Is having that fancy job title really all it's hyped up to be? I have some thoughts...

Strap in and hold on because this VP, Head of Content / Copywriter / Video Editor / Writer / Editor / Product Marketing Manager / Content Development Lead / Managing Editor / Ghostwriter / Social Media Manager / Email Marketer / Newsletter Writer is about to take you on a ride to Job Title Town.

Technically speaking, my current job title is a simple one: VP, Head of Content.

Rolls off the tongue nicely, right? But it doesn't explicitly say all those other things I actually basically do at the same time.

But it does have "VP" in it so it also sounds important. Vice President implies a lot.

It also has "Head of" in there so I must be double-plus important. (Excuse me while I go and demand to be a speaker at the next local TEDx conference. They wouldn't dare turn down a VP and Head Of...would they?)

If you dig through my LinkedIn profile and look through my experience you'll see a variety of job titles that bounce around in how important they sound:

VP, Head of Content (Small to mid-sized company - GreenSlate )

Managing Editor (Mid-sized company - Gong )

Managing Editor (Large company - LinkedIn )

Senior Editor (Large company - LinkedIn)

Head of Content (Large company - HSBC )

Editorial Lead (Large company - HSBC)

Chief Content Officer (Small-ish company - Hong Kong Esports)

VP Content VP, Editorial & Publisher Relations (Small company / startup - Apester )

VP of Editorial & Content (Small company / startup - Stakk Factory)

Senior Editor (Small to mid-sized company - Business Insider )

Senior Editor (Small to mid-sized company - HuffPost )

Senior Travel Editor (Small to mid-sized company - HuffPost)

Associate Editor (Small startup within large company - CNN / Turner (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc) )

Quality Assurance Engineer (Mid-sized company - LeapFrog )

You'll notice I was a Senior Editor both early and late in my career as well as "VP" both mid and late career.

It is also apparent the titles seem "higher up" (in general with an exception or two) the smaller the company is.

There doesn't appear to be a clear, definitive progression "upwards" in job titles through my 15+ year career.

If we're only considering the job titles, then this impression of lack of upwards movement is misleading.

The job titles alone don't fully encompass all the different hats worn in each role either. The job functions within the jobs themselves.

The point is this...

There has been a clear progression as to the function of what I do, increased or new responsibilities, and new skills I've gained along the way in every single role even if it wasn't always reflected in the job title itself.

To the point where I can now take any aspect from any previous role and incorporate it into my current role, regardless of what the "official title" might actually be.

That's progression.

So I can now be a VP, Head of Content and a Copywriter, a Video Editor, a Writer, an Editor, a Product Marketing Manager, a Content Development Lead, a Managing Editor, a Ghostwriter, a Social Media Manager, an Email Marketer, and a Newsletter Writer, and more all rolled into one in the same role, even if "VP, Head of Content" doesn't explicitly indicate I do all those things.

A job title only partly describes what exactly it is you do and the value that you bring.

Even if you're a VP of Something five years ago and you end up as VP of Something later down the road, what it is you actually do can be vastly different.

Let's say you see a role for a Director level position at a large company with a job description that hits all your marks, but you've been or currently are a CMO at a smaller company.

The fact that the title seems to be a step down from CMO is actually not true.

It shouldn't dissuade you from considering the director position if the actual function of the job is in line with what you can do or want to get out of that role in furthering your career.

This goes for just about any level of seniority from entry to executive, and is particularly true when considering roles at startups where job titles mean even less.

Founder and LinkedIn Top Voice Denise Murtha Bachmann agrees and says that for startups in particular, titles don't matter as working at startups "requires multiple hats so they don't care what they are called so long as they are growing at the company."

But Denise says this is different for larger established companies that are "old school."

Since there can be vast differences between what different titles mean to different size companies and markets, her advice is to figure out your market audience and base your title, or desired title, on what is important to and relevant in your specific market.

Your job title as an indicator of credibility

LinkedIn Top Voice Nikki Estes has some views on the importance of job titles. She shared with me that to her previous team, "I was the Human Networking Executive (HNE), but to the Linkies (that's you dear reader) and as far as anyone we sought to impress was concerned with a title, I was Senior Vice President of Marketing."

She says she chose to be playful and change her title on LinkedIn and business cards to HNE as it caused questions and stirred up conversation. But that, "truly though, SVP gave me more credibility and I did not face the confusion prospects and partners had over what my role would be helping them scale."

Nikki currently has four concurrent titles: President, Director of People Operations, VP of Shenanigans (AKA Event Coordinator), and Marketing Staff. These are specific hats that she wears with different organizations, and each title is relevant to each organization.

Job titles as assets that you don't live or die by

Bobby Umar , another LinkedIn Top Voice and TEDx speaker (see, titles!) says your job title matters, but it depends on for what reason.

He gives two examples:

1. Applying for a job as Director of XYZ and your previous title was Senior Manager of XY in the Z division.
2. Things like Director, Founder, Leader, CEO, President, Guru, Ninja...all have brand equity both good and bad, depending on your audience.

"So I would say they can be important as an asset, but I would not live or die by them."

Job titles don't define you or your level of expertise

You define you and your expertise. Titles are assets. They can lend you credibility. Job titles can help explain what your role is within your specific industry and company.

But you are not your job title. Unless you're Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. Then yes, sure. You are totally your job title. You've earned it.

But for the rest of us non-Jensens, you don't need to have a fancy job title to be valuable (and valued) in a role.

You can have a fancy job title to help others know that you're valuable, but it's up to you to express and explain how and why.

Coming back to myself as an example as a "VP, Head of Content" which sounds nice, it doesn't mean as much if most people in my industry (or industries I'm interested in) have no idea what it is I actually do, or the function of what I do in the role of VP, Head of Content as it relates to whatever the needs might be for other roles that would interest me.

Discoverability DOES matter and your title DOES play a role

You're reading this on LinkedIn so you're likely already aware that what's on your profile here does matter to career prospects.

Devansh Devansh , self titled Milk Chocolate Cult Leader, Artificial Intelligence Consultant and another LinkedIn Top Voice, tells me "hHaving the right title(s) is very important to getting searched."

So again, a title does not have to be "fancy" to be important or meaningful to your career. What it does have to be is relevant to your target market, discoverable, and contextualized with the real-world experience gained in a role.

Your next step

These days many of us don't stay at the same job forever (particularly with so many layoffs the last year) so it pays to think about how you're defining your experiences in your current role and what job titles most closely represent what you're going for in the future, without saddling yourself with expectations that you are GOING TO BE some specific "job title" in the future.

QUESTION: How important do you think "fancy" job titles are to a career? Share in the comments if you feel like it. If not, have a good one and carry on with your day. ??

? If you could follow only one person this month

Make it four. All those I quoted above are solid creators on LinkedIn. They didn't get the title of "Top Voice" for doing nothing. Check them out: Devansh Devansh , Nikki Estes , Bobby Umar , Denise Murtha Bachmann .

?? Unrelated but related

Writing is important to your career. Really important. It is a fundamental skill that will better your chances.

Not everybody can become a great writer, but every great writer has at least some of these 10 writing foundational principles .

If you work on these principles you can at the very least get on the road to being a good writer.

??One last thing...

Do you want curated news in this newsletter? It is a newsletter after all. Happy to start popping in news again as I come across it, or maybe even dedicate the odd edition to only career specific news finds. Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?