I thought this was going to be about actual 'gifts'.
I haven't interviewed for a traditional job in a long time, but I sometimes used to bring something with me - milk and cookies, brownies, flavored popcorn, etc - as a bit of an icebreaker. I didn't always do it, but it helped to keep things a bit more casual, sometimes gave the others in the group something to snack on while a couple others of us would have a discussion, and what not.
In one case, I brought some milk and cookies to a smaller company, and it happened to be the owner's birthday. He was pleased as punch. :)
That's what I thought too when I saw the title. I didn't think anyone brought actual gifts to interviews, but it's cool to know that someone has! I wonder if anyone would have a negative reaction to bringing actual gifts.
I've never had a 'negative' reaction - the receptionist who saw me at the milk/cookies interview didnt know what to do with me, so she took the milk to the break area, but that was it.
A small tray of cookies (milk's too hard to do) or popcorn (we have palsiespopcorn.com right near the house - easy to pick up), I've found, is generally a nice icebreaker, especially if you have an afternoon interview.
I've also found these to be a really nice thing to bring to new consulting projects for kickoff meetings - few people ever turn down a piece of fudge :) I don't do it all the time, but enough to keep people happy.
I haven't interviewed for a traditional job in a long time, but I sometimes used to bring something with me - milk and cookies, brownies, flavored popcorn, etc - as a bit of an icebreaker. I didn't always do it, but it helped to keep things a bit more casual, sometimes gave the others in the group something to snack on while a couple others of us would have a discussion, and what not.
In one case, I brought some milk and cookies to a smaller company, and it happened to be the owner's birthday. He was pleased as punch. :)