"Business" Cards?

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Do any of you (especially at the Ph.D. level) carry/hand out "business" cards? (I put "business" in quotes because all I'm really thinking of is name, e-mail, institution, website.) If so, what do you put on them, how do you use them, etc, etc, etc. I'm thinking mainly for those times when someone asks for your name/e-mail, since it'll save them the trouble of writing it down. Certainly not seeing these as proactive, "here's my card" type things.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Postbib Yeshuist

[Riotbeard]

Do any of you (especially at the Ph.D. level) carry/hand out "business" cards? (I put "business" in quotes because all I'm really thinking of is name, e-mail, institution, website.) If so, what do you put on them, how do you use them, etc, etc, etc. I'm thinking mainly for those times when someone asks for your name/e-mail, since it'll save them the trouble of writing it down. Certainly not seeing these as proactive, "here's my card" type things.

I will be honest, it would seem like putting on heirs to me, even if you only intended it to be pragmatic.

[choidy87]

I'm pretty sure most programs provide them to you (especially if you have a fellowship or are "working" for the university).

Edited July 1, 2010 by choidy87

[socialpsych]

I have never ordered business cards (and I don't think my program provides them), but I may start doing so toward the end of my program -- especially at conferences and situations like that, where I've heard it can be useful.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I will be honest, it would seem like putting on heirs to me, even if you only intended it to be pragmatic.

Putting on heirs? I sure hope you mean "airs". Postbib Yeshuist does have a couple of heirs already (if I remember correctly) but I don't think he puts them on.

PY: I think it's a great idea. I recommend getting the printable sort from an office supply store. My dh and I did this several years ago when he was doing consulting work and I was running my own business and it was great! I gave them to all sorts of people, not just business prospects. I even had two "flavors" of cards--one for tutoring, one for the other business stuff.

I really wish I'd thought of printing some up while I was TAing last year--I could have handed them out to all my students.

[Riotbeard]

Putting on heirs? I sure hope you mean "airs". Postbib Yeshuist does have a couple of heirs already (if I remember correctly) but I don't think he puts them on.

PY: I think it's a great idea. I recommend getting the printable sort from an office supply store. My dh and I did this several years ago when he was doing consulting work and I was running my own business and it was great! I gave them to all sorts of people, not just business prospects. I even had two "flavors" of cards--one for tutoring, one for the other business stuff.

I really wish I'd thought of printing some up while I was TAing last year--I could have handed them out to all my students.

I didn't say he would be, just that if another first year phd student gave me a business card I would view that way. Maybe you wouldn't. Also we are not talking about grad cafe, but the real world. Too many beers means I should stop talking...

[aginath]

I have some from VistaPrint to use for conferences and such. They come in handy when networking. We do have a department-approved University version should I want to print some "official" cards, but the ones I give out are simple and don't necessarily connect me to the university.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

Thanks for the input all. I definitely see business cards as responses to the "I'd definitely like to get in touch with you. What's your name and e-mail address?" to which I could reply "Would a card suffice?" Seems like it would be easier than trying to spell out my name (not the hardest, but often misspelled) and so on. I had thought I'd get some that stand out without being over the top, then have my name, e-mail, web address and then the school and program I'm in. Seems like it could be handy with fellow students or even other beginning Ph.D. students I might meet at conferences, etc. It seems that 250 (way too many) are less than $10 on VistaPrint, so I might go for them just in case.

[mudlark]

That would be so intensely weird to me. Seriously, if another grad student gave me a business card, that would be just stunning and bizarre, and something to laugh over at happy hour. I think that's a horrible idea, frankly. I've never seen anyone do it, or heard anyone talk about it, or seen it raised on any website or forum. I think it would get you the wrong kind of attention, and for what? to save 15 seconds of writing your name down.

Just strange, don't do it.

[chickadee21]

I think there are certain situations where it's a good idea to have a business card. If you're working on a thesis that requires a lot of coordination with groups outside your university, or if you're awarded an outside scholarship that requires giving a lot of talks about your topic, then having a business card is a good idea, since you'll be meeting so many people. I have friends in both these situations, and they say having business cards makes it easier to hand out contact information as well as looks more professional. But I have a feeling that this situation is more common in certain fields, like some science ones, than in the humanities.

[carolina45]

It doesn't seem weird to me at all. In fact, when I was visiting a school this past spring, a current grad student (in her 4th year) invited me out for coffee. At the end she handed me her card and told me to feel free to contact her with any questions about the program. I'm assuming the school provided them since it had the school seal on it.

Edited July 2, 2010 by carolina45

[Riotbeard]

That would be so intensely weird to me. Seriously, if another grad student gave me a business card, that would be just stunning and bizarre, and something to laugh over at happy hour. I think that's a horrible idea, frankly. I've never seen anyone do it, or heard anyone talk about it, or seen it raised on any website or forum. I think it would get you the wrong kind of attention, and for what? to save 15 seconds of writing your name down.

Just strange, don't do it.

See I am not crazy. To me, it feels like the girl who was SGA President at my College and always had on a business suit every day of school. Maybe the sciences are different, but I think formality and professionalism scares many of us in the humanities field (at least it does me). That being said, if you were closer to the job search phase or shopping a manuscript, they would be obviously helpful.

[repatriate]

At first, the idea of grad student business cards struck me as pretentious, but the more I think on it, the more reasonable it seems. For many of us, graduate school is a job. The students in my current program talk about "going to work" and not "going to school."

I did a quick Google search for "graduate student business card" and saw that many schools offer official versions. The school I'll be attending next year has two versions for students--networking and job search cards. The networking cards are for going to conferences, giving presentations, etc. and include school contact information. The job search cards are for students who are graduating and conducting independent job searches; they have personal contact information.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I didn't say he would be, just that if another first year phd student gave me a business card I would view that way. Maybe you wouldn't. Also we are not talking about grad cafe, but the real world. Too many beers means I should stop talking...

In case you didn't notice, I was poking gentle fun at your typo. I'm a bit of a natural editor and the pun was too good to pass up.

"heir" = offspring who inherit your estate (PY is a dad which is why I said he had a couple of heirs.)

"air" = arrogant attitude (among other things)

I lived many years in the "real world" before coming back to academia, and so I'm a bit surprised by your accusation that I only live here on GradCafe. If I'm on here a lot, it's because of my duty as a moderator.

Back to the business card thing: I think the real problem a lot of people have is that they've been accustomed to modern society associating cards-with-names exclusively with business. Back in the 19th century, you always left a card when you paid a social call on someone. Even if they weren't home, you left a card, sometimes with a note on the back. I guess it was the 19th century equivalent of a message on an answering machine.

Personally, I don't mind someone giving me a business card, even if they are a social acquaintance only. Otherwise, I would scribble their name and number on a random piece of paper (like the back of a receipt) which might get thrown out before I have a chance to enter the info into my address book. I'm a lot less likely to throw out a card. I've gone to a couple of (non-technical) conferences where every early registrant got cards with name, address, and phone # as part of their registration packets so they could pass these out to newly made friends. I thought this was a fantastic idea, and passed out (and received) several of these cards.

Needless to say, I consider cards-with-names to be eminently practical. I should make up a bunch with just my name and email address--people tend to have trouble spelling my last name, so my email address (based on my last name) is also frequently misspelled. Maybe I will print them up with pretty pink roses like Laura Ingalls' cards:

~~~~@ Grad S. Unlikely @~~~~

~~@ unlikelygrad@myu.edu @~~

[Riotbeard]

I lived many years in the "real world" before coming back to academia, and so I'm a bit surprised by your accusation that I only live here on GradCafe. If I'm on here a lot, it's because of my duty as a moderator.

My point, poorly stated (hence the too many beers comment), was that "knowing" post bib from the grad cafe, I would give him the benefit of the doubt on his intention, but if I actually met someone in the real world for the first time in my same situation and they gave me a business card, I would probably judge them poorly. I am not the only person who would respond this way and it is worth postbib noting. I view school as work also, it's just my style to tend more towards informality. I am very professional about my own studies, but I prefer a "unprofessional" environment and style ( if that makes any sense). I don't like dressing up, etc.

[prolixity]

Do any of you (especially at the Ph.D. level) carry/hand out "business" cards? (I put "business" in quotes because all I'm really thinking of is name, e-mail, institution, website.) If so, what do you put on them, how do you use them, etc, etc, etc. I'm thinking mainly for those times when someone asks for your name/e-mail, since it'll save them the trouble of writing it down. Certainly not seeing these as proactive, "here's my card" type things.

In the sciences it is quite common to use business cards; I even know undergraduates who carry around cards with their names, laboratory affiliation, and contact info. I'm not sure what sort of academic background from which the naysayers come, but I'm willing to bet that they're denizens of "the other world" (I.e. the humanities and arts).

I carry my business card with pride.

Think about it: Every realtor and bank teller you've ever met has a business card; isn't your work just as professional, if not more so?

Edited July 2, 2010 by prolixity

[Riotbeard]

The detractors are humanities people, and it may be worth noting that postbib is a humanities person also.

[mudlark]

I can see the logic of business cards, but having them would still be a serious social faux pas in the humanities.

Think about it: Every realtor and bank teller you've ever met has a business card; isn't your work just as professional, if not more so?

Yes, but it's a different kind of work, with a different style. Other academics are your peers, not customers you're trying to solicit work from. Being a grad student involves a lot of networking and scrambling, yes, but the calculating stuff is mixed in with collegial social interactions. Handing out business cards breaks the polite fiction that we're all equals, and all there for the company and the intellectual content. Maybe the fiction is bad. Maybe we should be more open about treating this like a business. It doesn't matter. Given the current culture, it's just not done.

The only people I can think of who have business cards are high level administrators and deans. The OP risks either coming across as pretending to a much, much, much higher rank than he has, or coming across as being over-professionalized and calculating.

But hey, I tend to react strongly to things. Feel free to ignore.

[Riotbeard]

I can see the logic of business cards, but having them would still be a serious social faux pas in the humanities.

Yes, but it's a different kind of work, with a different style. Other academics are your peers, not customers you're trying to solicit work from. Being a grad student involves a lot of networking and scrambling, yes, but the calculating stuff is mixed in with collegial social interactions. Handing out business cards breaks the polite fiction that we're all equals, and all there for the company and the intellectual content. Maybe the fiction is bad. Maybe we should be more open about treating this like a business. It doesn't matter. Given the current culture, it's just not done.

The only people I can think of who have business cards are high level administrators and deans. The OP risks either coming across as pretending to a much, much, much higher rank than he has, or coming across as being over-professionalized and calculating.

But hey, I tend to react strongly to things. Feel free to ignore.

You said well what I couldn't. Thanks!

[repatriate]

Handing out business cards breaks the polite fiction that we're all equals, and all there for the company and the intellectual content.

Business cards are passed between equals/colleagues just as they are between service providers and clients. It is common to exchange business cards when networking with people in the same business. I know several professionals who give out business when meeting anyone because they include their cell phone numbers on their cards. Thus, the cards are social as well as professional.

[emmm]

Sounds very practical to me -- I should get some (not even a graduate student yet) -- but I am teaching part-time and someone who deals with students frequently said she'd recommend me as a tutor if I had business cards that she could hand out.

[choidy87]

I can see the logic of business cards, but having them would still be a serious social faux pas in the humanities.

Well, I am not in the sciences. I am in the humanities and everyone of the current grad students during my interviews had university-provided business cards (with the school seal). I also have friends in different fields within the arts/humanities and they've had them in their programs, too. And every working artist I know, who is actively trying to show their work/get funding, carries cards. That's how I've met and kept up with half of them.

I printed my own cards from VistaPrint several years ago. There are times I actually forget that I have them until someone asks me for a card. As a matter of fact, a post-doc and a professor who teaches undegrads asked me if I had a card during a cocktail hour prior to my interview. Good thing my mom reminded me to take them with me on my trip.

[UnlikelyGrad]

if I actually met someone in the real world for the first time in my same situation and they gave me a business card, I would probably judge them poorly.

I might too, but it would depend under what circumstances I was given the business card. If someone just walked up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Postbib, here's a card," I would find his behavior tacky. On the other hand, if I met Postbib at a career or research fair and was interested in his work, and asked him if I could contact him later, then receiving a business card would make perfect sense. Likewise, if I discovered that he liked to play Ultimate Frisbee and my team needed another player, and he told me he was interested in joining--if he ASKED me to email him and then handed me a card with his name and email address--I would also not find it tacky.

In other words: there's a business card code of etiquette. As long as Postbib followed it, I would find nothing wrong with handing out business cards. If he just wants to hand them out willy-nilly to anyone he meets, I would advise him to skip the business cards. [Local politicians of my acquaintance, please take note. ]

[OnceAndFutureGrad]

I once met a precocious undergrad who handed me a very fancy business card embossed with his name, university, and phone number (institution? home? cell? no idea). I was slightly horrified at his presumptuousness, but you know what, the concept is not a bad one. I keep finding myself writing my name, email, etc. on scraps of paper and on the corners of conference schedules, so why not have something prepared and portable? I think as long as it's not too glossy, embossed, etc., it's useful and elegant without being frou-frou. I was considering VistaPrint and I'm glad to read that several of you use it.

Edited July 2, 2010 by RecycledViking

[choidy87]

Riotbeard, on 02 July 2010 - 08:28 AM, said:if I actually met someone in the real world for the first time in my same situation and they gave me a business card, I would probably judge them poorly.

.....

I might too, but it would depend under what circumstances I was given the business card.

Wow, this must be something that I'm not understanding culturally. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why anyone would be judged for carrying or giving someone else a business card. I'm really confused, so I'm sure I'm missing something here.

Is it because we're all not supposed to care about the trappings of professionalism like business cards and suits? Is it not cool to care about that stuff? Not that it matters, because I've never been "cool."

This is kind of like the thread on bookbags. Until I read that thread, I had no idea how many people actually cared that other people thought they would look silly for wearing a bookbag on both shoulders (something that's acutally better for your health and posture).

You'll either give out the business cards your Ph.D. program will give you and add other people's cards to your "rolodex" or you won't. Regardless, I'm sure this is another cultural gap for me.