Job Hunt Tools: Turn Business Cards into Miniature Resumes

When you are looking for a new job, it is important to use every tool that you have in your job hunting tool box.  Here is one tool that you may not have thought about before:  Business Cards!  These small squares of cardstock can be an easy way to provide a lot of information to recruiters and hiring mangers in a quick and easy fashion.  Think of them as a miniature version of your resume.

Thanks to the internet, it is easier than ever to have custom business cards printed and delivered to your house in just a couple of days.  These cards range from fancy to sleek and simple and range widely in price.  A google search for business cards will bring up sites that will provide cards for free (with their website address on the back) or nicer cards that can be purchased for a small amount of money. 

Your career field should help determine the design of your miniature resume.  A crayon motif works great if you are looking for a daycare or elementary school teaching position, but that design will not work as well if you are hoping to become an accountant.  For most professional occupations I would choose a simple uncluttered design.  If you are unsure of which design to choose, a plain black and white card will serve your purpose.

Some of the information you will want to include on your miniature resumes is the same as most business cards: Your name, contact phone number, & email address.  A note about email addresses: Make sure that your email address is professional, not silly or bizarre.  The best email addresses are a variation of your name.  If you do not have an email address that is appropriate, you may want to set up a new email account just for your job hunt.  It's easy to get a free one from sites like Gmail.

When considering what else to include on your miniature resume, think about what a hiring manager is going to want to know about you.  If you have earned any professional designations, you will want to include them.  If you have your own professional website or have a well established Linked In profile, you may want to include these on your card as well.  Include your twitter and facebook accounts only if you use them mostly in a professional capacity.  I'll have more tips for twitter and facebook job hunting in a later post.

If you choose a two sided card, consider using one side of the card to provide a brief summary of your credentials.  I would not try to include your entire resume, just a short blurb about what you have to offer to a new employer. 

Once you have your new miniature resume cards, hand them out to everyone you meet!  These cards are great to hand out at Career Fairs or to attach to your resume when submitting an application.  Use the card as a tool to let your network know that you are looking for a new position. 

Best of luck in your job hunt!