Networking is the process of meeting and maintaining contact with persons who can provide information, referrals, leads, support, or even money for your professional or career endeavor. Whenever you are in the position to meet someone who could become part of your network, it is a good idea to have your contact information available in pre-printed format so you can easily provide it to them. There are two types of cards that can serve this function. The first you are no doubt quite familiar with: the business card. The second—the calling card—may be less familiar.

Business cards usually have the logo of the business you work for as well as your name, title, and contact information. Calling cards may be either a bit smaller or larger, and only contain your personal contact information. Calling cards often are associated with the social elite who years ago would present a calling card to a maid or butler so their presence could be announced to the masters of the house they were visiting. But is there a reason to return to using them today?

In this era where successful workers often move from employer to employer every three years or so, there is an advantage to using a calling card when networking. Your personal contact information may not change as frequently as your work contact information. You also may be interested in networking for personal endeavors outside of your place of employment-- perhaps a discrete consulting engagement, or charitable work. In these cases you may wish to have people contact you at home rather than your place of work.

Whether you choose to use your business card or a calling card, you should always follow these guidelines on using them when networking:

• Offer your card when meeting someone you would like to maintain contact with, and feel free to ask for theirs in return.
• Keep a good supply of cards with you when attending meetings or events, but don’t forget to keep a few in your wallet or purse for those chance encounters.
• As soon as you get a chance, write on the back of the other person’s card any key facts or areas of interest you want to remember about them
• When you get back home or to the office, enter their contact information into your computer contact list and include the notes you wrote on the back in the notes section of your data fields.

No matter how many cards you collect, your network will not be effective if you don’t keep in contact with its members periodically. For more information on using calling cards, correspondence cards, and notes to keep in contact with your network, visit www.notes4success.com .

© Copyright 2006 Joseph J. Tomaino

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