@scottalanmiller said in What is in a Job Title?:
@kelly said in What is in a Job Title?:
Two, when you move to another job, how much will your current title help or hinder your job search as you attempt to move up in pay and responsibility?
But remember, you need never use the title when looking for another job. It's rare, to the point of almost unheard of, for a company to ask you about your title from a previous job. Everyone knows that titles are made up and meaningless, so no one cares about what other people called you. They will ask you what you did, what your role was, and that needs to be honest. But they never ask about titles, it's just not a thing. In IT circles, IT pros often think that they need to tell people their titles regularly, but when really asked when this happens, the generally can't actually put their finger on it. It's one of those myths, everyone is sure that they must have needed to do that, and their friends must have done it... but when you start digging, no one has actually done it. They might see a "what was your role" question and think that they meant title, but that's not what is asked.
You are legally allowed to give your title, but you can't legally claim it's anything more than a title unless it matches what you did. But are always legally allowed to tell your role, no matter what title was connected to it. Your right to disclose your role is guarantee under US employment law. Your title, if it is good, can be used if you like. If the title is bad, there is no reason to be encumbered by it.
@s-hackleman This is the point that @scottalanmiller and I go around and around about. My sticking point with ignoring title and focusing on role is employment verification and work history. Most of the people doing the work of checking with prior employers are not the hiring mangers, but HR/recruiting/the boss's wife/etc. In short they're people that don't know, nor care what work you actually did. What they care about is that the title they were given for the job you had matches the one the previous employer has on file. If the two do not match, then it is a red flag.
