Business cards. I've been avoiding the idea of making business cards, but to date I am not one-hundred percent sure why. Maybe it is the awkwardness of self-promotion, or perhaps I never felt them necessary at this stage in my career. Whatever the reason was before, in the past six hours I have really wished I had some. This sudden desire to have business cards spawned from a tip-off from a good friend that there was a lecturer in evolution and conservation of SE Asian reptiles and amphibians attending the conservation conference she was at. This was exactly the kind of person I wanted to meet - not only out of sheer curiosity about his lab and research, but also for networking purposes. I was invited to attend a poster session at the conference, and whilst the Person Of Interest (hereafter, POI) was not attending the session (but I plan to catch POI before the conference ends), I met so many people doing amazing research that I wanted to share contact details with. As I questioned and spoke with a few people about their research, the topic of future communications cropped up. At this point, the person I was speaking to would leave a lasting positive impression on me by casually gliding a smart business card of their contact info in my direction. I was probably a little too enthusiastic about the cards, and may have disturbed the people with my excitement about the colours, but the point is, I never had experienced the power of the business card before. It was powerful, and oh-so-shiny. I was more than thoroughly impressed and knew immediately I would use the information in my hand. I would contact that person. Then it occured to me - how will I impress POI when I meet him? How will I sell myself so convincingly that I will secure a firm contact? A business card was the answer. Well, if I had one. Which I don't. Lesson learnt? Make business cards. In the mean time, scrap paper and illegible writing will have to suffice!
Thursday 24 January 2013
Playing it cool
Business cards. I've been avoiding the idea of making business cards, but to date I am not one-hundred percent sure why. Maybe it is the awkwardness of self-promotion, or perhaps I never felt them necessary at this stage in my career. Whatever the reason was before, in the past six hours I have really wished I had some. This sudden desire to have business cards spawned from a tip-off from a good friend that there was a lecturer in evolution and conservation of SE Asian reptiles and amphibians attending the conservation conference she was at. This was exactly the kind of person I wanted to meet - not only out of sheer curiosity about his lab and research, but also for networking purposes. I was invited to attend a poster session at the conference, and whilst the Person Of Interest (hereafter, POI) was not attending the session (but I plan to catch POI before the conference ends), I met so many people doing amazing research that I wanted to share contact details with. As I questioned and spoke with a few people about their research, the topic of future communications cropped up. At this point, the person I was speaking to would leave a lasting positive impression on me by casually gliding a smart business card of their contact info in my direction. I was probably a little too enthusiastic about the cards, and may have disturbed the people with my excitement about the colours, but the point is, I never had experienced the power of the business card before. It was powerful, and oh-so-shiny. I was more than thoroughly impressed and knew immediately I would use the information in my hand. I would contact that person. Then it occured to me - how will I impress POI when I meet him? How will I sell myself so convincingly that I will secure a firm contact? A business card was the answer. Well, if I had one. Which I don't. Lesson learnt? Make business cards. In the mean time, scrap paper and illegible writing will have to suffice!
Friday 11 January 2013
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