People Can Help Someone Else Find a Job This Holiday

The generosity of people never surprises me - especially during hard economic times. This holiday season is shaping up to be a tough one, so we all have to be more willing to share our own good fortune. Don't assume that sharing your good fortune only means sharing money with people. With all the job losses on Wall Street, you can also pay kindness forward by helping other people find a job this holiday season.

My husband and I were in line recently at a major retailer known for cool cotton attire. The line was long with only two sales associates managing the floor and the register. It appears the store and their retail affiliates were offering a significant sale - a 30% discount to holiday shoppers who had retrieved coupons online.

Well, we did not have one of those online coupons with the 30% discount and expected we would be paying full price for the items we were purchasing.

After a few minutes in line, one holiday shopper who was exiting the store, having made her purchase, asked who among us did not have coupons. I spoke up. She offered her discount coupon and told us we should "Pass it on" since someone had passed it to her. The coupon offering the 30% discount at any affiliate was "for multiple uses by friends and family".

All of us in line thought that was nice of her to do that and so I quickly agreed to pass it on to the shopper behind me who was also grateful. Even the cashiers promised to keep the coupon and pass it on to other people who came in after we did.

Although no one really said it at the time, I think I know what people were feeling. Everyone there understood the country is in an economic downturn and so wanted to share the coupon or pay their good fortune forward this holiday season. So, if we are all in the same boat, why not help other people this holiday season?

So I was thinking, with over a million people looking for work and massive job losses on Wall Street this year so far, chances are you know people who might be unemployed and looking.

What would it take for you to help other people by:

- sharing information on places that might have jobs

- offering a personal lead on a job

- promising to help someone look out for them

- following up if and when you hear about a job opportunity

- helping people connect and network with someone you know

- recommending them to your company if there are jobs available

- picking up a job application for them

Chances are - it won't take much out of you and you could be making someone's day or helping them have a better holiday for doing it.