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FlashCard™. Introducing A New Business Card for Networking.
If you haven’t been following along, much of my effort lately has been in developing tools. For you. Tools to help maximize your effort during job search. And the downloads are all free.
OK, I guess they are not totally free. If you would, I’d love to count you as a regular blog reader. And I’d love it if you would tell your friends about the blog and the tools. Mostly free, I guess.
This most recent series of tools has been about establishing a solid set of personal marketing materials. I call the whole set my Full Pitch™ series as I hope they help you hit the street with confidence. Confdence, a really good sense of who you are and what specifc ways you can positively impact the people you’ll be meeting that day.
So far, you’ve heard of the SoloSheet™. A one-sheet template that gets all of your critical information onto one, easy-to-digest page. It includes data that will help your network help you - something a resume does not accomplish.
Well, I have another FREE download to share. Like the SoloSheet, this download is my version of something that is not new. It is a template for a business card you can use while networking.
Now for all of you who already have a personal business card, be patient with this next paragraph. You are one step ahead.
For the rest of you who are not using business cards as part of your job search communication strategy, it’s time to get started. Why? Well, it gives you a very common and socially accepted tool in business. It also helps you feel valuable and shows personal pride. OK, so it makes you feel like you are still in business. Great.
But most cards I’ve seen are bland and include very little information for someone to take-away from your encounter. Certainly nothing actionable.
So I created a new format that I’d like you to consider. It gets key data about you onto a very portable item. One that, once properly filled out, will make for a great reminder of how someone in your network can help you.
And I came up with a name for them. Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m a marketing guy.
Instead of a business card, I call it a FlashCard™. Why FlashCard, you ask? Well, simply, it allows people to remember you and, this is crucial, your specifc job objectives… in a fash.
So, on the front is much of the standard info (name, e-mail, phone number) you might expect. What’s been added is your positioning statement (right of your one-sheet and resume), 4-6 key strengths (to help people line you up with specifcs on a job description) and your Linkedin profle (make sure that your profle is fully filled out and represents you well). Overall, the front tells people who you are and how they can get in touch with you. I also lefit some room at the top if you wanted to add a design element.
The back is where the FlashCard becomes highly actionable. While I do not recommend putting career objectives on a resume, it is crucial that your one-sheet and business card have them. These are the two key documents that you will use in networking, right? How can someone effectively help you if they forget your objectives? Be as specifc as you can and you will get good leads in return. Make sure to include 5-6 target companies. Not everyone you are targeting, but ones that will help people as they see a job fying by in their in-box.
You may notice the last line on the back:
Add me to your Watchlyst™ at www.timsstrategy.com
Remember the watchlyt is a networking tool that helps you keep track of the job objectives of those in your network looking for a job. Me? Help other job seekers? Yes, absolutely. The Watchlyst gets everything on one sheet so you no longer have to shuffe through a pile of resumes to figure out who should receive that new job lead.
Your job is to get your objectives on the Watchlyst of as many people as you can. If successful, you will receive more qualifed leads and your network will feel good that they were able to help. If you are not a Watchlyst user or do not see the value, you can easily take that copy of the template when you design your cards.
Here’s how the template works. This is a simple Microsofit Word (.doc) template. Once downloaded, you can create your cards (front and back) pretty quickly. I did mine by purchasing an Avery product (#8877) called Clean Edge business cards. You can pick them up at any offce superstore. I like this method because you can print as many as you want. If you want to change anything on the card, you can do it any time and be back on the street that same night!
Of course, you can get cards printed many ways.
If you need it, the template is a free download from the website… and, good luck out there.