What Should I Put on My Business Card?

I Showed Up to a Networking Event Without a Card

Last month I went to a startup meetup. Over 100 people, everyone swapping business cards. I was the one reading out my phone number. (Actually I gave my KakaoTalk ID -- Korea's main messaging app -- and watching the other person type it into their notes app was a bit embarrassing.)

On the way home, I decided to get cards made. Design was easy. The problem was the title.

"Fullstack Developer" Is Technically Accurate

At work I mostly do frontend. React, Next.js, that's my main stack. But I also do backend stuff. Building APIs with Node.js, touching AWS infrastructure, designing DB schemas. Doesn't that make me fullstack?

But writing "Fullstack Developer" feels wishy-washy. Like someone who does both but excels at neither. Truth is, I know frontend pretty deeply, while my backend skills are more "it runs, doesn't it?" level. (Honestly, I Google DB index optimization every single time.)

I Spent an Hour Looking at What Others Write

Scrolled through developer business card photos on Twitter for an hour. "Software Engineer" was the safest bet. Others went specific: "Frontend Developer," "Backend Engineer," "DevOps Engineer." The one that stuck with me was someone who wrote "Problem Solver." (A bit cringe, honestly.)

Startup founders mostly had "Co-Founder & CTO." Saw a solo developer who put "CTO" on theirs. Not wrong, but it made me chuckle.

I Ended Up Making Two Versions

Version A: "Software Engineer" Version B: "Frontend Developer"

Printing 100 of each cost about $23 per batch. Two versions meant $46 total. Felt wasteful, but I went for it. Plan was to use B at dev meetups and A everywhere else.

Two months later, I've only been using A. Version B is still sitting in my drawer. When I say "Frontend Developer," people respond with "oh, so you make websites?" (Which isn't wrong, but explaining the nuance every time gets old.)

Turns Out the Back of the Card Mattered More

Front side: name, title, contact info. Back side: GitHub URL and blog URL. In two months, exactly 3 people actually visited my GitHub from the card. (I checked Analytics. Exactly 3.)

But one of those 3 ended up becoming my side project collaborator, so maybe the cards paid for themselves after all.

Identity Doesn't Fit on a Business Card

At the end of the day, a business card is just a conversation starter. Whether it says "Software Engineer" or "Frontend Developer," the 3-minute chat after handing it over matters way more. If you can make someone think "I'd like to talk to this person again" in those 3 minutes, the title barely matters.

Still, every time I hand one over, I catch myself wondering "does this actually represent me?" Five years in and my identity is still this shaky -- but maybe that's exactly because it's been five years.