20 JUN 2018

Is that even a real job title? Why you need to keep it real, simple and relevant.

I’m sure we’ve all seen some job titles in the past and thought ‘what does that actually mean?’. Trying to stand out from the crowd with a unique, creative, or simply over-complicated title, can actually have the direct opposite effect. Your unusual title is likely to at best confuse and put off perfectly suitable candidates and at worst never even be seen by them.

Advertising a post with a misleading, vague or inaccurate job title slows down your hiring process, wasting not only your time and money, but also the time of the unsuitable applicants.

Simplify Job Titles for Online Searches

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) plays a huge role in a candidate’s job search. When using job boards, vacancies are selected from the key words the candidate searches for. If your title is too obscure and doesn’t contain the widely recognised words or phrases, your vacancy will not be seen.

The job title needs to be simple and consistent with the language and terminology typically used in the industry. Although creative titles may seem appealing and believed to be eye-catching, they will not be recognised by the search engine of the job board.

Similarly, avoid using abbreviations in your job title. Although candidates with experience of the industry may recognise them, newcomers may not. And this will also help to avoid any confusion if an abbreviation means different things in different industries, such as PA can be Personal Assistant or Production Assistant.

Keep job titles as short as possible too. Research has shown that more succinct titles enjoy a higher clickthrough rate.

Job Titles: Be Specific…

Taking your job title back to precise basics is usually the best policy. We were once asked to place a role for a ‘Learning Practitioner’ which we considered to be too vague to attract the right candidates. By asking the following three simple questions, we were able to pinpoint what the College’s requirement was and target their recruitment campaign:

·         What department or subject is the vacancy in? For example, Construction, Maths, Administration etc

·         What is the function of the role? For example, Lecturer, Assessor, Manager etc

·         Is there a level of seniority with the role? For example, Senior Lecturer, Assistant Assessor etc

So, ‘Learning Practitioner’ becomes Senior Maths Lecturer and it all becomes clear.

Further elements of the role such as whether it is full time or part time for example, can be detailed in the job description once the initial job title has captured the candidate’s attention. Primarily, they need to know they are looking at the right department, at the right level and the right role. The job description can then entice them further with compelling details of how your role stands out from the crowd, has potential for career progression, is part of a dynamic College etc.

…But Sometimes, Not Too Specific

Conversely, we’ve also seen job titles which have actually been unnecessarily specific! Before approaching us, a client had been surprised when their adverts for the role of ‘Information and Claims Administrator’ produced little response. On further investigation, the role was actually an entry level role which required no previous experience. We placed the advert with the revised title of simply ‘Administrator’, the application rate tripled and the successful candidate was found. 

Get Advice From the FE Recruitment Advertising Experts

Over the years, we have been able to advise some of our clients to make changes to their proposed vacancy titles just in time! Of course, no one intends for the job title to be misleading or inaccurate. But sometimes it takes someone away from the organisation to have a little perspective or insight into how that job title could easily be misconstrued or deemed misleading. Ultimately the job title you select is your first tool in attracting quality applicants and a crucial part of your recruitment strategy.

If you’d like some advice or assistant in placing your next vacancy, contact us today.