Even the tried and true business card has changed
➔ Various sources report that the tried and true, everyday staple business card can trace its roots back more than 400 years to 17th Century Europe. Here in the 21st Century digital age, many people have been rethinking and re-tooling the traditional business card. Today’s business cards can be made of metal and plastic as well as the traditional card stock. Some are even electronic and light up for increased visibility.
An Essential Job Search Tool
Although most people associate business cards with people who are working, job seekers need them just the same – if not more. And they’ve never been more economical and readily available. You can order 500 business cards for less than $10; you can get a couple of hundred cards from your nearby office supply store before lunch. You can design your own card and email it to your printer.
Today, business cards come in all shapes and sizes… and colors… with quality photography and intricate designs. And while the primary objective of the business card has not substantially changed, the content (and the emphasis of that content) is not as it was even 20-25 years ago.
Of course you have to feature your name. But, as a job seeker, do you really need to include your street address? This is especially true for women in this age of stalkers and other assorted ne’er do wells. It’s perfectly acceptable to include only your town, suburb, or neighborhood. But that’s about it.
Of course you need to have your contact information. Your mobile phone number would be preferred, but some people do not include their home/family numbers if for no other reason than to shield potential employers from having to listen to one of your children deliver the voice mail message.
Of course your email address is essential, but so is your LinkedIn address. Employers are going to look there anyway so you might as well make it easy for them. Then again, you may want to include the type of job or industry you’re seeking.
Which pretty much sums up the business card: your essential information, clear, concise and readily available.
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