Crafty Cards

Full name? Check. Updated contact information? Check. Now what? The National Institutes of Health Office of Intramural Training and Education's Careers blog this week contemplates the contents of a well-crafted business card. "Your contact information should be something that you will actually use," NIH OITE says, adding that "a street address is not as critical these days, and it is your choice whether to add that." In its place, the office suggests listing links to your Web site. "One of the best cards I have seen recently was from a postdoc who used an image of her work. It was a terrific conversation starter as she described her research interests and how that figure was a key piece of data in solving a scientific mystery," NIH OITE says. No matter what you put on them, the office makes one thing especially clear: "keep them protected, the last thing you want to do is hand out a card that looks like it has been chewed on," it says.