A desirable Job Title – is that the ‘be all and end all’?

A desirable job title is that the be all and end all

A desirable job title is that the be all and end all?

I start from a view point that I did not give much thought to what someone’s job title is nor mine but I acknowledge and understand the importance of it and how big a part this plays when looking to recruit and retain staff.  In terms of  myself I’ve had a few job title that I have given myself that I have changed intermittently in the last 2 years – that being Director, CEO, Project Director and more recently Managing Director all for the same role.

At our networking event a few weeks ago we had a LinkedIn Trainer coming to talk about use of LinkedIn for business development purposes and that got me thinking further about Jot Titles and particularly their importance in business specifically for the small business.

In terms of Linkedin – it is accepted by most authority figures that general good LinkedIn practices have moved many people away from their headline being a normal job title, such as partner, managing director, account executive or secretary to descriptions which demonstrate how they help other businesses – the people they can benefit who may be looking at the profile. The reason behind this is so that people actually see – very quickly – exactly what you do. On LinkedIn specifically, this means you can be found in the first place via search.

However, when you start thinking about it, what do some of the job titles we regularly use actually mean, and do they really help?

Managing Director: all well and good, but if it’s a micro business or one man business- does this give us any meaning.

Partner: typically used by lawyers and accountants. What does this conjure in people’s minds if this relates to any other type of business?

Account executive: this only draws meaning in the context of the industry (so poor for search), and even then is just a broad entry-level position.

Administrative assistant: another entry-level position that is unspecific, and can vary widely in responsibilities.

It’s a Common Issue:

Most start-ups have this issue, and though small in the scale of things start-ups need to be thinking about, it does have an impact. As I’ve acknowledged the same questions come up when recruiting employees too. Job titles are important in small businesses.

It is about messaging and being able to sell yourself to the people reading it. That is perhaps why people naturally go for the most important sounding title they can – after-all, they are the most important person in the company.

But this is short-sighted. Go to a networking event and you are often surrounded by managing directors and by CEOs. Your job title in this hyper-networking environment can be used as a tool to sell your services rather than your position, which is not going to stand out.

I think the best way forward is to elaborate on your role:

For your business cards, email footers, and LinkedIn profile it’s definitely worth considering elaborating on your role rather than your status. What can a client get from working with you? Could a managing director of an events company instead be just ‘Events Director’? This kind of subtle change gives your job title more clout in the marketplace.

The job title considerations aren’t just external. Think internally about how your first few staff can use their job title to connect with others. The ‘Account Executive’ is a common job title that is used in a few – completely different – industries. This not only cuts short networking abilities but fuels problems in recruitment. Do new entrants/ starters – even know what an account executive is, and would they search for it? Does it inform the skills that you are looking for? The answer is typically no. A more creative and specific job title is likely to get you a better pool of candidates and, most thankfully, a smaller one. It is a common experience as director of a recruitment agency to see more applications to job advertisements with vague job titles.

The other internal consideration is simply how the employee feels about their role. If their title is unspecific or avoids their skillset, might it contribute to a feeling of unimportance?

So my thinking point topics are:

  • Consider how the job title can be searched on LinkedIn
  • Consider what your title offers others
  • Consider what your title means in a micro-business
  • Consider what people your job title / description can attract

As always, looking forward to hearing your views here or on @safarazali

p.s  do a search on Linkedin for your current job title and see who else comes up!

https://safaraz.co.uk