Business Cards, Evernote & LinkedIn, Oh My!

Written by Kevin Spear

Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

Business cards and LinkedIn are important tools in a job search. Business cards are vital for giving a tangible reminder of your visit. LinkedIn is your virtual resume and the primary way recruiters search for talent. If you use Evernote, you have a way to make them work together for you.

Evernote’s camera feature has come a long way. It recognizes when you are taking a picture of a business card. It will find the contact information in the card. But what is even more powerful is it will use that information to find your new contact on LinkedIn and give you the option to connect with them. You can even send your information to your new contact.

This feature should work on Android as well as iOS phones and tablets. For more information, Evernote has good documentation.

In order to enable this feature, you can do the following on you iOS device.

1. Tap on your settings in the top left
2. Tap on General
3. Tap on Camera
4. Tap on Business Cards
5. At the top is the LinkedIn logo. If you are not connected, tap “Connect.”
6. Enter your LinkedIn email and password. Now you should be connected.
7. Go back and tap on “My contact info.” Check and edit your information. You will be able to send your information to the person’s email address on the business card.

Now you are ready to use Evernote to keep your scanned business cards. When you receive a card at an event, you can do the following:

1. Set the business card on a contrasting background. A white card should be on a dark background so the camera can find the edges of the card
2. Take a picture of the business card. The app should recognize the card as such.
3. If the card is two-sided, you can take a picture of both sides.
4. The app should recognize the text and fill in contact fields. Always check the text to be sure the app accurately converted the text. There is also a chance text will be added to the wrong fields.
5. The app will let you know if it finds a match on LinkedIn. It is based on the email address the person has entered on LinkedIn.

As with any feature, it may take some experimenting and testing to make it work for you. But when you take the time to learn this new feature, you can save several steps in gathering and recording your contact information.

Kevin Spear

Kevin is a driven digital marketing professional who combines creativity and technology. He has designed and illustrated dozens of books. When he worked at a computer book publisher, he was introduced to web design and blogging.

When he went back for his MBA, Kevin became interested in combining design, the Internet, and content marketing to create effective campaigns. When he moved to Phoenix, he was a Facebook Marketing Expert at Revana. He served as a consultant for small to medium-sized businesses.

Today, Kevin manages his design and marketing business from Ohio. His wife is a children’s pastor and he serves in her ministry. They have a son in Phoenix and a daughter in West Palm Beach, Florida.