Vocations · Career Resources

A card that says
who you are and how to reach you

A networking card has room for about six short lines. Pick what it is for, then write your name, a headline, one line on what you do or want next and two or three ways to reach you. The tool counts every line against what fits on a standard card at a readable size, flags what will crowd or confuse, and prints a sheet of ten fronts and a sheet of backs to cut out.

Make a cardWhat you get

Cards

The worked example is made up: a nursing student for a career fair, an illustrator for a conference and a first draft with too much on it. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Career ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per card: what it is for, name, headline, one line, up to four contact lines and up to three lines for the back; a character count on every line against what fits a 3.5 by 2 inch card; notes on what to cut; and printable sheets of ten fronts and ten backs with cut guides.
Who it is for
High school and college students heading to career fairs, job seekers, freelancers and anyone who meets people at events, plus the teachers and career staff who prepare them.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per card. Prints a sheet of ten fronts, a sheet of ten backs, the record, every card in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Career Resources space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick what the card is for.
  2. Write your name, headline and one line.
  3. Add two or three ways to reach you.
  4. Fix any line that is too long.
  5. Print the fronts and backs on cardstock.

Make a card

Writing for a very small page

What goes where on a small cardNameAs people say it.The biggest text.About 26characters.HeadlineWho you are now.One line, about 40.NextWhat you do orwant.Specific, notadjectives.ReachTwo or three ways.No https:// or www.What goes where on a small cardNameAs people say it.The biggest text.About 26 characters.HeadlineWho you are now.One line, about 40.NextWhat you do or want.Specific, not adjectives.ReachTwo or three ways.No https:// or www.
A card is read in two seconds at a career fair and again a week later at a desk: it has to work both times.

How the limits were set

A standard US business card is 3.5 by 2 inches. With a margin of about a fifth of an inch, a line of 8 to 9 point type holds roughly 40 characters, and a name set larger holds about 26. Those are the limits the tool counts against. They are working figures, not printer rules: a narrow typeface fits more, a bold one fewer.

Make the follow-up easy

The point of a card is the follow-up. An email address you check, and a phone number if you want calls, matter more than a long list of profiles. Write a web address the way people will type it, without https:// or www. A specific line, such as the kind of work you want next, gives the other person a reason to remember you.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Networking and career fair tips (careeronestop.org).
  2. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Preparing for a career fair (naceweb.org).
  3. Butterick, M. Practical Typography: point size and line length (practicaltypography.com).
  4. ISO 216 and US paper sizes: Letter is 8.5 by 11 inches; a 2-by-5 grid of 3.5 by 2 inch cards fills 7 by 10 inches.

The worked example is made up, including the people and web addresses. The character limits are working figures stated on the page. Print at actual size (100%); printers vary, so check one sheet before printing many. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.