When I first arrived in China, I was eager to make myself a stack of business cards. It wasn’t that I understood yet how fundamental they are to Chinese professional culture; no, not at all. In fact, I was just eager to spin some fun logos and fonts into a pseudo-professional validation of my own status as a visiting researcher, all for the unbeatable price of about $4. Fortunately, my vanity came in handy.
I went to the neighborhood print shop, by which I mean some guy operating out of his living room window overlooking the street. I haggled with him over the slightly important detail of putting my contact information on the card, as he protested that my English email address was too long to fit. I insisted, and a few hours later, I had a warm stack of freshly printed cards. I slipped them in my pocket, my secret weapon for the upcoming string of conferences I had to attend.
At the conferences, I quickly became versed in business card culture. In conferences in China, people often introduce themselves by silently handing you their business card, gently presenting it held with both hands in a sign of respect. You are expected to reciprocate with your own card (luckily I already had my own stack). Then, more often than not, you scrutinize each other’s cards until you see some information that could form the basis of a conversation. It’s efficient, functional, and fairly antithetical to the gregarious American handshake and small talk. My usual congenial “So, where are YOU from?” line sounded oddly canned, overly loud and direct in this new professional setting. And so I quickly learned how to present a business card, my first step in navigating Chinese professional culture.
我刚到中国时就特积极的做了一叠子的名片。那不是因为我已经了解名片在中国职业文化中的重要性。其实当时我只是想满足一下我的一点虚荣心。在名片上我可以用一些很酷的字体和商标来专业地显示我研究生的职位。而且那一叠只用了我4美元。还好当时的那点虚荣心没有白费。
我去了附近的一家印刷店。这所谓的店就是一个客厅的小窗户而老板就坐在窗户口。我要求他将我的一些联系方式印上去。他却一直抱怨说我的电子邮件名太长了。我坚持我的要求。几个小时之后，我终于有了一叠刚印出来的名片，拿在手里还有一点温温的感觉。我将它们放入口袋。它们将成为我在这之后一连串会议中的秘密武器。
从会议中我了解了名片文化。用双手递名片是中国人在会议中常常用的一种很客气的自我介绍的方式。而收到名片的人也应当回礼。也就是说你也要奉上自己的名片（庆幸我我已经印了一叠）。交换完后看看对方的名片找一些可以攀谈的共同点。这个程式又有效率又实用而且正好就是美国那边的握手和小聊的对照。我的那句“所以您是哪儿来的？”在中国得职业场合中听起来有点别扭而且又有点太直接了。所以如何递名片便是我迈进中国职业市场学的第一步。