A 54-year-old marketing executive, unemployed since October, hands out a simple business card as part of his job search. It lists his name, phone numbers, email account and suburban New Jersey address. 'I am a bit of a traditionalist in how I present myself,' he explains.
Yet by divulging nothing about the executive's qualifications, his card hurts his chances to find work.
'This kind of card leaves you empty,' contends Diane Darling, CEO of Effective Networking in Boston. 'A business card represents who you are, reminding people why they should hire you.'
Whether you're starting over or starting out, you need a business card that makes a memorable first impression in today's tight employment market. How can jobless older applicants and young graduates devise cards that are successful marketing tools? There is no single formula for winning with cards, of course. But here are some strategies that might help:
-- Don't sell yourself short.
Put your profession, strongest skills or highest degree right under your name. For example, the New Jersey man should revamp his card and call himself a 'Senior Marketing Executive,' suggests Gail Madison, director of a business-etiquette school in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. She believes a title 'is the most important information on a card.'
Her idea 'makes a lot of sense,' the unemployed manager agrees. He will consider adding 'Strategic Marketing Executive' to his card.
Cards for recent alumni of well-known universities should contain their major, graduation year and school's name. If your alma mater approves, insert its logo.
Out-of-work applicants of any age also should buy and display a personal domain name on their cards. 'You have a lifetime email address' even if you lack a Web site, Ms. Darling observes.
-- Exploit the reverse side.
'The back side of the business card is just undeveloped real estate because it's blank 90% of the time,' insists Kevin Donlin, a professional resume writer and job-search author in Edina, Minn.
Fill the top half of that space with key bullets about your professional achievements, the name of a prominent prior employer and addresses for your Web page, LinkedIn profile or 'VisualCV.'
VisualCV, a free service for individuals offered by a Reston, Va., start-up, lets job seekers create an online resume that can include work samples, references' video testimonials and a visual for accomplishments, such as a chart showing surpassed sales targets.
'The way to make sure people read the back of your card is to ask,' Mr. Donlin continues. 'Say, 'There's a mini case study on the back about how I beat D&B's target by 59% in 2007 with half the budget and 71% fewer staff. Would that interest you?''
-- Be creative -- within limits.
Printing cards on shiny paper looks distinctive, but defeats their purpose. Laurie Hayes, a small-business coach in Sudbury, Canada, attended a networking event where a man gave her a card made of slippery plastic. Extra information that he scribbled on it smeared.
Your photo probably doesn't belong on your card. 'I never saw a C-level [executive's] card with a picture,' Ms. Madison says. A photo enables a hiring manager to remember your face -- and also discriminate against you, Ms. Darling notes.
A card with an impressive tagline stands out as long as you can substantiate your expertise.
Unemployed following the dot-com bust, Jeff Ackley landed a business-development job at an electronic-games company partly because his card bore a solid pitch. It said he sought a position where his five listed skills could propel a young business into profitability. A card with a personal pitch 'is far more important today,' says Mr. Ackley, now a Boston entrepreneur.
-- Use a simple typeface, high-quality paper and an elegant design. Match your resume font.
A professionally prepared card shows you mean business. Ms. Madison met a woman at a Chamber of Commerce card-exchange session who offered a business card she had printed on 20-pound computer paper, cut out and signed by hand. 'How can I take this person seriously?' the etiquette specialist wondered.
-- Create different cards for different opportunities.
This piece of advice especially makes sense if you possess many talents and are unsure what to do next, such as the New Jersey marketing executive, an expert in strategic planning, product management and contract negotiation. 'I am seriously entertaining' the notion of preparing multiple cards, he says.
On the other hand, certain recent college graduates consider any cards unnecessary in their online world. 'The very definition of 'business card' is kind of outdated now,' a jobless 27-year-old woman reports.
Perhaps business cards are passe among 20-somethings, Ms. Darling says, 'but 20-somethings won't give you a job.'
一位自去年10月一直失業至今的54歲營銷主管在找工作的時候，遞出的名片簡單而 素。上面列有他的姓名、電話號碼、電子郵件地址以及他在新澤西郊區住所的地址。他解釋說，我表現自己的方式顯得有點傳統。
然而，他的名片未顯露他的任何資歷，這反而減少了他找到合適工作的機會。
波士頓Effective Networking的首席執行長黛安娜•達林(Diane Darling)表示，這樣的名片空洞無物，可能讓你一無所獲。「名片應當能夠代表你是誰，能夠提醒別人他們為何要僱傭你。」
無論你是過來人，還是剛剛步入職場，你都需要一張能夠在競爭激烈的就業市場上給人留下深刻的第一印象的名片。那麼，該如何設計自己的名片才能使之成為成功的營銷工具呢?通過名片營銷自己的方式並無定律可循，不過，以下一些策略可能會對大家有所幫助。
──不要低估你自己
在你的姓名下方註明職業、最突出的技能或者最高學位。賓夕法尼亞某商業禮儀學校校長蓋爾•麥迪遜(Gail Madison)舉例說，上述那位新澤西求職者就應修改他的名片，將自己的頭銜改為「高級營銷主管」。麥迪遜女士認為，頭銜是「一張名片上最重要的信息」。
這位失業的經理對此表示贊同，「她的建議非常合理。」他還會考慮在名片上增加一個頭銜「營銷策略主管」。
著名學府畢業生的名片上還應包括他們的主修課，畢業時間以及學校名稱。如果你的母校同意的話，你還可以印上它的標識。
任何年齡的求職者都應當購買一個域名，然後把它展示在名片上。達林女士認為，即便你沒有網址，你也應該有一個永久性的電子郵件地址。
──充份利用名片的背面
明尼蘇達專業簡歷編輯和求職作家凱文•當林(Kevin Donlin)表示，名片的背面是一處未經開發的位置，90%的名片背面是空白。
實際上，可以在背面的上半部分列出你的專業成就，曾工作過的知名僱主的名稱以及你的網址、你在LinkedIn或者VisualCV上的頁面。
VisualCV是一項由維吉尼亞州雷斯頓的初創企業開發的面向個人的免費服務，求職者可以在此創建網上簡歷，包括工作經歷、推薦人的視頻推薦及本人工作成就的直觀介紹，如顯示銷售額超出目標的圖表等等。
當林先生還表示，確保他人會認真閱讀名片背面的方法就是直接提出這個要求。比如，你可以這麼說，「名片背面有一個微型案例，講述我在2007年如何以一半的預算和裁員71%之後實現超出D&B目標59%的故事。你對此有興趣嗎?」
──發揮創造力，但要適可而止
以富有光澤的紙張印刷名片看起來或許會與眾不同，但這樣卻無法達到預想的目的。加拿大薩德伯裡的小企業指導勞裡•海耶(Laurie Hayes)最近參加了一次社交活動，有人遞給他一張用光滑塑膠紙印刷的名片。結果，他在上面匆匆記下的信息後來都看不清了。
照片可能不宜出現在名片上。麥迪遜女士說，我從未見過一位高管人士的名片上附有照片。達林女士則指出，照片可以讓招聘經理記住你的臉，但同時也可能讓人對你產生歧視。
只要求職者能夠證實其專業技能，擁有醒目口號語的名片還是很好用的。
受網際網路泡沫破裂的影響，傑夫•奧克利(Jeff Ackley)曾一度失業，但他很快就在一家電子遊戲公司謀到了一個業務拓展的職位，這在一定程度上與他的名片所傳遞出來的定位有關。奧克利的名片上寫道，他希望尋找一個職位，透過這個職位他可以利用名片上列出的5項技能推動一家年輕的企業實現盈利。奧克利說，如今，在名片上推銷自己變得「更重要了。」 奧克利目前是波士頓的一位企業家。
──使用簡單的字體、高質量的紙張和優雅的設計。與簡歷的字體保持一致
專業製作的名片可以表明求職者的誠意。麥迪遜女士曾在某商會的交換名片時間遇到過一位女性，這位女性遞出的名片是在20磅的電腦用紙上列印出來的，而且是手工裁邊和籤名。麥迪遜女士說，「我怎麼可能認真對待這樣的人呢?」
──針對不同的機會設計不同的名片
這條建議特別適合那些擁有很多技能，但不大確定未來方向的求職者，如上述提到的那位新澤西營銷主管，一位在戰略規劃、產品管理和合約談判等諸多領域均稱得上專家的人。他說，「我正在認真考慮準備多種名片的想法。」
另一方面，近年來的部分大學畢業生則認為，在他們的網絡世界裡名片毫無用武之地。一位27歲的女性求職者表示，「名片的定義本身現在已經有點過時了。」
達林女士表示，也許，名片在20多歲的年輕人中間已經風光不在，但是，20多歲的年輕人卻給不了你工作機會。