Anyone have/use personal business cards? (employees, apply, tips, interviews)

[cityhopper]

I plan on attending more networking/social functions related to my line of work in 2010. My goal in these scenarios is to market my skills and build networking team in preparation of branching out on my own in a few years. I was considering using personal business cards to hand out during these functions but not really sure how to design it so that is still is professional but not focus on a specific employer.

Has anyone done this? Does this make sense? Any thoughts on including a picture? I would appreciate any insight and recommendation of places to use to actually make/print the cards. I do have MS Publisher but most of their templates are really generic and I am not the most artistic person.

[annerk]

I do, and I use them a lot more than I ever thought I would.

Mine simply have my name, cell number, e-mail address, and mailing address. (I don't give out my home number and home address, I use a box.)

No photo, no art, nothing. I used an easy to read sans serif font for them.

[kodaka]

Yep, I've got my own business cards. I have Avery "Linen Textured Two Side Printable Clean Edge Business Cards" Product #8873.

My thoughts:

The 'clean edge' product is important. You don't want the 'perforated edge' look, it's a dead giveaway that they are homemade.

Don't use MS Office templates. Microsoft has attempted to copy Avery's formatting but they are always a little off. You may get the text on the top row of cards to align but further down the page the formatting slips. To be accurate, download the Avery software (free) and use that to make your business cards.

Keep it simple. Unlike laser printing, inkjet printers really saturate the paper when producing graphics and pictures. The Avery cards I have are sturdy but would still probably warp and pucker with a heavy application of ink--another dead giveaway that they are homemade (not to mention all that ink is expensive!). Additionally, the more basic the design is, the more universal their use. If you start adding graphics and maybe a job title, you start to limit yourself to a particular niche, which may be counterproductive to having the cards in the first place. My cards are black ink-only, with my name, my professional affiliations, email address, and phone number, surrounded by a simple line graphic that matches my resume. I can give them to anyone. I can move even without needing to reprint.

Print only what you need. The beauty of making your own is that you can print one at a time. The Avery software allows you to print an entire sheet, or just one card on the sheet. The software also lets you apply a design to an entire sheet or create different designs for each card on the sheet. This would let you 'play around' with different card designs, or print different cards for different audiences, if you prefer. Maybe you want to print half of your cards for use as a 'job seeker' and the other half as a 'freelancer' or 'entrepreneur'.

A few years ago I had cards produced at Kinko's instead of making my own. It wasn't terribly expensive, perhaps $25 for 1000 cards, but didn't offer any great advantages over what is available by making your own now. They don't produce them in-house, they outsource them (to the phillipines I think), even basic designs that hardly need a layout. So there is some time delay in production, of about a week, I think. I ordered the minimum number of cards that could be produced and it was still about ten times more than I needed. The cost includes 'basic' redesign--like if you want to change your phone number or email address--and you are given the electronic file to keep, to return if/when you want that redesign. They gave me my file on a 3.5" diskette....which I'm sure no one can use now because that technology is obsolete.

[cityhopper]

Thanks for the tips. I think the Avery option will work well and give me flexibility to change/update the card as needed without being stock with a box full of cards.

[kodaka]

One other thought. My business card initially was based on---and maybe you'll think this is totally cheesey--but Danny Ocean's cards in Ocean's 11. There is one scene where he hands someone a card. It is plain white with just "Daniel Ocean" printed in the center, in plain black text. Nothing else. So classy.

Of course I have to add a bit more to mine because I want a recipient to have my contact info. But I've still tried to keep that simple classic look.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by kodaka

One other thought. My business card initially was based on---and maybe you'll think this is totally cheesey--but Danny Ocean's cards in Ocean's 11. There is one scene where he hands someone a card. It is plain white with just "Daniel Ocean" printed in the center, in plain black text. Nothing else. So classy.

Of course I have to add a bit more to mine because I want a recipient to have my contact info? But I've still tried to keep that simple classic look.

That's exactly my point of view as well.

[Greyhnd]

I would put a few phrases/words on it, otherwise they will never remember what you do/what type of work you are looking for/what your skills are. Not much, but something..."technical writer", whatever.

[TKramar]

I have business cards provided by the company I do taxes for.

But if you want your "own" cards, there's not much wrong with having your name and a phone number on a card with nothing else. I had some printed once, some offer I saw online...the only other thing I included was "Do the Math"...because that's where my interest was--doing the math for someone else, keeping the books, doing their taxes, whatever. This was before I got involved with a national chain.

[chibiuk]

Do it! Personal business cards are really useful when networking to go to a freelance basis. Mine have my name, skill, email and number. No need for an address since people are not likely to use it right away. Simple is definitely better.

[bande1102]

Yes, my husband and I have used them for years, but ours are more of a marketing tool as opposed to just contact information. They are actually mini resume cards. By that I mean they have name, job title, phone, and website on the front. The website is a very simple site with his resume (minus identifying details), links to his media interviews and awards, and links to his volunteer work. The name of his website doesn't include his real name so it's unsearchable by his current employer or employees. However, it is something that's easy to remember. In other words, the only people that know about the site are the ones who have his card. Very important b/c he wants to control who has access to his info. On the back the cards have a key phrase or a few action words from the resume. These have worked extremely well for us.