A check is nice. So is a good pair of earrings. But if you really want to make sure your favorite graduate is headed off to college or to a first real job with the best foot forward, think about a career-minded graduation gift.

My kids are getting older, and I’m of the age where I go to a lot more graduation parties than baby showers. My favorite gift is wrapping up two personal finance gems – “I Will Teach You to Be Rich,” by Ramit Sethi, and “Get a Financial Life,” by Beth Kobliner.

The books lay out the basics – spending less than you earn, putting money aside for emergencies, the pitfalls of easy credit – the things that many young people don’t learn until they’re mired under thousands of dollars of credit card and student loan debt and can’t buy a car or a house.

Graduates aren’t always thrilled when they tear open the wrapping paper. (Maybe they were expecting keys to a car?) But their parents like what they see in the titles. The books might help launch the graduate on a path off the family sofa and toward financial independence.

Books alone, however, won’t do the job. Every graduate – whether marching across the high school or college stage – will benefit from learning how to network. It’s a skill that can’t be taught too early. I drill my high school senior and her friends on the importance of telling everyone they know that they’re looking for summer jobs.

I also point out that they already know people – from moms to teachers to neighbors to local business owners – who could provide advice on career choice, direct them to job openings or write recommendations, if only they’d ask.

To get her favorite graduates started off on the right path, Antoinette Roberson gives a business card holder.

“Graduates are starting to think professionally,” said Roberson, interim executive director of career services at Texas Southern University.

She said her gift inspires graduates to print business cards and give them out at job fairs, internship programs and industry events – even if the student is graduating from high school and still has college ahead.

Another great gift option is a leather-bound portfolio to carry on job interviews. Or a nice pen.

“Recruiters scrutinize everything,” she said, from the polish (or lack of it) on your shoes to whether your jewelry is too flashy. “A nice pen says a lot about a person.”

So does your interviewing suit.

A gift certificate

Houston publicist Patricia Bernstein recommends a gift certificate to Ann Taylor or Banana Republic for female graduates. For male grads, she recommends a Jos. A. Bank gift certificate to buy a business suit.

Last spring, Bernstein took her daughter, Jessica, shopping so she’d have some suits in her closet when she launched her career.

That gave the newly minted lawyer a head start on a collection that now includes a small closet full of suits – along with matching power heels – so she is well dressed when representing clients in Austin.

“Urban Outfitters just doesn’t cut it for lawyers,” said Bernstein, referring to the chic but casual clothing at the popular retailer.

Marsha Murray, president of the staffing firm Murray Resources, likes to give a leather-bound copy of one of her favorite inspirational books, the 1948 classic “As A Man Thinketh,” by James Allen. She puts a hand-written message inside and includes a good pen.

“It’s a professional gift with a personal touch,” Murray said.

This gift paid off

Houston employment lawyer Laurence Stuart said his parents’ graduation offering didn’t seem like much of a gift at the time. But in hindsight their decision to cut him off financially was the best graduation present he received.

“It forced me to get serious about my life and about having a career instead of a job,” said Stuart, who worked as a bartender and waiter for a year while he applied to law school and saved money.

“It made me a much more serious student,” he said, “because I was doing it for myself instead of for my parents.”