Modifying Job Titles on Your Resume: Is it OK?

Job titles don’t always do a perfect job of explaining what an employee actually does, and sometimes they can be downright cryptic. Some companies have even taken to giving unusual titles to employees in the hopes of making the jobs sound more exciting or in hopes of appealing to certain age groups. For example, according to Business Insider, Automattic employs Happiness Engineers, USALLIANCE has workers in the field of Innovation Alchemy, Chewy has had at least one Time Ninja on its payroll (their actual responsibilities may be considerably less fantastical than they sound). If you’ve had the misfortune (or pleasure – we don’t judge) of holding this kind of title, you may be wondering how best to represent your experience on your resume or social media profile. Is it ok to change your title to something more recognizable, and if so, how can you go about it honestly? Read on for three guidelines on changing your job title on a job application.

1: Be Honest

2: Be Accountable

3: Use Synonyms and/or General Titles

1: Be Honest

This should go without saying, but if you’re going to alter your job title, be honest.  Change it to a title that reasonably describes the work you actually performed, not to some set of responsibilities you only wish you had ahead of the job you’re going for. Resume liars get caught, and the consequences could be worse than missing out on the job you’re applying for. It could cost you your reputation as well.

The key takeaway is simple. Be sure that any job title you list is an accurate reflection of the work that you actually performed, and don’t choose one that will mislead anyone into thinking you did work that you didn’t do.

2: Be Accountable

The largest danger in altering a job title is the appearance of dishonesty. You don’t want hiring managers to question whether you’ve been truthful with them. Almost as important as honesty itself, accountability goes a long way in heading off any potential misunderstanding before it begins. If you make any changes for the sake of clarity, brevity, or other reasons, be prepared to discuss them openly.

Changing your job title is much less likely to cause you trouble if others at your company would back you up if asked about your employment history. For example, if  you’re confident that your manager would gladly attest to your skills whether they were asked about your experience as a personal assistant or a secretary, then putting either on your resume is likely to be reasonable. If there’s any question about how you think they’d feel about it, just ask them.

Similarly, be forthright with any prospective employer about the titles you use to describe your past work. When discussing your experience, there’s nothing wrong with explaining that you entered “Customer Service Representative” because it was a little more self-explanatory than your official title of “Satisfaction Engineer.”

3: Use Synonyms and/or General Titles

Unusual titles aside, many industries have names for jobs which are legitimately interchangeable, close to it, or that frequently overlap. If you have a job with multiple common titles or occupy a position that encompasses more than one commonly recognized job, you’re probably safe to use the nomenclature of the business you’re applying to. This can help parse your experience in a recognizable way and may even help you pass through automated resume scanners.

This strategy can also be used to sum up work as you’ve moved through a department. For example, suppose you started at a company as an Associate Engineer, and were briefly a Software Engineer before moving projects and landing the title of Engineering Specialist. Rather than list the individual durations and titles, which looks choppy by comparison, it’s frequently sensible to list a single company and duration with a title like “Engineering Department.” You can always discuss the specifics of your trajectory with recruiters later.

Changing Titles

Whether it’s for the sake of clarity, brevity, or another reason, the same cardinal rules of honesty and accountability are the most important. Remember: any title you choose to use to represent your experience should accurately reflect the work you performed and shouldn’t mislead anyone into thinking you did work that you didn’t. And if your coworkers would be happy to corroborate what you say you did, you’re in all the better shape for it.

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