Until you actually become employed, finding a job is your job. Designing an effective custom business card can help you promote your skills with little effort. Having a professional looking business card is an ideal self-marketing tool as it promotes you to potential employers while also leaving them with your contact information. A tasteful looking business card can also help set you apart from other job applicants.

Put the Back of Your Business Card to Good Use!

A great idea to help promote your skills to potential employers is to use the back of your business card. Keep it professional looking and not overcrowded. It’s best to say something like “Why Hire Susan R. Jones?” and then list your skills and accomplishments in bullets. Remember that when you’re communicating information in bullets, you should write concisely in point form rather than in full sentences.

Using the back of your cards to promote your skills is an excellent idea to make you stand out from other applicants since not everyone does this. It’s best to keep your business card design basic and very professional looking if you’re going to include extra text on the back. You don’t want to look like you’re overdoing your self-promotion. There should still be a comfortable amount of white space on both the front and the back. 

Business cards with text on the back should serve as mini resumes that sum up your skills, education, experience and training. This makes them ideal to leave with potential employers during job interviews. But, you can also carry them to hand out whenever you have a possible job lead as they could get you an interview.

Reflect Your Field and Your Style

Handing out your business card at a job interview to promote your skills and provide a convenient way for the interviewer to contact you shows both initiative and a professional approach on your part. Keep your job title simple and accurate such as “Michael Nelson, Advertising Copywriter” or “Wendy Jackson, Computer Programmer.” The design of your card, including the color, font style, and other details, should reflect your industry. Remember that your business card should reflect your business style and not necessarily your personal style.

Unless you’re a children’s entertainer, your business card is not the place for too much color or graphics such as puppies or butterflies. If a colored business card works for your industry, this may be a good idea. Otherwise, stick to a pale neutral color with easy to read black ink. Pale green could work well for an environmental specialist, while a pale blue business card may be appropriate for a life guard or swimming instructor. Remember though, that usually a business card should look more professional than artistic, and it should co-ordinate well with the design of your letterhead resume, website and cover letter.

You Can Get the Right Attention with Professional Design

Custom letterhead in a clear, professional design gets the attention of job interviewers and human resources workers alike. Getting this attention is important because the typical resume reader spends less than a minute on each resume – sometimes only a few seconds.

Use printed originals not photocopies. A clean, tasteful custom letterhead design on 8 ½ x 11 quality heavier weight paper is an excellent way to show prospective employers that you’re professional. Don’t be overly ornate in your lettering or go overboard in terms of creativity. A resume and cover letter are supposed to convey your background and skills concisely. Custom letterhead design for job seeking is not the place to show off your art skills – unless you’re applying for jobs in a creative field. Even then, being too creative may end up costing you in having your letterhead and resume discarded if the interviewer is expecting the traditional black on white in standard font.

Times New Roman is the best font style to use on resume letterhead in most cases, although Arial and Tahoma are commonly accepted in companies with a more modern business culture. Tasteful borders that separate the different sections of your resume can help make the page easy to read. Using bulleted points to sum things up rather than full sentences is also a good idea. Some capitalization, bolding and italicizing can make certain parts of your resume stand out well, but don’t overuse these techniques or the result may be a confusing, difficult to read resume.

The most important thing you can do before deciding on a design for your custom letterhead for job seeking, is to check whether the companies you’re applying to have submission guidelines for resumes. Check with the human resources department or the company website. It’s controversial whether custom letterhead should be used on a cover letter or not. Some HR advisors agree with it, while others say the cover letter page should not contain any letterhead. Remember, fitting in with the specific company you want to be hired by is the best thing to do in order to have a good chance of getting hired. 

You Can Find the Perfect Paper for Your Field and Industry

Generally, you should use bright white quality paper of a nice, heavy weight for your custom letterhead resume. You could also use off white or even light grey or light tan. A light neutral still looks professional, yet stands out from the majority of resumes which will be on white or off white paper. However, you are taking a risk if the resume reader is expecting white or off white paper. Know what is preferable in your location, industry, field and specific company since standing out in the wrong way may get your resume get tossed out.

If you’re in a creative field, submitting a resume and cover letter on letterhead paper in a pale shade such as green or blue may work, but again it’s best to make your decision about this very carefully. If you do decide on a full color or 4/0 professional letterhead approach for you business keep it businesslike. Refrain from looking gimmicky such as having each letter in your name a different color. Use a professional printer and choose a clean, classy letterhead on quality weight paper for your resume.

Here are some ideas for paper to use for your letterhead resume and cover letter:

70 pound opaque – This smooth, high quality offset stock paper is used in communications media such as magazines and books. It is great looking and feels heavy in the hand. This is the ideal choice when you want the back of your resume and cover letter to have a smooth look without the print from the front showing through.

24 pound laid – When you want a personalized look that is a little creative, yet also completely professional and acceptable everywhere, this paper features a subtle finish that looks similar to that of hand-made papers. This is a great choice for both cover letters and resumes and it presents as unpretentious and unique.

24 pound linen classic – This is an all purpose business paper most likely very familiar to the readers of your cover letters and resumes. The linen-like texture adds a touch of elegance. This classic paper is used daily in many businesses for corporate reports, legal briefs and business letterheads. You’ll make a professional impression when you use this for both cover letters and resumes. This or the 70 lb. opaque is especially suitable for more conservative career fields such as healthcare and law. 

You Have Only Seconds to Make a Good Impression on Paper

It’s estimated that the average human resources professional spends between 15 and 45 seconds reading a resume and cover letter. This means you have to instantly create a good impression by promoting yourself well on paper.

A resume package that includes a cover letter and resume with custom letterhead makes you stand out as a unique, yet professional individual. Everything in the resume package must promote you in the best light as the ideal fit for the job. All of the information you include must be accurate and honest. How you display and promote that information can impress your potential employer and get your resume in the short stack rather than in the discard pile.

Custom letterhead should express your best business personality. It should grab the attention of a human resources professional due to a tasteful design that meets the conventions of the company and the field or industry in general. The paper should be of a quality look and weight. The letterhead design should be clean and tasteful with the right amount of white space around it. The cover letter and resume should be in the same style and tone and be completely typo-free with excellent writing and grammar throughout.

You need a professional resume package that suits your career type and level. A recent college graduate looking for an entry level career job is going to need a completely different resume than an experienced mid-level manager or executive. The college grad would emphasize his or her education, while the management professional would promote his or her experience to potential employers. And a parent re-entering the workforce would need a different style of resume than someone changing careers.

You Can Adapt Your Basic Resume Package to Fit Each Job

Once you have a resume and cover letter designed to match your particular career situation and field, you can and should adjust your written communications to each job you apply for. This is easy to accomplish if you have a good, professional resume package to start with and you have a good basic understanding of what the company you hope to work for is looking for in a successful applicant. Address each requirement the organization asks for and use direct quotes. 

For example, if the job ad you’re replying to with your cover letter and resume specifies they prefer the applicant to have “public relations experience and an ability to work creatively on deadline” be specific about how you fit this requirement. You could say something like “My 12 years of public relations experience has definitely seen me “work creatively on deadline” on a consistent basis. As you can see by my client references on my accompanying resume, clients are impressed by my work and I’ve even beat deadlines many times. I’m committed to providing excellent customer service as well as top quality work to clients.”

Organize a Timeline

It’s no secret that job interviews can be stressful. One simple thing that can ease the pressure and help you be a success at the interview, is to prepare a written plan. List everything you need to do to prepare for and bring to the interview and then add the time or date to have this completed by. Start your master list at least a week or several days before the interview.

For example, have your suit cleaned and pressed days before the interview rather than one day before. Store it in a closet along with your polished shoes, tasteful jewelry and the other items you’ll wear to the interview. Having your entire outfit ready days ahead can give you a great sense of relief and is one less thing to worry about in relation to your job interview.

Make sure you also have a tasteful bag and, depending on your climate, an umbrella in case of rain. Pack extra letterhead resumes in case you have more than one interviewer and also bring a stack of your business cards. Have transportation fare or gas in your car the day before the interview. Purchase thank you cards so you’ll be ready to follow up the day after your interview.

Practice Makes Perfect

If you’re nervous about what questions may be asked of you in the job interview, read books on the subject. It may help you to think about what questions will be asked and prepare responses to them. Having a friend or family member pretend to be the interviewer may also help you practice. Make sure you’re able to maintain comfortable eye contact and sit up straight without fidgeting. Also be sure to remind yourself not to babble during the interview, but rather listen carefully to the questions the interviewer asks you and answer them thoughtfully. You’ll need to promote yourself as the best fit for the job.

If you’re not sure how long it will take to get to the interview location, you may want to do a practice run. Get there early on the day of the job interview and wait in a nearby café until about five or ten minutes before your set interview time. You may also want to check out your parking options ahead of time if you’ll be driving and the bus stop location if you’ll be taking public transportation to the interview

Dress to Impress

Don’t just concentrate on having your job interview outfit cleaned and pressed in time. Give some thought to what you should wear. In most cases a business suit and dress shirt are appropriate. Try the outfit on and make sure it’s flattering on you and suitable for an office. If your job interview is for a position other than an office job, you may want to wear something less dressy such as a nice pair of pants and a dress shirt. No matter how casual the job, never wear jeans, dirty clothes, flip flops, revealing items or ripped clothes.

What is Business Web Hosting?

Web hosting provides businesses with a folder on a server for their website pages and files. Business web hosting companies rent out online space to promote other businesses. Having a company website is a must as organizations today need an online presence – either to showcase their products or to establish their credibility in their field.

Many different business web hosting plans are available and it’s important to choose the one that best supports your website design. As your business grows, you’ll need more space and more features, so you’ll need a web hosting plan that supports that growth. However, you don’t want to start out paying for features that you don’t use so finding a good web hosting company is essential.

Experienced, established business web hosting companies provide top-notch technical support that allows you to access your website when you want. They minimize downtime –  if your website is down you don’t have viewers and customers during that time. Good web hosts also provide back ups for all your files and information, plus they send you reports and statistics about your customers’ web activities. Beware of start up web hosting companies without expertise or experience.

Worldwide Promotion

Web hosting brings a global audience to your business website. Through your website, you can outline your products or services and your company’s commitment to its industry and customers. As your business expands, so will your need for bandwidth. Choose a web hosting company that will supply bandwidth as you increase your web pages and materials.

Promoting your website to attract new customers and inform existing ones can be done by including your company’s Internet address on mailings and communications that invite customers to “Check us out online at www.yourcompany.com.” Of course, using engine optimization, SEO, in your website’s content and articles to achieve top search engine ranking also drives qualified traffic to your site. People typing related search terms may see your company’s web address listed and click the link to your site.

Make sure your web hosting company will provide you with fast loading pages or potential customers may give up trying to connect with your site. Security is of course especially important online, so don’t overlook this when choosing a business web hosting company. There’s no point in trying to attract clients that end up not ordering from you because they don’t trust your online security features. The great thing about having your company showcased online is that you can easily promote your business website to suppliers and clients in your industry anywhere in the world.

Always Open 24/7

Your business website is always there 24/7 for your clients to gain information about you or order your products and services. This is great for business growth because your online catalog and information is there at their convenience to order from day or night. Selecting an established, reliable web hosting company is a must because any down time means your 24/7 store is no more. A company website shouldn’t ever be down more that 1% of the time – if at all.

Business web hosting plans often include unlimited emails. Email is a great way of following up on client requests and orders. Auto responders and automatic emails work 24/7 to be read at your customer’s convenience. Offering promotions to your current customers through email blasts may increase your sales significantly.

Interactive Features

Look for a dependable, established web hosting company that offers features like these:

*Automated invoicing and ordering

*Shopping carts, credit processing and other ecommerce solutions

*Top notch safety and security measures

*Full control of the website through your online control panel.

*Enough bandwidth to handle your expanding amount of graphics, audio or video

*Bulletin boards and interactive response features for your customers

1. Your Fundraising Orgnization Needs an Internet Presence

Let’s face it, every organization that needs to raise money from the public needs to stay in the public eye in a positive way. Today a website and Social Media Marketing (SMM) on sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow organizations the opportunity to do just that. Quality web hosting companies can provide causes with great web features to promote their values such as ‘leave a comment’ sections after articles about organizational efforts and events.

By creating social space for your cause, you can attract public participation and provide information for fundraising events. Reach out to donors and promote your values through blogs, articles and interactive features such as message boards. Fundraising doesn’t work unless people understand what an organization or cause is about and why they need to donate their time to help, their money or both. Including trustworthy articles and information on your website add value to your site and provide relevant information for site visitors. Press releases may be included on your fundraising site as well and many charitable organizations have a “Press Room” page on their website.  

1. Your Fundraising Orgnaization Needs to Keep Attracting Sponsors and Donors

If want to attract big corporate sponsors, you need to have a professional website hosted by a reliable company that will provide your organization with the space it needs to have an informative site. You must communicate clearly what your organization is all about and where the funds raised will go and who they will help. Photos are great additions to a fund raising website.

If you get some big sponsors, thank them on your website and mention them prominently. If other companies and individuals see that well known large companies are supporting your cause, they may be more likely to donate to you. Clearly include your fundraising goals, what you do to help, what you have done to help and what your organization’s future goals are. Include volunteer positions you need to fill for those wanting to donate time to your cause rather than money.

1. A Fundraising Website Can Help You Organize Your Event Way Ahead

Keep in mind that you need to start your fundraising website about a year ahead – or at least 6 months before your organization’s fundraising event. You don’t have to start out knowing the exact date of the event or other details. The idea is to get as much exposure and publicity for your cause and upcoming event as far in advance as possible and keep this going right up to and including your fundraising event. Keep updating your fundraising website and make it an accurate and accessible place!

Why Have Websites for Your Parties?

Using web hosting for websites for your parties can provide you with fun, interactive features so your guests are encouraged to communicate before and even after the party if you keep the site going with party photos and a continuing blog. Not only that – web hosted party websites give you an ideal place to organize the party from start to finish.

Party websites can make your special occasions even more special. You can be as imaginative as you like with site features and look for web hosting plans that include features such as graphics, animations, a search box, message boards and links to other sites.

What Are Some Ideas for Your Party Websites?

The design and tone of your party web text should suit the type of party. Other than that, the possibilities are endless. Since you won’t need ecommerce features, you may want to get free web hosting. Check both free and paid web hosting services to find the web host plan that offers the features you need for your party website. Look for established experienced web hosting businesses.

Consider having a party website for a holiday party such as for Christmas or New Year’s. Or, create a website for a housewarming in your new house. You may even want to start with a blog that highlights your search for the perfect home. Another party website idea is one for a Fourth of July party at your summer cabin. A party website is also perfect for a family reunion as you can post many photos and encourage message board communication before the big event. You may want to add a special feature such as a family tree graphic.

What Features Should You Include on Your Party Websites?

*Event Details

*Who’ll Be There list

*Message Board

*Maps

*Photographs

*Weather information

*Polls or quizzes

*Blog

Custom Rubber Stamps add Personality and a Small Business Feel to Your Communications

Rubber stamps can add a great small business look to your marketing materials. Show you’re proud of your small business by not trying to look like a big business and by showing off your products. For example, you can create package headers and labels that look home-spun and rustic to sell your handcrafted jewelry designs or other items.

Quality, customized rubber stamps can be ordered easily and cheaply to meet the exact needs of your small business. Self-inking rubber stamps are both convenient and non-messy to use for yourself and your staff.

Think beyond address, and “Paid” stamps and create the exact stamps you need. Keep in mind that most rubber stamps work best on matte, non-glossy paper. If you want to use rubber stamps on shiny marketing materials, ask for stamps that contain special inks made to use on glossy papers and cardstock.

Custom Rubber Stamps are an Inexpensive Way to Communication Solutions

Since you decide what kinds of rubber stamps your small business needs, a customized rubber stamp is a low cost way to meet a specific business communication need. Custom rubber stamps can be used for your paperwork and systems as well as for customer communications.

Small business start ups especially may not have a sufficient customer base to justify getting a supply of printed office materials and rubber stamping can add a homespun appeal and fill the gap before ordering pre-printed supplies. You may choose to customize rubber stamps to add to letters and communications such as in a statement like “Ask Us About Our New Mail Box Service”

You may also want to try and compel slow paying customers to take action by getting a more creative stamp made than the usual “Past Due” or “Please Remit.” For instance, your custom rubber stamp could read: “Urgent – Please call 555-555-555 now” and many customers may call since you have your company’s phone number right there.

Custom Rubber Stamps are Convenient

A popular idea for a custom rubber stamp for a small business is the customized signature stamp. A rubber stamp is formed in the exact image of a hand written signature. These are perfect for assistants to stamp onto checks for bank deposits to save time. With a custom rubber signature stamp, the effort of a higher level employee to sign many checks on a regular basis is eliminated and the time saved can be better used for other tasks. Look for high quality signature stamps and add text around the signature if needed.

Stamps for Start Ups

Rubber address stamps are perfect for start up and small businesses. The budget is very limited when businesses are just beginning or are very small, plus the location may be temporary. This way, rubber stamps can be used to place the return address on business envelopes and other stationery before the company is established with a more permanent address. Rubber address stamps offer good value for their low cost because a quality self-inking rubber stamp can be used thousands of times before needing re-inking.

Small Business Solutions

Rubber address stamps can be customized to also include a phone number and/or web address giving small businesses even more value for their money. Self-inking rubber address stamps are also non-messy and convenient to use.

A self-inked stamp has a rubber die that hits a built in ink pad when the stamp is pressed. Self-inking rubber address stamps offer an inexpensive and non-messy way to get your company address out there. You can choose from pre-designed business address templates or get a totally custom designed company rubber address stamp. .

Inexpensive Promotion

Small businesses can maximize the use of their quality rubber address stamps by using a little imagination. Not only are these stamps great for getting the company address on brochures and product information, but you can stamp the company name and address onto employee name tags for special community events.

You can also stamp the inside front of cards and other materials you send to clients. You may also want to add a sales pitch to your rubber address stamp such as: For great value go to: www.brobeckshoes.com  Be creative and choose interesting colors and fonts – but at the same time make sure the look and style made by your rubber address stamps suits your business and its branding.