Business Cards Forum

[sgalloway14]

Can someone put a picture of their law school business card(Networking Card) so I can get an idea of what I should put on it. Thanks.

[kaiser]

Why would you need a business card as a student? Your resume is what you want to be passing around. And 99% of the time, its you who will be contacting the employer, not the other way around. Trust me, no one is looking to network with you. It is the other way around (and no, it is not a 2-way street because its you who is looking for the job, and not some mutual-benefit type of networking you might see amongst a group of professionals) So there is no need for a student to be giving out a business card.

[sgalloway14]

The Admissions office highly suggested it for networking purposes. I kind of thought the same thing.

[kaiser]

The Admissions office highly suggested it for networking purposes. I kind of thought the same thing.

I guess it can't hurt to do, but I honestly don't see it as something that would help.

[Iqbalz]

It is unlikely that you will hand many out, but on the off-chance that a potential employer asks you for one, I think it is worth having a few in your pocket. Your school will probably have standard cards available for a small fee. In my experience, these are always of a better quality than the ones you design and order online.

I recommend not giving yourself the title "Juris Doctor Candidate" which is both pretentious-sounding and wrong. Many of my classmates have "JD Candidate" as email signatures and this seems silly to me. Unlike graduate programs, in professional schools (law school, business school, film school, and the like), you do not "advance to candidacy" after say, submitting your dissertation prospectus or passing an oral defense.

This is admittedly nitpicky, but I would just put "Law Student" under your name.

[vanwinkle]

I need a "Burrito-Signal" to draw sealocust out of hiding.

[IronHBM]

You won't really need a business card as a student. Just bring copies of your resume if you go to a networking event or if you happen to meet someone elsewhere.

[romothesavior]

No, no, no, and no. Do NOT get a business card. You 1) do NOT need one and 2) it is very, very lame.

I have been able to make tons of contacts over the past year without a business card. I consider myself to be a pretty good networker, and it hasn't even so much as crossed my mind to get one. It's just so unnecessary, and I think a lot of employers will be turned off by it. Don't be "that guy."

[romothesavior]

I recommend not giving yourself the title "Juris Doctor Candidate" which is both pretentious-sounding and wrong. Many of my classmates have "JD Candidate" as email signatures and this seems silly to me. Unlike graduate programs, in professional schools (law school, business school, film school, and the like), you do not "advance to candidacy" after say, submitting your dissertation prospectus or passing an oral defense.

This is admittedly nitpicky, but I would just put "Law Student" under your name.

It is very, very nitpicky. J.D. Candidate is fine.

[ahduth]

No, no, no, and no. Do NOT get a business card. You 1) do NOT need one and 2) it is very, very lame.

I have been able to make tons of contacts over the past year without a business card. I consider myself to be a pretty good networker, and it hasn't even so much as crossed my mind to get one. It's just so unnecessary, and I think a lot of employers will be turned off by it. Don't be "that guy."

I disagree 100%. You definitely should aim to be "that guy."

[Hopefully2012]

I tend to differ to TLS advice ~90% of the time when it comes stuff like this but I have to disagree with almost all the previous posts.

A small stack of business cards can be very useful in situations even as a student. I randomly struck up a conversation with an older gentlemen who ended up being the CEO and founder of a fairly sizable hedge fund with a couple listed ETFs and at the end of our conversation (after I told him about my ambitions for law school) he wanted to swap business cards. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared and just took his card.

It does seem silly until a moment arises when they come in handy. I'd say go for it and get a couple printed. You never know when networking opportunities arise. Mine happened at an airport sports bar while discussing McIlroy's backswing.

Edit: Yes, I did follow up with him.

[romothesavior]

I tend to differ to TLS advice ~90% of the time when it comes stuff like this but I have to disagree with almost all the previous posts.

A small stack of business cards can be very useful in situations even as a student. I randomly struck up a conversation with an older gentlemen who ended up being the CEO and founder of a fairly sizable hedge fund with a couple listed ETFs and at the end of our conversation (after I told him about my ambitions for law school) he wanted to swap business cards. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared and just took his card.

It does seem silly until a moment arises where they come in handy. I'd say go for it and get a couple printed. You never know when networking opportunities arise. Mine happened at an airport sports bar while discussing McIlroy's backswing.

And you likely did what everyone else does in this situation... you folllowed up.

There is really no use for business cards in law school. If you meet someone you want to keep in touch with or follow up with, you get their card or look them up on their firm website.

This was an issue I was undecided on before law school. Now i am 100% in the no cards camp. There is no reason for a law student to need one. I guess if someone is dead set on getting some, I'd say to just keep them in your pocket and never offer it up unless asked. I doubt you'll ever be asked (I never have in all the networking events I've attended and neither has anyone else I know), but offering it is likely to turn people off.

[Patriot1208]

I tend to differ to TLS advice ~90% of the time when it comes stuff like this but I have to disagree with almost all the previous posts.

A small stack of business cards can be very useful in situations even as a student. I randomly struck up a conversation with an older gentlemen who ended up being the CEO and founder of a fairly sizable hedge fund with a couple listed ETFs and at the end of our conversation (after I told him about my ambitions for law school) he wanted to swap business cards. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared and just took his card.

It does seem silly until a moment arises where they come in handy. I'd say go for it and get a couple printed. You never know when networking opportunities arise. Mine happened at an airport sports bar while discussing McIlroy's backswing.

And you likely did what everyone else does in this situation... you folllowed up.

There is really no use for business cards in law school. If you meet someone you want to keep in touch with or follow up with, you get their card or look them up on their firm website.

This was an issue I was undecided on before law school. Now i am 100% in the no cards camp. There is no reason for a law student to need one. I guess if someone is dead set on getting some, I'd say to just keep them in your pocket and never offer it up unless asked. I doubt you'll ever be asked (I never have in all the networking events I've attended and neither has anyone else I know), but offering it is likely to turn people off.

Tell this to the undergraduates I know with business cards that say shit like "Student Council Member - College of Arts and Sciences"