Choosing The Right Job Title
Employers who do online job advertising should understand that stating or choosing the appropriate job title is paramount because it allows you to get the appropriate applications from the appropriate professionals. Using the wrong job titles can mean that job seekers don’t find your job posting when searching on online job sites. Job titles can be confusing at times, but for an employer to get applications from the appropriate candidates, they should confirm that that job titles are appropriate.
What Is A Job Title?
A job title is a short position title for a role within your company. Great job titles accurately describe the person’s role and job responsibility. It should indicate where the open position fits within your company’s hierarchy, which may mean using a prefix such as junior, assistant, senior, or executive.
When choosing your own job titles, Hiring Managers may be motivated to use a job title that will attract candidates and appear in a job search. However, it is crucial to remember that job titles have an internal and external role. Employees, vendors, customers, and even your Chief Executive Officer will use them to determine who and if they are speaking to the right person when they have questions or tasks to complete.
Tips On How To Choose A Job Title
Here we provide some advice though 7 tips on choosing your next job title:
- Focus on job responsibilities
- Include job keywords
- Avoid industry jargon and abbreviations
- Choose a suitable length
- Avoid unnecessary information
- Include the seniority level
- Avoid gendered language and outdated terms
1. FOCUS ON JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
The perfect title should make clear the job responsibilities and what the role entails. If you are unsure of the duties of new hires, begin by writing a job description and determining the job scope.
You may need to speak to the prospective employees’ line manager to discover the role’s responsibilities.
2. INCLUDE JOB KEYWORDS
A job seeker will be performing job searches, and the best job title must include the keywords job applicants may use. If you use a unique title that no one will search for, finding the perfect candidate will be hard or impossible.
3. AVOID INDUSTRY JARGON AND ABBREVIATIONS
Unless extremely well-known, job titles should not include abbreviations or industry jargon. Acronyms such as HR, CEO, and VP are well-recognised, but nothing stops you from having both, for example, Vice Presidents (VP) or Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
4. CHOOSE A SUITABLE LENGTH
Job titles that are too short or too long may suffer in job searches. The best job title that will appear in a job search is 50-70 characters long.
5. AVOID UNNECESSARY INFORMATION
To keep titles short, avoid unnecessary information that can be included elsewhere, such as in your job ad or job description. Salary, job codes, and location are excellent examples.
6. INCLUDE THE SENIORITY LEVEL
As previously mentioned, it is incredibly important to include the seniority level in the job title if you are to attract the right candidates. Including seniority will help potential employees with skills needed quickly find jobs at your medium or small business. Entry-level jobs may include keywords such as junior or assistant. A senior position might include manager, executive, or director.
7. AVOID GENDERED LANGUAGE AND OUTDATED TITLES
Outdated traditional titles and gendered language should be avoided when advertising your positions. Examples of obsolete job titles include ‘clerk,’ which has been replaced by ‘office assistant.’ Gendered job titles such as ‘waiter’ and ‘waitress’ should be replaced by ‘server’ or similar.
Recommended reading: Are You Ever Allowed To Discriminate In A Job Advert.
Creative Job Titles
Creative job titles may appear innovative and exciting, but these should only be used for creative jobs like design and marketing. Creative wording, such as ‘rock star,’ may be better placed in the job description. Ensure creative titles reflect the responsibilities of the position and career, and remember that potential employees will be making job searches and setting up job alerts.
Job Title Inflation
Job title inflation often occurs when a manager wants to provide recognition to an employee, but some implications might affect your company if you inflate the title of a position. When employers hire using an inflated title, the company might receive applications from candidates expecting a higher salary or more significant responsibilities.
Furthermore, clients and partners may speak to the wrong individual, giving a poor impression of your company and brand. They may look good on a resume, but misinformation will ultimately damage your brand and company culture.
RESOURCES FOR ATTRACTING JOB SEEKERS
If you are developing job titles, job descriptions, and job adverts, the following resources and articles will be immensely useful:
- Example Job Descriptions
- Job Description Template
- Job Advert Template
- How To Write A Job Description
- What To Include In A Job Description
- How To Write A Job Advert
Common Job Titles
We have conducted job title research and analysis of our data shows the job titles most commonly used by employers when advertising a job. Our list of 100 common job titles can help you in choosing the right job title that will attract a healthy number of qualified applicants:
- Home Care Assistant – View a Home Care Assistant Job Description
- Customer Service Representative – View a Customer Service Representative Job Description
- Cleaner – View a Cleaner Job Description
- Warehouse Person – View a Warehouse Person Job Description
- Computer User Support – View a Computer User Support Job Description
- Delivery Driver – View a Delivery Driver Job Description
- Healthcare Support Worker – View a Healthcare Support Worker Job Description
- Retail Store Manager – View a Retail Store Manager Job Description
- Recruiter – View a Recruiter Job Description
- Sales Manager – View a Sales Manager Job Description
- Sous Chef – View a Sous Chef Job Description
- Human Resources Assistant – View a Human Resources Assistant Job Description
- Stock Clerk
- Retail Customer Service – View a Retail Customer Service Job Description
- Customer Service Administrator – View a Customer Service Administrator Job Description
- Maid And Housekeeping Cleaner – View a Maid And Housekeeping Cleaner Job Description
- IT Support Engineer
- Forklift Driver
- Waiter / Waitress – View a Waiter Job Description | Waitress Job Description
- Project Manager – View a Project Manager Job Description
- College Lecturer
- Application Engineer – View an Application Engineer Job Description
- Night Care Assistant – View a Night Care Assistant Job Description
- Construction Labourer – View a Construction Labourer Job Description
- Software Project Manager
- Graduate Teaching Assistant – View a Graduate Teaching Assistant Job Description
- Baggage Porter
- Vocational Nurse
- SEN Teaching Assistant
- Marketing Manager – View a Marketing Manager Job Description
- Learning Support Carer
- Application Support Engineer – View an Application Support Engineer Job Description
- Registered Nurse – View a Registered Nurse Job Description
- .NET Software Developer – View a .NET Software Developer Job Description
- Chef And Head Cook – View a Chef And Head Cook Job Description
- Production Worker – View a Production Worker Job Description
- Customer Service Manager – View a Customer Service Manager Job Description
- Residential Assistant – View a Residential Assistant Job Description
- Forensic Accountant
- Class I Lorry Driver
- Restaurant Manager – View a Restaurant Manager Job Description
- Computer Engineer
- Healthcare Social Worker – View a Healthcare Social Worker Job Description
- Children’s Assistant
- Class II Lorry Driver
- Receptionist – View a Receptionist Job Description
- Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Quantity Surveyor – View a Quantity Surveyor Job Description
- HR Administrator – View an HR Administrator Job Description
- Community Care Assistant
- Financial Management Accountant – View a Management Accountant Job Description
- Java Software Developer – View a Software Developer Job Description
- Business Development Executive – View a Business Development Executive Job Description
- Chef Supervisor
- Business Analyst – View a Business Analyst Job Description
- Mental Health Therapist – View a Mental Health Therapist Job Description
- Nursing Home Nurse
- Primary School Teaching Assistant – View A Teaching Assistant Job Description
- Financial Accountant – View a Financial Accountant Job Description
- Support Administrator – View a Sales Support Administrator Job Description
- Tutor – View A Teacher Job Description
- Machine Operator – View an Equipment Operator Job Description
- Learning Support Assistant
- Services Account Executive
- Territory Sales Manager – View an Area Sales Manager Job Description
- Mental Health Assistant
- Support Manager – View a Customer Support Manager Job Description
- Teaching Assistant – View A Teaching Assistant Job Description
- Order Filler
- Electrical Maintenance Engineer
- Production Quality Supervisor
- Registered Mental Health Nurse – View a Registered Mental Health Nurse Job Description
- Nurse – View a Nurse Job Description
- Market Research Analyst – View a Market Research Analyst Job Description
- Medical Assistant
- Key Stage One Teacher
- Learning Disabilities Assistant
- Management Accountant – View a Management Accountant Job Description
- Practical Nurse
- Software Test Engineer – View a Software Tester Job Description
- Property and Community Association Worker
- Teachers and Instructor – View a Teacher Job Description
- Front End Developer
- Nursing Assistant – View a Nursing Assistant Job Description
- Operations Project Manager
- Property Lawyer
- Electrician – View an Electrician Job Description
- Nursery Teacher – View a Nursery Practitioner Job Description
- Night Nurse
- Sales Account Manager – View an Account Manager Job Description
- Data Architect
- Construction Site Manager – View a Construction Manager Job Description
- Accounting Assistant – View an Accounting Assistant Job Description
- Pensions And Benefits Administrator
- Service Engineer
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker – View a Landscaper Job Description | Groundskeeper Job Description
- Welder – View a Welder Job Description
- Nursery Worker – View a Nursery Assistant Job Description
- Mechanical Maintenance Engineer
- Surveyor – View a Building Surveyor Job Description
The job titles data used in our research is provided by our partner site; Check-A-Salary, where you can conduct salary benchmarking and check the average salary of your open positions.
Recruitment And Job Title
For your recruitment process to be successful, first you must have a pool of qualified candidates from your job ad. For you to get the appropriate applicants, you ought to have included an appropriate job title that entails the skills you would like your potential employee to have. Take for example you want to recruit a secretary, but then you put a job title of an office assistant. The recruitment process starts with the job title because it will attract the people that have the skills you want to apply to your specific position.
Read Creating A Talent Pool.
How Job Titles Create Motivation To The Employee
You should put a job title that corresponds with the skills you demand. Online job advertising is helpful if you ensure you put the correct job title. The job title should not lower the status of the employee but rather make them feel treasured and valued.
How Job Titles Lead To Promotions
Many employees value career progression, and they highly care about their entry level on any company. Job titles are deemed as the start point where an employee is going to be for some time before being promoted to another level. When the title depicts a low rank, you might put off talented professionals from applying for your open positions.
The bottom line is that job titles are important when advertising a job online so you should make sure that you find the appropriate one. They keep on changing every now and then so you should check the most updated and latest titles for the job post you are advertising.
Working with an online job advertising agency will help you make sure that you use the right job title, allowing you to attract the right calibre of candidate.
Job Titles FAQs
Here we answer your job title questions.
WHAT IS A JOB TITLE?
A job title is short title that describes company positions. It should match the responsibilities of the role.
WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF A JOB TITLE?
View our list of the top 100 job titles to find an appropriate title for your jobs.