published July 19, 2012

By Harrison Barnes, CEO and Founder - BCG Attorney Search left

Select the Right Job Title – It Matters

Job Titles are Important

According to a survey carried out by a leading recruitment firm, almost all of the 1,500 office workers sampled in the survey said that if given a choice, they would select a decent job title against a pay hike. The survey also clarified that clerks prefer being called “Specialists” or “Office Logistics Coordinators” as opposed to the traditional title of “Office Clerk.” Recruiters should understand the magnitude of importance that job seekers have started giving to their job title, more so in the case when they are seeking a job change. Titles are enormous attention grabbers, and they are second only to the salary, in a candidate's consideration of whether to accept a job offer.

Recession may induce job seekers to pay significant attention to the salary and benefits offered, but most job seekers agree that a good pay alone would not induce them to accept an offer; they need a good job title too. This is attributed to the fact that job designations play a vital role in determining s person's future career.

Not a Fine Option

In the past, job titles did not carry that much of an importance as the responsibilities of the job were not always clearly specified via the job title. However, today, people pay a lot of attention to appropriateness of their job title. Shakespeare's “what's in a name” no longer holds true at least when it comes to designations. For instance, some employees manage five individuals and handle customer queries apart from maintaining a cost budget. These people usually do not appreciate the simple addition of the word “senior” to their previous job title as the revised title may not essentially mirror their ability to handle more complex tasks and may just signal the age factor. Hence, the use of “Office Manager” is preferred by many instead of “Senior Office Assistant.” HR managers must realize that a stimulating job title may well augment an employee's self-confidence and can signal the company' belief in the employee's potential to rise up the ranks and succeed. Some industry experts believe that jobs must be titled properly and must ignite a motivational quotient; Job titles also need to mirror delight and confidence.

Keep It Real


A number of organizations have not altered job titles in quite a lot of years. However, in order to move with the times and acknowledging the changing job roles and recent definitions of new roles, the HR managers in these companies are devising fancy and fun designations. However, while doing so, they need to ensure that they do not take this change too far and end up with titles that do not do justice to job description. Balancing the creativity of the job title with the reality of the job is extremely important as at the end of the day, it is the title that the potential sees first in a job posting and if the title does not make sense to him, he may not even read the posting, let alone applying for the job.

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