Lillian Cohen-Moore

One of my bosses, Jennifer Brozek, told me something  before she took me to my first con as her assistant.

Write on the back of the business cards people give you.

Without that word of advice, one of the cards I received that first con might have lost any context after the caffeine and sleep deprivation had faded, leaving me royally screwed at a later date. With that little note to myself on the back, it helped cement the meeting in my head–I’m a big believer in using kinesthetic things to get this stuff to stick–and it gave me a very valuable contact for the future.

Saving those notated cards is a great way to start building your Rolodex as an assistant. While your boss (or bosses) has a slightly different field of contacts to make and maintain, building yourself a base of fellow assistants, interns, and folks in the know will only make your life a little easier.