Business cards for grad students...I'm out of the loop on this?

[harrisonfjord]

I am currently enrolled in a master's program, but I was just wondering what the thoughts are on getting some business cards made up? I have been going to more conferences lately and I noticed that a lot of students have cards with them for networking purposes. 

 

 

I am a teaching assistant this semester and I also work in a lab, but only my teaching position is funded. I feel weird just writing teaching assistant on the card. Is there a specific terminology I should use? Should I just make my title "graduate student at so and so university?" Any suggestions? I feel ignorant because I don't know if this is common practice or not?

Edited May 10, 2014 by harrisonfjord

[maelia8]

If you are a teaching assistant or lab assistant, then I would mention it - having a specific job title is always better than just saying "student." I don't' think that it's necessary to have a business card as an M.A. student, but I don't think that having one could hurt. 

[JBums1028]

So I tend to prefer asking others for their business card. The way I see it, most established professionals probably aren't going to take the time to do follow up contact with anyone they get a business card from. But if you take in their contact info, then you can be in control of follow up contact. Like Maelia8 said, I don't think it's necessary either. But if you really want them, then I'd list teaching or lab assistant.

[raneck]

If you are going to conferences a lot, it is not a bad idea. You should use the title that fits the context. You aren't at the conference because you are a TA. Just because you aren't being paid doesn't mean that you aren't filling a role. Maybe something like "graduate researcher" or "graduate student research assistant"

Edited May 10, 2014 by raneck

[Katzenmusik]

I assume you don't want to frame yourself as a teaching assistant but rather as a student-researcher in your field.  So I'd leave off the TA job title and make up a card that looks something like this:

 

Johnny Scientist

M.S. Student in XYZ Department

University of Such and Such

jscientist@university.edu

 

It's also handy to have a personal web site URL to include -- it gives people an easy way to look you up, remember who you are, and read about your work later.

[danieleWrites]

Way back when you had to have printers make up cards for you, I'd say no. Nowadays, you can buy decent cardstock with a decent price at an office supply store and print your own business cards.

I would print up a few business cards, even as an MA student, for conferences and any occasion where I might network with people in the field or who might be potential employers or PhD program adcomms. I would make the business card was rhetorically appropriate. Katzenmusick's template is an excellent one because it gives the information that someone asking for your contact details would need without giving a sense that you're inflating your importance. The only thing I would add to that would be to make sure there's enough room to write down key words about the conversation you just had so the person can place who you are. If you get business cards print professionally, don't go with a design that seems professorial. Go a bit plainer as suits your MA student status. That would be for academic contacts! Business people have a different set of expectations about how you should sell yourself. If I were an MA student in English heading off to comic-con, where I might potentially meet people who need writers or editors, or who might know someone who does, I would have business cards that look like a professional in the field, not like a grad student doing academic networking.

Nothing wrong with a card, just make it appropriate for the situation.

[DogMa]

I had some made up at Moo. Reasonable prices.

You can add your own design if you want.

[harrisonfjord]

Thank you all for the input! I have reservations about printing my own because I don't have a nice printer and they look rather cheap/cheesy. Thankfully designyourowncards has them as low as $16 for 100 basic ones and they look a bit more professional. I appreciate all the advice and input though.

Edited May 11, 2014 by harrisonfjord

[rising_star]

Vistaprint and your local office chain store are two other inexpensive options for business cards.

[med latte]

I'll be applying to Ph.D. programs soon, so I had some made up through YouPrint.com with my research interests and link to an online CV and portfolio. They turned out great, and I now use the jpeg in my email signature when I write to POIs.

[harrisonfjord]

Where do you have your CV online? I don't have a personal webpage, and I don't really want to make one just to host my CV. But I like that idea. 

 

I never thought of having a business card until this past March at a conference when a very big name in my field came to my poster, was super excited about my study, and asked for my business card which I sadly did not have. I doubt that will ever happen again, but I'll probably have some made for the next conference. 

 

A similar thing happened to me. I was at a conference and speaking with some professionals in the field and they asked for my card. I was so embarrassed to say that I didn't have one, but I had my advisor/PIs card and wrote my name/email on that. I'm not anticipating that I will use many, it just seems nice to have them in those situations. 

[med latte]

Where do you have your CV online? I don't have a personal webpage, and I don't really want to make one just to host my CV. But I like that idea. 

 

 

I made a very simple Wordpress site. 

[juilletmercredi]

As a doctoral student, I get asked for my business card almost every time I go to a conference.  Usually I have them.  Right now I am in-between cards (I need more but I want to wait until I move to my new institution in August) and it's been terribly annoying.

You can get inexpensive business cards from Vistaprint for something like $5-10 for 25-50.  You don't need many more than that.  I wouldn't use the TA title; instead, I'd put "Master's candidate" or something like that.  My old business cards said "Doctoral Candidate" and my next ones will say "Postdoctoral Fellow".

Where do you have your CV online? I don't have a personal webpage, and I don't really want to make one just to host my CV. But I like that idea.

 

One of the things I've seen recommended more often recently is making your own web presence.  These days, everyone Googles you, and if you have a web presence you control it's better than people Googling you and finding things you don't control.  My web presence is pretty squeaky-clean (and I have a common name) but one of my summer projects after I finish this darn dissertation is to set up a website.  Wordpress dot ORG offers free tools to create a website, and you can get inexpensive web hosting through one of their partners - they offer a list here.  Bluehost and Dreamhost, for example, both offer unlimited domains and unlimited space for $4/month.

[rising_star]

Juillet, we should talk websites sometime! I need to create one this summer too...

[Eigen]

For websites, check out Reclaim Hosting. It's specifically targeted at "students" trying to develop a web presence, but they're OK with other academics using it as well. 

 

I'm slowly building mine on there, and it's quite interesting to build one completely from scratch. 

[harrisonfjord]

Thank you all for contributing information about making a personal website as well. I may wait until I build a little more of a portfolio but I totally agree with creating a clean web presence! 

[harrisonfjord]

Do you think it's acceptable to include a link to your linked in profile on a business card? I've thought about creating a website to host my CV, but as another poster said, it seems silly to just have my CV on there. Because some of the projects I work on require security clearance/are not supposed to be talked about outside the lab, I'm not able to just post my current projects on there too . 

Edited May 31, 2014 by harrisonfjord

[MakeYourself]

I am not a business person and therefore do not have a business card.

[Lifesaver]

Vistaprint.com

 

I think it was like $5 for 500 business cards? Yeah, too many, but super cheap. I suggest them and suggest you having them. Never know who you might bump into.

[Zahir]

I think its not a bad idea with the business cards. I can recommend this one http://www.overnightprints.co.uk/businesscards . It's not expensive and you have a really good quality. I just ordered there..

[educdoc]

For website domain try Godaddy, it's only $12/year for your chosen domain name. And they have specials now and then, usually at the end of the year.

[bakalamba]

I am not a business person and therefore do not have a business card.

 

Do you boycott offices, as well? Lol.

 

You can call them academic cards, if that makes you feel better - I think I may have to order a few, particularly for conferences. Because scribbling your email on the back of a program screams professionalism and organization. I think it's about how it's presented, as well as how you present yourself that defines whether you're seen as a networking academic who's interested in connecting with people over their work, or a shifty entrepreneur trying to shill your wares towards getting a job.

 

I second Moo, I've ordered their minicards before for a friend, they look a little like academic cards. I'm toying around with having quotes on the back of foundational philosophies that structure my word and my relation with the field I'm in.

[educdoc]

Would it be wrong to use anything with the name of the university on it? As doctoral students, will the university allow you, after let's say the first quarter, to have business cards with its name on them?

[surefire]

Would it be wrong to use anything with the name of the university on it? As doctoral students, will the university allow you, after let's say the first quarter, to have business cards with its name on them?

 

This wouldn't be "wrong", I think it makes sense to have the university's crest or whatever on your card, but do a little bit of recon to find out what is typically done.

I actually endeavoured to have cards made last year. I knew of a good business card guy that my friends used and I was looking through my university's website (communications and marketing dept.) to see if they had any standard templates for business cards with the crest.

 

Turns out my university REQUIRES people to request business cards through them. It's a PR thing and they prize standardized cards, which makes sense. So, I had to make an order through my department's grad secretary, who submitted it to the university. My university is big, so this might not be standard practice in all institutions, but definitely check around to make sure! I'm happy with the cards and it's nice to have a standardized (albeit uncreative) card that resembles the ones my profs have (though I wasn't pleased about shelling out $40, I could've gotten a much better deal on my own, but them's the breaks!).

 

FWIW, as per previous items in this thread, I find the cards to be invaluable at conferences and the like. If you get talking to someone and you have to part ways, they may not always say, "do you have a card?", but if they say, "we should talk more about this", then you take out the card and write the name of the conference you're at and a keyword (the "this" that you want to keep in touch about) on the back, and maybe something will come of it! Even if you don't keep in-touch every time, it's worth it for that one time that the person decides to do something about the "this" (put together a panel or a call for papers or something) and they think of you and touch base (or, alternatively, you do something about the "this" and touch base with them!). That's been my experience anyway.

[educdoc]

Very valuable experience, thanks for sharing, surefire. Being in my first quarter here maybe I should wait till Winter quarter? I will do some research for sure.