Business Cards - Benefits of Using Them

Business cards are great - they allow you to connect with people and give you the opportunity to leave a lasting impression, through your personal brand summarized on your card along with your contact information. Meeting new people and making new connections is a vital component of both career search and career growth; quite often, acquirement of a job and advancement in a career comes down to who you know not what you know. Basic human error, as always, complicates this! People make mistakes, get caught up in the moment, and forget names, people, and conversations. A business card serves as a reminder of who you are, what your brand is, and your contact information.

"A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and 

most important sound in any language." - Dale Carnegie

What I mean by personal brand is the style, design, and purpose of your business card. Sure, you could have a plain-as-day business card with just your name and contact information on a white background, but often it is the style and design of the business card that outlines the purpose of it. It reflects your own, or your company's values, and differentiates yourself or your company from others. Is it visually appealing? Is it simple, yet elegant? Or is it cluttered with information? Do you include a picture of yourself on it, or a quote that summarizes your personal brand? Or is it a standard business card that all employees at your company use? Is it too professional, or not professional enough?

This is a great example of a very-unique card... it looks like Google!

Here are some benefits of using business cards:

- Helps new connections remember you
- Grows your network/business
- Reflects your personal brand
- Reflects your company values
- Differentiates you from the competition
- Conveys contact info
- Opportunity to demonstrate your creativity!
- Shows professionalism and legitimacy
- Enter business-card raffles at restaurants
- ... And so much more

There are plenty of benefits to having a business card, even if you do not have a job yet. As a student or someone looking for work a business card is a way to make connections, to help new connections remember you, and to demonstrate professionalism and legitimacy for yourself. As someone with a job, a business card is a way to help you advance in your career much in the same way that someone without a job would use them. Business cards are not just for business either - a teacher could find use of a business card as well. They are very applicable to nearly every profession.

They are also very cheap to make! It is economical, even on a student budget, to use websites such as vistaprint.ca to order a few hundred business cards with plenty of options for design. Many universities offer these services to students, including Brock! With so many benefits, it is worth considering getting some business cards to help promote yourself, and protect yourself from human error!

Anthony Mancuso
Honours Bachelor of Sport Management - Year 3
Senior Career Assistant 

The Benefits of Business Cards!

Business cards are more versatile than you might give them credit for. They are no longer something just for executive business people. Now they are used as calling cards, networking cards, contact cards, appointment cards and more. Business cards hold all of your important information about who you are, what you do, and how to get in contact with you. Pair that with some fancy graphics and you have an excellent representation of yourself that you can use to further your career goals. Once you have business cards, you will be surprised at the amount of opportunities there will be to network and swap cards with other people. 

 

If you are new to the career scene, you may wish to create a networking card that focuses on your top qualities, or your personal brand. You could include a link to your linkedin profile which allows the recipient to access up to date, accurate information about you at their leisure, and all you did was give someone a card! They are doing the work and your expert linkedin profile is selling itself. Cool huh?

 

Business cards can be purchased from printing shops or online and average around $10-$20 CDN for 250-500.  It is not a huge investment for something that has so much impact on people. You can also enter those draws at restaurants where you drop a card into the bin for some free lunch! Why not do it?

Happy business-card-creating,

Becky, Sr. Career Assistant
Third Year Tourism and Environment Student

 

Your Personal Brand

It’s a new brand world,

From the crocodile on your polo to the initials on your underwear, you are branded. Why do you automatically know what the words Nike and Coca Cola mean? It’s because they’re the top two recognized brands in the world… they’re so international the only other word that beats it is “no”. And it’s all because of their strong brand campaigns. Everywhere you look there are brands: the browser you’re reading this from, the chocolate milk the guy across the hall is drinking… where does your name stand in the mix of things? It’s time you become more than the brands you use and stand out by developing your own personal brand.

You might wonder what the point of branding yourself is. Simple, who do you think will look more professional, the applicant with a plain resume – or the one with a logo and business card? Personal branding is the process of marketing ourselves to others and making our name represent our specialties.

To brand yourself you must first know yourself. Is your self-impression equal to how people perceive you? Do you know your strengths and skills well enough to specialize? Here’s a few ways you can start defining your name to the public:

1.       Business Cards
Carry a few with you at all times – you never know when you could give one out! And if someone ever asks for your information it’s an easy solution.

2.       Resume
Your resume should describe your skills and focus on your area of specialization.

3.       Portfolio
Keep a collection of work you’ve done in relation to your specialization so you may showcase your work to potential employers.

4.       Blog/Website
Having a blog or website to showcase your work is a great asset. You could even include this information on your business card.

5.       Linked In
Complete your LinkedIn profile and connect with professionals. The people you are connected to are just as important as the words on your page. Remember – this is a professional profile, don’t go adding people you met at the bar or old highschool friends unless it’s for networking purposes.

6.       Facebook Profile
Use your privacy settings! Facebook even updated the interface to make it easier for you. Keep your status updates professional – using lyrics to describe how sad your life is is unnecessary.

7.       Tweets
Is your twitter account focused on specific topics or are you tweeting people about how much you drank last night and responding to every possible trend. If your account isn’t protected then your tweets had better follow your personal brand.

8.       Wardrobe
Your wardrobe makes a lasting impression. A classmate of mine always wore a skate hat & wanted it to be part of his brand image. Once you make a decision like that you have to stick with it. If he showed up in a suit one day it would seem out of character for his brand. Chose a wardrobe that suits you and your personality.

9.       Email Address
sexychicka69@yahoo.com will probably not receive an email after she drops off her resume. If you haven’t already switched to Google do it now! yourname@gmail.com will look a lot more professional, and it’s more efficient than Hotmail too.

By branding yourself you are attaching your name to a specific area of expertise. To make your brand last you need to walk, talk and breathe it. Create a brand manual to assist you in keeping to your brand. The manual should describe in detail what your brand is, why it was created, future goals and standards. Take a look at Brock University’s Brand Toolkit for reference.

Begin creating your personal brand over the holidays so the next time you tell someone your name, they’ll know exactly what it means.

- Samantha

Extra Reading:
10 Ways Personal Branding can Save you from getting Fired

Business Cards

Career Expo is next week already! This much anticipated event could potentially add some professional contacts to your network circle. The best way to connect with employers is the good ol’ fashioned business card swaperoo. We’ll call it a Networking Card for our purposes since you’re still a student.

By offering your networking card to an employer you are extending your relationship beyond your elevator pitch and encourage further discussion. Your card should definitely include your full name, email and phone number (define whether it’s home or cell). Some extras might be your website/blog/linked in, university program/year of study, skill words or title of specialization. Don’t cram too much information onto your card – you want to be concise and professional. If you’re a creative type, Google business card designs to get the juices flowing.

Remember, the Career and Post Graduate Expo is not a job fair – it is an opportunity to network. Although employers and organizations are looking to fill positions they may not necessarily take your resume on the spot. Ask to swap business cards and contact them after the Expo to touch base and remind them of your first interaction & your interest to pursue a position with their company.

You can have your cards printed by Brock University’s printing services, but Staples is just as good. If you’re a business student I believe you can order cards from Brock.

Visit Career Services for more tips on how to prepare for Career Expo and represent yourself as a professional applicant.

- Samantha