Business cards for the unemployed?

December 10, 2009 3:07 AM

I'm presently out of work and need business cards. What information do I put on a business card?

Obviously, since I am unemployed I don't have a company providing me with business cards. What do I put on business cards, then, that I would hand out at networking meetings/events?

I imagine: name, cell phone number, email address. Anything else? I work in, or rather, want to work in, finance. (Yes, that's a broad area, and yes I am aware of its near-term employment prospects. Neither of those two points are really pertinent here though.)

Creative concepts that would be appropriate for some industries likely are not appropriate for this one.

Thoughts?

posted by dfriedman to Work & Money (12 answers total)

Contact info, and what your expertise is. That's all.

Oh, and "presently" means happening soon, not happening now. The word you wanted is "currently".
posted by meadowlark lime at 3:22 AM on December 10, 2009

Put something simple that reflects your main skill.
"Hi, I'm Dave, I'm a financial analyst by trade, but I'm between jobs at the moment."

--------------------
Dave Friedman
Financial Analyst

Tel:XXX
Email: XXX
--------------------
posted by jonesor at 3:25 AM on December 10, 2009

Response by poster: Meadowlark: I appreciate the advice. But if you're going to nitpick on my use of words, you would do well to look up the definition of presently.
posted by dfriedman at 3:29 AM on December 10, 2009 [5 favorites]

You might also want to include your address, or at least your city, since area codes aren't much of an indicator nowadays. (Or should I say "presently"?) If you're willing to relocate, it would be a good idea to work that in as well.
posted by DrGail at 4:54 AM on December 10, 2009

If you have any professional certifications you should list them as well e.g. CPA, PMP, MSCE, WTF. Also put your linkedin URL on there as well and get friends / former coworkers to write recommendations.

So to sum up:

Dave Friedman
Senior Financial Analyst, CPA, PMP,

Tel:
Mobile:
Email:
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/unemployedhighschooldropout

Also don't go cheap on the cards. Get something conservative and nice. Leave the back of the card white so it has ample room for writing.
posted by humanfont at 5:18 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

My buddy is a musician / works odd jobs. These are his cards.
posted by CharlesV42 at 6:10 AM on December 10, 2009

You might want to include a website where someone can go to and easily find a copy of your resume/references. Whether that is LinkedIn or some other site is up to you.
posted by autoclavicle at 6:32 AM on December 10, 2009

While the cards in CharlesV42's post are cute, cute is definitely not what you are looking for in this case. I would also advise against using anything other than standard-sized cards with standard, easy-to-read fonts, especially considering the field you're interested in. I tend to lose/get annoyed with/throw out odd-sized cards. Name, location (not necessarily address), and various forms of contact info are good, as is perhaps a short blurb about who you are or what you want to do.
posted by runningwithscissors at 7:09 AM on December 10, 2009

Get a Google Voice number and you can keep using these after you get a new job.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:21 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Following on wenestvedt's comment, if (like me) you have not gotten into google voice, you can get a couple of numbers through j2 -- both a phone number and a fax number that accepts faxes and then emails them in a .tif document. I also keep a post office box near my home.

None of these are terribly expensive as a recurring cost, but they give you the ability to be portable (as in able to got from one job/engagement to another and have all of your contact information stay the same).

Your name plus all that on your business card should be good enough. Good luck.
posted by mr_felix_t_cat at 8:27 AM on December 10, 2009

You may want to avoid glossy finishes on your business cards because they can make it difficult to make notes on the back.
posted by harmfulray at 10:38 AM on December 10, 2009

This site has some good inspiration. Hope it helps.
http://tinyurl.com/yhqrb7w
posted by VickyR at 7:30 PM on February 9, 2010