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