There are two times when it's best to give: when you have the resources to do so and when you have none. This holiday season, jobholders and jobseekers alike can experience the joy of giving because it's not only possible, but also constructive, to give generously regardless of income.

That's because the wellspring of meaningful giving isn't your wallet, necessarily, but your sense of gratitude. And gratitude benefits the giver as well as the recipient.

"You can't be sincerely grateful and feel like there's anything wrong or missing in your life in the same moment in time," says psychiatrist and business adviser Dr. Mark Goulston, Xtraordinary Outcomes, Los Angeles.

So if you're jobless, cashless, directionless or hopeless, take out a pen and note card. "Think of someone you're grateful to who stood by you during tough times, who stood up for you when you couldn't defend yourself or who stood up to you and protected you from doing something foolish," Goulston advises.

Your gift to that person, yourself and perhaps the world is a "power thank-you" consisting of three parts: an expression of thanks for something specific he or she did, an acknowledgment of the effort it took and what it meant to you personally.

The third part addresses outcomes as well as your feelings.

"Rarely do people receive a power thank-you. Most people feel pulled instead of thanked," Goulston says.

Therefore, thanking people sincerely and specifically may help the jobless by "deepening their relationships with people who might be in a position to help," he adds. "The key is, you can't go at it with an ulterior motive. If you don't do it from a pure place, the other person will feel manipulated."

Anyone can write a power thank-you, just as anyone can use LinkedIn to write unsolicited and widely broadcast letters of recommendation for a worthy employee or jobseeker.

"When you write a letter of recommendation for someone, it gets published to their LinkedIn network and yours, which may open some doors," says Jodi Glickman, founder of the business communication firm Great on the Job, based in Chicago.

In the spirit of holiday giving, she suggests that you comb through your networks for folks who are out of work or otherwise need help or encouragement.

"Let me know how I can help" is not a thoughtful offer. Instead, Glickman says, "Ask, 'How can I open up my network to you? Who can I introduce you to? What companies are you targeting?'"

Providing a glimmer of hope is good, but offering up the tools to light a fire is better.

(c) CTW Features