving holiday gifts to those who've helped with your job hunt -- Career Center Blog

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November 30, 2010

Giving holiday gifts to those who've helped with your job hunt

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By Michelle Goodman
NWjobs

A friend recently asked, "What do I get or do for all the folks who helped me this year with job hunting favors? Do I even need to get them anything?"

As with many professional development questions, the answer is, it depends.

[Photo by jimmehomeschoolmom]

During the course of networking your way into a job, you probably accepted the introductions, job leads, and professional tips of dozens of people. In most cases, a personalized, hand-written card expressing your thanks and wishing them well this holiday season will suffice. Most people won't expect such a thoughtful gesture. Your effort alone is certain to leave a positive lasting impression.

But then there's the person who spent four hours editing your resume without charge, the person who coughed up job lead after job lead for months on end, and the person who tossed you the job lead that led to your current position. I'm a firm believer that these folks deserve something a bit more than a card. But what to give them?

This question can best be answered by looking at what you should not give them:

Don't get overly personal. Unless it's a close friend, giving clothing, cologne, and the like isn't appropriate in a professional setting. Instead, stick to more neutral gifts like books, movie tickets, food baskets, and gift certificates for music and apps.

Check whether your contact's employer has a no-gifts policy. Some large corporations do. So do many media outlets and government organizations. That said, you may be able to skirt an organization's no-gifts rule by simply baking your contact a batch of cookies that they can share with their colleagues.

Don't offer to take your contact to dinner. Many of your professional acquaintances will not see this as a gift but as a business obligation or chore. Most people barely get enough quality time with their families and BFFs as it is. The last thing they want to add to their 2011 roster is dinner with a friend of friend's former coworker they once met at a party three years ago. If you want to give a contact a nice meal out on the town, give them a gift certificate they can use at their own convenience, with their own loved ones.

How about you? How do you plan to acknowledge those who've helped you grease the job hunting wheels this year?

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com