I have a business card collection. It started out unintentionally: I have one box that I throw any business cards into, after I add the relevant contact information to my address book. Every so often, though, I like to go through my little box and take a look at what the current trends for business cards are. Of course, there are some major differences between industries, but I have noticed some interesting things.
A surprising number of the names on the cards in my box are repeated. I’m not talking about duplicates: I’ve been introduced to quite a few people who have handed me a card for their day job, and then added a personal card to the stack. It seems that carrying multiple business cards is becoming common.
How Many Business Cards Do You Need?
If your employer goes to the effort of printing you business cards, the expectation seems to be that you’ll hand out those cards at each and every event you attend. But your job may not be the only thing you have going these days. The number of people pursuing something on the side is constantly growing. Heck, even full-time freelancers seem to wind up with multiple approaches and multiple cards — a blogger who also does SEO optimization may have a card for each aspect of his business.
But what does that mean for the rest of us? Just because the cool kids have multiple business cards doesn’t mean that all of us have to try to remember which card to hand out at which events, right? I think the answer really comes down to ‘it depends.’ And it depends mores on you than on your employer. Whether or not you have an employer who prints your cards for you, it’s still important to have at least one card. But that doesn’t mean you need to hand everyone you meet both your personal and your employer’s cards.
Business Cards Versus Personal Cards
The real decision maker on the type of card you need comes down to what your own plans for your career include. Is it a priority for you to (eventually) make money on your side projects or move into a career more closely related to those projects? Do you see yourself moving on from your current employer — by their choice or yours — any time soon? If you’re answering yes, it does make sense for you to have some kind of personal card listing contact information beyond your employer’s. Think of it this way: if you’re working for a company that doesn’t seem steady, you want to be building connections that will help you move on down the road. You definitely don’t want your best contacts trying to reach you at a work email address long after you’ve left a particular company.
That doesn’t mean that a business card with your name and your employer’s logo isn’t useful. If you’re acting in a capacity as a representative of your company, it’s probably best to limit yourself to handing out your official business cards. After all, no one wants word to get back to the boss that they’ve been looking for prospects on company time. Furthermore, odds are pretty good that you do different things in your off-time than you might for an employer. Your employer may be the contact information that a potential client is actually interested in. Networking isn’t so much a game of how many names can you get in your address book as how many people can you help get things done (and who might be able to help you out as well).
A Basic Card
Maybe you’re thinking that it’s time to create a personal card of your own. You may not have any side projects, but you even if you just want an easy way of sharing your personal contact information, a card can make the fit. Furthermore, you can do it very inexpensively. Online printers, like OvernightPrints or VistaPrints will run cards at prices as low as $10 for 100 cards. Put together a basic card with your name, phone number and email address and you’re ready to rock and roll. A simple card without a fancy design can actually be just as eye-catching as other options.
Sure, there are all sorts of social media cures for the card that are prefect for sharing your personal contact information at the touch of a button — Contxts comes to mind as an example — but the average member of the business is unlikely to join up with those services just to get one person’s contact information. If you’re thinking about relying on one of these tools to share your personal contact information, plan on needing to scribble it down on a napkin on a regular basis.
That brings me to a last point. While it can be acceptable to write down a home phone number on a business card when you’re trying to make sure that a prospective client can get ahold of you if need be, it strikes me as unprofessional to flip over a card and proceed to write down a list of home contact information down to your Twitter ID and LinkedIn address. If you find yourself doing so on a regular basis, it’s a good warning sign that it’s time to get a personal business card.
Thursday Bram blogs about a variety of topics, from personal finance to small business. She is the author of an upcoming book on the tools and tricks you need to build a career you can take with you during long-term travel. More information about Thursday and her book, Working Your Way Around the World, is available on her personal site, ThursdayBram.com.
译文:
你是否需要一张个人商业名片？
我有一个收集商业名片的爱好，这项爱好是无意中开始的：我把所有的商业名片都放在一个小盒子里，之后再把名片上的联系信息记录到记事本上。我也会时不时地翻看一下盒子里的名片看看收集的进展如何。当然了，即使名片所属的行业各不相同，但我还是从中发现了一些有趣的东西。
我收集的所有名片中有很多人的名字是重复的。当然我不是说复制的名片：我被介绍给了很多人，他们都会给我一张他们的工作名片，同时还会附加一张个人名片。似乎人们随身带着各种不同的名片已成为一件很平常的事情。
你需要多少种商业名片？
如果你的上司准备帮你打印商业名片的话，那么他就是希望你在接下来的每一个活动中都把自己的名片派发出去。但是在这段时间里，工作不是你唯一要做的事情。如今身兼数职的人的数量正在不断地上涨。真是见鬼，即使是那些全职的自由职业者也似乎收到了堆积如山的邀请和名片——做搜索引擎优化的博客写手也许都有自己不同工作领域的商业名片。
那么对于我们其他人来说又代表什么意思呢？仅仅是因为那些受欢迎的人拥有成堆的商业名片，但也不意味着我们必须记住在哪个活动中我们发出去了哪些名片，是吗？我认为答案可以归结为“看情况来”。其实更多的是根据你自己的情况而不是上司的意愿。不论你的上司是否给你打印了名片，自己拥有一张名片始终是一件好事。但并不意味着你要把自己和上司的名片发给每一个和你见面的人。
商业名片VS个人名片
你对自己的事业规划最终决定了你的名片种类和风格。名片是否是你在工作中挣大钱或跳槽到与你的专业更对口的工作领域的（最终）优势？近期你是否经常在现任上司那来回不停地走动—— 应他们的要求或是你自己的意愿？如果你的答案是肯定的， 那么你确实有必要有一些个人名片，并且也把上司的联系方式罗列出来。这样想想看：如果你在公司的工作并不稳定，你就想要建立一个牢靠的关系使你能继续在公司呆下去。你肯定不希望在离开公司很久以后，你最好的联系人还试图通过工作邮件地址与你联络。
那并不意味着商业名片上印着自己的名字和上司的标志是没用的。如果你在公司里的表现是一个领导者的风范，那么也许尽量少的发放自己的名片会比较好。总之，没人希望自己的老总听说他们的雇员还在外面寻找发展机会。此外，在业余时间做一些不同的兼职会比你只为一个上司效力的胜算要大得多。 你的上司也许就是那些对你感兴趣的潜在客户的联系方式。网络并不是你记录名字的唯一的途径，也不是你能找到事情做的唯一途径（也许那些人还能帮你的忙）。
初始名片
也许你认为是时候为自己设计一张个人名片了。也许你没有任何兼职，但是如果你想找一种发布自己联系方式的简单的方法，那么一张名片就正合适了。更主要的是，你根本不用花什么钱就可以有名片了。网上打印机，例如OvernightPrints或者VistaPrints ，打印100张名片的价格低至10美元。准备好初始的名片，附上你的名字，电话号码和邮件地址，然后就等着新名片刷刷刷地滚出来吧。一张简单的没有花式设计的名片能更好地吸引人们的眼球，使别人一眼就能能看到你的信息。
当然了，也有很多种方法硬化你的名片，使他们派发起来更加方便。发布自己的联系方式只需按键—— Contxts 就如一个例子浮现在脑中一样—— 但是商界的大多数成员都不喜欢使用那项服务来获取一个人的联系方式。如果你想通过某项东西来发布自己的联系方式，那么就定期地在餐巾布上写下自己的信息。
让我们看最后一点。如果你想确保那些潜在的客户在需要的时候能及时找到你的联系方式的话，那么在个人名片上写下家庭电话号码还是可以接受的，这种不是很专业的举动倒是有点打击我，因为这么一来人们就会继续把一连串的家庭联系方式写在自己的迷你博客身份证上和人际关系网的个人地址上。如果你发现自己会定期这么做的话，那么这将是一个很好的信号，是时候该有一张个人名片了。
Thursday Bram 的博客里有很多文章，从个人理财说到小额的投资。她有一本即将上市的书，这本书是关于创业的方法和技巧，在长途旅行的时候你可以随身携带阅读。更多有关Thursday 和她的书Working Your Way Around the World的信息请登陆她的个人网站，ThursdayBram.com。