Conversation with Robyn Freedman Spizman

Question: How did you get the title "Super Mom" and "Super Shopper"?
 

Robyn:   For more than twenty years, I have had the pleasure of reporting nationally on many of talk and radio shows throughout the country, as well as on NBC affiliate WXIA TV’s weekend morning news in my weekly segment called “Been There Bought That” and Star 94’s The Giftionary Show with Cindy and Ray.

Over the years I earned the titles of "Super Mom" and "The Super Shopper", not because I'm some super woman, rather I believe there are super ways to get things done and I love being informed!  My goal has always been to share helpful and practical tips that consumers don't know and help others discover a smarter, better, brighter way of doing every day and not so every day routines.  Everyone loves to save time, money and energy, so I dedicated my career to finding information that will help us all do just that!

Question:  You also report on gift giving, the latest products and top toys and are referred to as "The Gift Guru" from coast to coast.  You are well known as a gift giving Diva…why did you write a book on gift giving?
 

Robyn:  I love to shop and make smart purchases, but I don't like to waste time.  I also enjoy giving meaningful gifts and express my feelings to those people in my life who mean the world to me.  Every day we have wonderful opportunities to give gifts to each other and many of those gifts don't even cost a penny.  A kind word or a thoughtful deed are both free and fabulous!  When I wrote the book, When Words Matter Most: Thoughtful Deeds and Kind Words For Every Occasion, (Crown Publishers), my goal was to share creative ways you can give gifts and do deeds that make someone else really feel special. Spreading kindness is the greatest gift we can give one another.

With many live appearances on television over the years, I also have gotten to know a wealth of products, resources and the top toys for kids that make incredible gifts and wanted to share them.  For over two decades, I have studied gift giving and learned a great deal about which gifts endure time, become a treasured memory and which ones collect dust!

When writing When Words Matter Most, I asked hundreds of individuals what were the most memorable and inspiring deeds, words or gifts they’ve ever received and their inspiring answers are in this book.  From happy occasions to sad ones including sorrow and tragedies, I captured ways you can make a difference and really touch another person’s life in an extraordinary way.

Question: You also co-authored a book to help women find meaningful jobs. Why did you write that book?
 

Robyn: I had the pleasure of being the featured guest author at a Women For Hire career event, which is America's #1 job fair for women. While signing my books, I noticed how many women were organized and ready for the job search process, while others were fumbling for business cards, didn't make eye contact and were in great need of some guidance.  Dedicated to helping women succeed, I teamed up with Tory Johnson, the creator and CEO of Women For Hire, and Lindsey Pollak and we co-authored the ultimate guide to getting a job.

Women For Hire: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Job (Perigee Trade Paperback) is a book written about the unique concerns facing career minded women today, and we share timely advice, insider's secrets and tips for getting noticed and landing a job. With unemployment at an all time high and more than 650,000 women receiving undergraduate degrees yearly, the job market is more competitive than ever. This book is an insider's guide to what every woman needs to know. It's also the perfect gift for any woman who is job seeking and wants to succeed. See www.womenforhire.com and click here to purchase book.

Women for Hire - Featured on Regis & Kelly

The creators of the #1 career fair share insider's secrets to finding a job! From Women For Hire, this is the ultimate make-it-happen-now guide packed with straight-arrow advice to get a job. Women For Hire reveals what every job hunting woman must know, including:

• Networking Necessities for the Shy to the Gutsy
• Real Answers to Resume Dilemmas
• Smart Interview Strategies
• One-Minute Mess-Ups to Avoid at All Costs
• Tips on Negotiating Salary and Benefits
• Overcoming Obstacles Faced by Women Job Seekers
• How to Keep Your Job Once You Land It

Plus: interactive exercises, resource lists, and real-life anecdotes

Question: We all have good intentions, so why do some gifts completely bomb?
 

Robyn: Many people give their idea of a great gift, something that reflects their taste versus the other person's taste. This is a huge mistake in gift giving. Just because you love it, doesn't mean they will! Everyone has a favorite color, taste preference, etc. A gift that bombs or makes you wonder what they were thinking is a gift that has nothing to do with you at all. If you love milk chocolate and they give you bittersweet - that's a miss. If you're on a diet and they give you chocolate at all - that's thoughtless. Great gifts also make a memory and preserve time in some way. Memorable gifts become treasures that last forever in our minds and our hearts. Gifts that are forgotten in time are gifts that are simply token gifts versus tokens of your affection for someone. You can definitely tell the difference!

Question: Tell us about your latest career book for women, Take This Book to Work?
 

Robyn: If you want it, you have to ask for it. That's true in life, but especially at work. Asking the essential question is a skill, one that any woman can master quickly. It is a powerful tool that can get women more of what they want in the workplace. My latest career book for women, that I co-authored with the brilliant founder and CEO of Women For Hire Tory Johnson, is all about the right questions to ask and how to ask them. Take This Book to Work lists questions that every woman should master, with expert advice on each question, about topics such as compensation and benefits, more responsibility or a promotion, credit or recognition, work schedule flexibility and more. We created a highly user-friendly guide jam-packed with all the cue cards and guidance that every woman needs to approach her next request with courage, confidence and success. Ask for it at the bookstore or visit www.womenforhire.com!

Question: What makes Dear Daughter…with Love from My Kitchen so special?
 

Robyn: Everyone takes comfort in some special type of food or a handed-down recipe, often something our mothers or grandmothers made. As our lives become more hectic, I believe it is important to recollect these special times and recreate them for our own families. I co-authored Dear Daughter...with Love from My Kitchen with the talented Diane Pfeifer to give any mother, mother-in-law or grandmother the chance to create a special keepsake for their daughter or granddaughter and show how to bake love into every meal. Can you think of a more memorable and lasting wedding, birthday, anniversary or holiday gift? Relive all of the memories you've shared in the kitchen and teach the next generation that love is the final ingredient in the recipe of life! Let this keepsake blank cookbook be the start of creating one of the most cherished gifts you'll ever give. See www.deardaughtercookbook.com to order!