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I've recently started attended seminars and events for my career. The problem is, I don't have a business card to give or to show every time someone asks for it, because my company doesn't issue business cards to temporary employees.

Is it an issue to make my own personal business card on which I may or may not put my current employer?

EDIT: Some of the event invitations were forwarded to me from my co-workers/manager and some are emailed to us employees. I think my manager doesn't want me to attend some of these events, that is why i go there personally for my own professional growth.

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  • possible duplicate of Is there a canonical reference for business cards?
    – gnat
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 6:00
  • In some companies, there's a rule that you SHOULD NOT use the company name except on company-provided business cards -- and very definitely not use the company logo; that gets into trademark protection territory and you really don't want to deal with the details of making sure it is used PRECISELY correctly. Check with your own company and find out what they do and don't consider appropriate.
    – keshlam
    Commented Jul 30, 2014 at 1:51

3 Answers 3

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It's no problem to make your own business card. There are plenty of companies that don't even issue business cards for their full-time permanent employees. You need a way to give your contact information to people you meet at these seminars and events, and the business card is the easiest way to do so.

I think it'd be a good idea to put your employer's name and your title on the business card, that way people know you're employed and that information could help them to remember who you were when they look at your card. You can also include your company's phone number and your work email address, but since you say you're a temporary employee, it'd be a better idea to include your personal phone number and email address. That way people can still contact you after you leave your current employer.

EDIT: Your manager doesn't have a problem with you attending those events that he forwards to you (otherwise he wouldn't forward them to you), and it wouldn't hurt to ask him if the company can make some business cards for you since you would like to attend those events. Also you can have two sets of cards if you prefer (one business and one personal), but only give one of those cards to anyone you meet, otherwise they might be confused about how they should contact you.

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  • is it ok to have two kinds of business card? one card for the personal only and one which has my employer? also i edited my question
    – Blues
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 9:08
  • @Blues I edited my answer.
    – user20925
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 13:51
  • @Blues: of course. Maybe the insight needed is that a "business card" that doesn't mention your employer is just a piece of paper with your name and some personal details on it. If you're not working it's generally none of your employer's business who you tell your name and number to. I guess if your contract has a morality clause and you're handing them out in nightclubs in the hopes of getting lucky then they might be a little concerned, but even then...
    – Steve Jessop
    Commented Jan 9, 2015 at 18:02
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Are you representing your employer at these events? Is your employer paying for you to attend these events? If yes to either of these, then I would suggest asking their approval to put their name down on a card that you'd pay to get X copies made as I'd see the company having some say in this.

On the other side, if you are doing this for your own personal growth, then I'd suggest making cards that don't list your current employer that are a way for people to connect with you and build your network.

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  • Some events are asking me what company/employer i work for but I'm attending these events at my own expense.
    – Blues
    Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 9:10
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Is it an issue to make my own personal business card on which I may or may not put my current employer?

Presumably, you are attending these seminars and events on your own, not as a representative of your company, nor on company business.

Thus it's perfectly reasonable for you to hand out your own personal cards, containing your personal contact information. That's a very reasonable way to network.

However, it's not perfectly reasonable to include your employer's information on the card, without their permission.

You could always ask your boss if it would be okay to put company information on your own personal card. If they wanted you to have their business cards, they would have provided them for you, so most likely the answer is "No", but the only way to know for sure is to ask.

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