The art of the $5 Starbucks card

            

After Sally's first job after college*, she had an informational interview with a friend who shared a nugget of advice that Sally has found extremely helpful.  It's inexpensive, you can find it easily and it's impact is often much greater than its initial (low) cost.

What is this pot of career gold?!

It's a $5 Starbucks** gift card. Let us explain.  

Perhaps you've had an informational interview and you weren't able to treat someone to lunch or coffee.  Or, maybe you just find yourself in a scenario in which someone has done something nice for you in regard to your career. 

Your post-favor follow-through is your time to shine!  Bust out that fancy stationery, write the best darn thank you note imaginable and slip a $5 Starbucks gift card in there (with a line like "Sorry I was unable to treat you to coffee ~ please enjoy a cup or two on me!").  You may not get an immediate response, but this small token of appreciation goes a long way - trust us, we've seen the positive chain reactions the gesture can lead to!  You may be thinking that this task could be a royal pain in the arse or, perhaps it seems like a pricey way to thank a (relative) stranger.  Consider this: if you treat 5 people to 5 gift cards, that's only setting you back $25...which is a lot less money than the cost of being unemployed and/or without a network, isn't it?

Any career-related words of wisdom you'd like to share?

*a fabulous internship for which she was able to carpool daily with her sister and have nonstop dance parties all the way to work (we promise it was safe); thank you, Sara!

**Okay, so it doesn't have to be Starbucks.  It could be Peet's.  It could be a mom-and-pop shop that you know your informational interviewee happens to love.  Starbucks is just so ubiquitous (hello, SAT word) that it's hard to turn down, especially if you're talking to people who live out of your immediate area.

Images via Starbucks