Freshmen year of college I took a course designed to prepare students for life in the 'real world' after college. All the scary elements of being an adult and having to work for money rather than asking mommy and daddy for it all came to life in a nightmarish reality of mock interviews, LinkedIn profiles, resumes, cover letters and, of course, the infamous business card.
Although a seemingly tedious 3.5x2 piece of paper, I have come to find in my recent run in with the 'real world' interning in Los Angeles, that business cards are a lost art of communication that can in-fact be extremely useful. Despite the fact that many may discard this opinion as outdated, I am a firm believer that business cards are still relevant.
To encourage more people to keep the tradition alive, I have included a Twitter thread of my experience followed by reasons you're missing out if you don't already have your own 3.5x2.
All of your information conveniently in one spot:
Your business card is essentially you in card form. That being said, you can put whatever the hell you want on it. For example, my professor created a business card with his drink order to slip to bartenders so they wouldn't mess up his preferred concoction.
Although a card with the ingredients for your favorite alcoholic beverage may be critical for a busy Saturday night, a card with all of your personal contact information is absolutely necessary for run-ins with important people. In my case, an actor making an appearance at a book signing for his latest movie:
For the person with social anxiety:
The beauty of having something so small with such influence is that you can carry it anywhere, in your wallet, back of your phone, etc. while still being able to leave it in discreet spots, such as someones office desk, when they aren't currently present. In this scenario the 'office' happened to be a golf cart:
For the person trying to beat social anxiety:
The act of giving a business card to someone encourages you to go out of your comfort zone and talk to strangers, people of importance and the occasional celebrity. Although you may not think you have the guts to hand Seth Rogen your business card and explain why he needs a journalism intern, it builds communication skills that are great for networking in any field.
In case Sausage Party didn't rank high on your 2016 movie list, how about pressuring Ted Mosby to be your future employer?
Being personal in an age of impersonality:
With access to technology at the touch of a button, people forget the importance of face to face interaction nowadays. By becoming that person that puts forth the extra effort to make an impression, whether it be in the form of a card or not, the impact lasts much longer than a simple connection request.
Business cards make dreams come true:
Last but certainly not least, business cards truly do come in handy when you least expect it. My thread starts and ends with Dylan O'Brien, but the constant theme throughout is the underlying yet overwhelmingly important, business card.
Although none of these celebrities, amongst the many others people in the industry now in possession of my card, have called to hire me (still keeping my fingers crossed) they all do have one thing in common; my name and my contact info.
One day when Seth Rogen decides to clean out his wallet or Ashton Kutcher goes to put something in his golf-cart cupholder, they will find my 3.5x2 and they will remember the girl with the business card. Call me optimistic, but I'll take that 0.00009% chance any day of the week.
So, yes, the internet has taken over the necessity of paper products in today's society, but I promise you this: human interaction will always be a crucial part of the professional world. And you'll be kicking yourself when you don't have your own card to physically be a part of it.