How to Evaluate If Your Job Title Still Fits

What's in a job title? You may not believe in labels, but they may mean more than you realise. With emerging job roles becoming more prevalent as the global workforce accelerates into digitalisation

Being flexible and adaptable may be good traits to have at work, but ignoring the boundaries over what you should and shouldn't do can negatively affect job title accuracy. Job title accuracy is the degree to which your job title matches your scope of responsibilities.

Human resources in large companies usually have career planning departments that help workers up-skill, advance vertically, or move laterally within the organisation. In these cases, job title accuracy may not be such an issue. These companies usually hire employees for specialised tasks, leaving little room for a poor job title fit.

What are examples of a job title discrepancy?

Let's use the scenario of a startup, which typically has a small roster of employees. Workers may at times need to fulfill duties beyond what employers specified formally in their job description. In this context, it provides employees with a terrific opportunity to gain experience and to practice flexibility.

Suppose your official job title is "writer". Your role is to propose article ideas and come up with drafts. Occasionally, you'd double up as a proofreader and editor-in-chief. You check drafts for the tone's consistency, make grammatical checks, and make overall refinements for write-ups.

Soon, you're also coming up with content plans, filling up the editorial calendar, and providing the overall editorial direction. You find yourself preparing presentation slides for the bosses and they're loving all the work you're doing for the company.

Before you know it, you're no longer just a writer, but a proofreader, editor-in-chief, project manager, designer too.While you can expect to go beyond your designated job scope sometimes, when it happens too often, it will affect your productivity and focus on your main role as a writer.

This is a classic example of job discrepancy and by no means does it only happen in startups. Job discrepancy can happen anywhere where you overstretch yourself beyond your actual role, whether lower or higher in terms of job hierarchy.

How can job discrepancy affect your future job opportunities?

From the perspective of a recruiter, job titles speak volumes about how likely you are to attract leads. Employers are looking for candidates to fill particular roles, which may not be a fit if your job title does not exactly match what you do.

Having to sift through hundreds of applications per day, HR normally only has a few seconds to scan resumes. Say you're gunning for a higher editorial role, but your resume shows your official job title was a writer. As a result, hiring managers may put your application to the bottom, or worse, off the stack.

While your superiors were thrilled with your adaptability, you could have performed a higher role without getting any additional compensation. Not only is this unfair for you, but it also impacts your future job prospects.

Ask for adjustments to your job title

First, research the tasks you've been taking on in the company and what job titles match them best. Do your tasks make you more of an editor-in-chief? Having determined the most suitable job title, try finding out the average expected salary for it.

By doing these, you'll have sufficient information that you can present to HR. Your goal is for them to recognise the job title discrepancy and to make the necessary adjustments. You must express how passionate you are about your tasks and how you're seeking growth within the company. Also, that you're not planning on leaving the company, assuming this is the case.

Ideally, they should make amendments to your job title and increase your salary as well. But note that there is also the possibility that they cannot meet your request for a job title change.

If HR amends your job title and your salary, congratulations! This allows you to update your online profile, which will also serve you well when you decide to apply elsewhere. If not, don't fret. There are still ways to reflect the extra work on your job profile.

Ways you can update your job profile

What if you want to start applying elsewhere, but your job title does not reflect the role you're pursuing? It can be tempting to simply update your job profile, especially if your job title isn't listed anywhere. But you run the risk of diminishing your credibility when you mislead hirers by not displaying your actual job title. Remember, they can always get in touch with your current and previous companies to do a cross-check.

Here's what you can do. Reflect on what your official job title is, but add besides it the actual job title you've been fulfilling. Example: "Writer, Acting Editor-in-Chief." In this way, you aren't misrepresenting yourself by "promoting" yourself online, but you're still putting your additional role out there. You could also put "Acting Editor-in-Chief" in parenthesis to specify the additional role.

Another approach is to indicate being part of the editorial team, followed by an itemised list of your work responsibilities. In this way, you're not exactly being dishonest. When in doubt, include everything you're doing at work with a detailed description.

Yes, job titles matter

Not many realise that job titles matter and have a significant impact on your career. Not only should yours accurately define your role, it can also determine how much you earn as well.

Don't fall into the trap of doing work that is well beyond your designated scope without finding out if a job title change and/or promotion is possible. It's only fair that you present yourself as a competent candidate with sufficient and relevant work experience.

Looking for in-demand roles to build your career? Sign up for JobStreet's Virtual Career Fair (13-15 September 2021) to hear from industry experts and explore exciting career opportunities from top brands including Lazada, Carousell, Shopee, A*STAR, NinjaVan, Marina Bay Sands, HSBC, OCBC, ST Engineering, Siemens, Mediacorp and more. Share the event with your friends and see you at the fair next week!