Try something unique, accounting student business cards (example cards included)

September 10 2014

This question has come up more and more lately so it’s time to address it!

Let me first say that I never used a business card and thought they we’re tacky, however…. my wife used one and got 12 offers! That changed my mind a bit…

She here are four guidelines for any accounting student that I’ve developed (with my wife’s approval of course) while working on resume’s and action plan’s for the recruiting process:

Business cards are a great way to stand out in the career fair, but only if you do it right.
If the cards are done incorrectly with misspellings, grammatical errors or tacky, they will prevent you from moving forward with the firms.
If you’re appearance and demeanor are soft or weird, the business card can come off as soft or weird.
I would not recommend using a photo (just make sure you have a LinkedIn page with a professional updated photo of you). The reason for this is most business cards with photos are tacky and you will already be standing out with having business cards (no need to overdue it). Not to mention, if you’re handing them a business card, you are right in front of them!
The cards need to be neat and clean and it can provide a platform to bring up unique qualities about you not stated on your resume. For example, my wife had an ocean and fish in the background (very clean and crisp photo) and it allowed a talking point of how she was previously a marine biology major and an avid scuba diver.

The other day I worked with a woman who purchased the course Get Hired by Big 4 Accounting Firms and she asked me what I though of this business card:

I love it! It’s clean, crisp, has key contact information, and shows she is a member of Beta Alpha Psi.

I only made one recommendation, put a defining quote on the back.

Something that describes who you are and what you stand for?

She came up with something incredible:

There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.

If I were to see a quote like that on the back of the business card, I would think:

This person has defined them self
They are thoughtful
This person reflects on what makes them different
They are a hard worker and stand out from the crowd
They’re not afraid to be different, in a powerful way

So what about you, as an accounting student, what will your business card say?

As a bonus, here was my wife’s business card, with the Maiden Name:

http://www.advicefortaxpreparers.com/ Bill Meador CPA, JD

As a long time tax guy, the first time I heard the idea of an accounting major using a business card at a career fair my reaction was about the same as yours. But after seeing the cards, I am for it at the career fair if it is done right. The card by itself would not push me to hire them, but it would definitely help me to remember them (which is obviously half the battle).