Holiday gifts for job seekers and workers
For the AJC
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Given the state of today’s economy, it would be easy to take a Grinch-like attitude for the holidays. No gifts, no parties and no cheer.
Photos by Leita Cowart / Special
Susan Vanyo, CEO and founder of Rejuvenate Spas, releases stress with soothing music in an Alpha Pod at her downtown business.
Susan Vanyo, CEO & founder of the Rejuvenate Spas in the Suntrust Building downtown (foreground), in the yoga room. There are 7 yoga classes a week. Left is student Baerbel Freudenthaler and the instructor Lauren Fecarotta (center).
Leita Cowart/Photographer
Taurin McCullough, senior sales associate at Mori Luggage at Lenox Square shows off the Victorinox/Swiss Army Trevi with security Fast Pass briefcase, which is an airport friendly laptop briefcase that you don’t have to take your laptop out of to go through security.
While waiting for your better instincts to kick in, and they will, consider this: The U.S. market has shed more than 1.2 million jobs this year. Your favorite businessmen and women could be looking for work. Or, they could be working long hours in an attempt to save companies, jump-start industries or just stay afloat.
Now is the very time when a thoughtful, well-chosen gift could make a difference. If you’re going to spend money, make it a gift that has value. Give something that workers or job seekers can really use. Here are a few ideas.
Rejuvenation
In the midst of a life crisis several years ago, what Susan Vanyo craved most of all was a place to get away from the world and take a nap. Not finding it, she created it in Rejuvenate Spas.
Vanyo has geared the spa concept of rest and relaxation toward the stressed-out worker and business traveler. She opened a spa in the SunTrust Plaza-Garden Offices in downtown last November, making it easy for workers to slip into one of her private napping stations for a power nap, to indulge in a massage over lunch or take a yoga class after work.
“People think they will be tired afterward, but studies show that people who unplug and take a nap are much more productive when they go back to work,” Vanyo, CEO and founder, said. Clients can spend 30 minutes in a sleep pod, complete with aromatherapy, soothing music and dry, warm heat for $19.
The spa offers gift certificates in dollar amounts or for specific services, such as the alternative lunch break of a 30-minute headache massage/30-minute nap for $75.
“We can be a great addition to a corporate wellness program. We give companies bulk discounts when they purchase our services for their employees and we take our mobile chair massage or chair yoga onsite to them,” she said. “Finding ways to de-stress is really what workers need.”
Inspiration
Twenty years ago, Jim Huling read Steven Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and it changed his life in such a profound way that he’s read it once a year ever since.
“If we ever needed advice like ‘Be proactive,’ and ‘Put first things first,’ it’s now. The wisdom is timeless and if applied today in this changing market would change the lives and careers of everyone who read it,” said Huling, CEO/founder of the Jim Huling Group, a leadership-development consulting firm, and author of “Choose Your Life.”
Two other books that Huling has read recently and would recommend as inspirational gifts are “Crossing the Unknown Sea,” by David Whyte, a book that looks at work as a pilgrimage of identity; and “Influencer: The Power to Change Anything,” by Kerry Patterson. “This is a book about how to influence others to make changes and how to enable them to adapt. It’s so practical and suitable for every leader at every level who needs to know how to influence others,” Huling said.
Mitch Leff, of Mitch Leff & Associates, an Atlanta public relations firm, recommends “The Tipping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell. It inspired him to focus his public relations services and target his approach to media. “This book is particularly timely now because as companies cut back on advertising and marketing [budgets], they need to focus their efforts on the tactics that will best achieve their sales and revenue goals,” Leff said.
Travel gear
Business travelers need to be more organized and prepared than ever in today’s challenging airport environment. A laptop case that lets you breeze through security is at the top of the business gifts list for Taurin McCullough, senior sales representative for Mori Luggage and Gifts at Lenox Square. “The new Victorinox [Swiss Army] Trevi Security Fast Pass [$259] carries all your business essentials, but allows you to leave your laptop in the case during X-ray screenings, which eliminates one aggravation,” McCullough said. Other companies have variations on this style.
“Any of the light-weight, carry-all pieces of luggage make another great gift,” he said. You want a bag that is 22 inches or less in height so that it will fit in the overhead compartment. That way you know you or your business traveler will arrive for that big presentation with a clean shirt and tie.
For the international traveler, you might consider an alarm clock that can synchronize the time anywhere in the world.
Technology
As the social media manager for California-based GlobalEnglish and writer of three popular business blogs, including Job Search Strategist, Jim Stroud said that he couldn’t function without his smart phone. “A Web-enabled phone [like the iPhone] allows job seekers or workers to download important business information anywhere, anytime and respond to it,” he said. Those who use an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) tool on their computer and link it to their phone gain mobile access to their favorite Web sites. “There are quite a few Web sites that will send an RSS feed to your cellphone. One I use often is Plusmo,” Stroud said. “Imagine finding out about a new job while you’re in the grocery store and being able to respond immediately?” Or managing a timely project while staying with family for the holidays?
Education
What workers really need these days are the hard and soft skills to keep them successful in the work place. Whether it’s a computer certification course, Quick Books (accounting), business writing or leadership skills, the best places to shop are the continuing education departments of nearby universities. Most offer gift certificates for their professional workshops, seminars and courses, which come in a range of prices.
Career or life coaching
“Offering to pay for a month or two of professional coaching would be a valuable gift and an awesome investment in someone,” said Bob Reissiger, principal of Reissiger Coaching, an executive and life coaching firm in Atlanta. Coaching can run from $100 an hour and up. A resource that lists coaches in a variety of specialties is the Georgia Coach Association. “Coaching wouldn’t be an inexpensive gift, but the expense would be returned 10 fold,” Reissiger said.
“What’s more important than investing in ourselves? After all, we are our own product and how well we do in our careers depends on how efficient and productive we can be in these challenging times.”
Feel-good presents
This might mean tickets to a basketball game, concert or museum exhibit — something recipients would enjoy, but wouldn’t buy themselves in a tight economy — or it could be a donation to someone’s favorite charity.
This year, GrayRobinson, a Florida law firm, made the decision to forgo its annual holiday party for members and clients in lieu of giving $150,000 to local food banks, homeless shelters, the American Red Cross and the MacDonald Training Center Inc.
With the economy having a harsh impact on families, president Byrd F. Marshall Jr. believes that giving back is more important than a lavish event, and his coworkers and clients agree. He wrote, “We encourage every organization that has the means to consider a deeper level of outreach as we enter this holiday season.”