Companies fluff up job titles

Wordplay has never been so crucial. To make yourself sound managerial, just add “global”, “interface” or “customer” to a position.

In view of increasing employability, job titles are getting a radical makeover to increase their credibility and worth to potential employers, according to the daily newspaper The Marshfield News-Herald.

Nyra Lind, an account coordinator at ABR Employment Services in Wisconsin, sees no harm in what is known as “up-titling” or “title-fluffing". In some areas with a unique job title, the individual is “going to be more memorable,” she was quoted as saying in the The Marshfield News-Herald.

However, Lind followed up with the condition that the title should not be “over the top”, but “have that creative edge”.

On the flipside, job title inflation could blur the potential employee’s actual skillsets and confuse people. For example, “sanitation engineer” could end up being a fancy and misleading term for garbage collector. "The candidate should be more focused on his skillset, as the job title is a small part of the overall picture,” said Tim Solinger, a resume consultant with Great Impressions Resume and Career Services in Wisconsin.

Yet, Lind dismissed complaints that job titles are confusing. Most resumes come with the job description underneath the title, and they can read about the job. The main concern, to Lind, would be how to attract attention in a crowded marketplace of potential candidates, reported the daily.