Rethinking How We Talk About Our Occupations

Lately, in my free time, I’ve been working on researching my ancestry. For those who have not done such research, one of the best tools for tracing your family history is the census. From there, you can find family members, emigration details, and details about the occupations of your ancestors. It’s become a great passion of mine and it combines critical and creative thinking with problem-solving and, for some reason, a lot of math.

This research also got me thinking about the word "occupation" and the evolution of our workforce. The word comes from Latin roots, such as occupāre, which means "to grasp, take possession of, fill up.” So, an occupation takes possession or fills up your…time? Just like language evolved to give us today’s modern definition of an occupation, the workplace also evolved.

For instance, looking through my predominantly Irish, low- and middle-class ancestors of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, the occupations are often simply "Laborer," "Machinist," "Farmer" or "Factory Worker." One of my favorites was a relative whose occupation was simply "Nun." These are very easy to picture and clear to understand. It helps me better understand the individual and their likely place in society.

The census records after 1950, at least here in the US, are not available for public searching as of today. I am curious about what the occupations of people will look like in the census from 1980, 1990, 2000, or today. Will there be a lot of "Senior Manager, Advanced Business Solutions" or "VP, Product Expression"? Further, will there be "YouTube Influencer" in censuses of the future?

Granted, the world of our ancestors was simpler in many ways. There were not large corporate structures with multi-faceted departments and overlapping facilities and regional offices. There were fewer revolutionary technologies that needed teams of people with advanced degrees to advance. Today, we have a rise in technology-related job titles, gig economy roles, and many changing industries. With all of the advancement, we try to stand out from the crowd with our titles and make them too vague or try to create something that encompasses all that we do in our convoluted roles. But in our efforts to differentiate roles within these complex structures, we have created titles and phrases that have no clear meaning. I’ve heard this phenomenon called "Title Creep," and I love this term.

How do we fix Title Creep? Why should we fix it?

How about an example that may be familiar to some of you? Imagine: you are at a dinner party. There are new people around, and you know small talk will happen with just about everyone. As the night goes on, you realize there’s going to be a question asked of you - one for which you may not have a great answer: “So, what do you do?”

If you’re like me, this can sometimes cause a gut-swell of anxiety, which results in a lot of "umm" and "uhh" before you feel yourself spewing out a lot of jargon to over explain your occupation in a monologue that rivals a Tolstoy novel in length. This tends to result in the generator of the original inquiry nodding along with a blank stare on their face until they give the polite follow-up, “Oh, wow. Sounds interesting. Well, I’m going to go mingle.”

So, let’s fix that. Let’s make it better for you and for your fellow partners in conversation.

A few years ago, I came to the realization this cycle had to change, and that I could make the change. I couldn’t continue to be in that awkward situation and be jealous of the teachers and doctors who were at the same dinner party and (probably) never felt this anxiety. So, I focused on the elevator pitch of my job. I wanted to make it simple and paint a clear picture. Instead of listing every responsibility of my role, I condensed it down to a single sentence, “I’m a strategic communications professional connecting leaders to their teams to build culture and ensure goals are achieved.” Sure, it isn't as concise as "Laborer" and doesn’t cover everything I do, but it explains 95% of it. More importantly, it answers the question simply and painlessly. Since I’ve been using this explanation, I am no longer in fear of small talk and end up involved in great conversations with new people.

It’s a great exercise, and I encourage everyone to challenge themselves to do the same. To get down to one sentence, I spent some time writing down the responsibilities of my role and for each one, I asked myself, “What occupies most of my time?” and “Why is this important?” The answers to those questions came back with common words and through those common words, I got to my elevator pitch.

Today, as I’m in the market for new opportunities, I have seen a lot of unnecessarily complex role titles and job descriptions. If the organization or hiring manager posts an overcomplicated role description with a vague title, why should I spend time trying to figure out if it’s right for me?

And, if that type of effort was put into place to recruit me, what would it be like to work for that company?

The ambiguity of today's job postings and titles makes it hard for the right person to determine if the role is right for them. And, sometimes, the ambiguity results in too many candidates that are not qualified, and the hiring team has to go back to the drawing board to create a new posting. This wastes time, energy, and effort.

So, for each of us, let’s take the first step to break the Title Creep Cycle and focus on our own roles and our own descriptions of our occupation. Take the time to write your own one-sentence job description. And, if you’re seeking a promotion, think critically about the title and make sure it makes sense. Maybe, we can start the trend and return to clear, precise language in our occupations. And maybe, for the next census in 2030, I can get my occupation down to one word. Here’s hoping.

Want help practicing your elevator pitch? Connect with me, and let’s talk.

#JobSeekers, share your thoughts on some of the titles and requirements you’ve seen.?

#HiringManagers - when posting a job, try to think how the person in the role would explain the job. If there’s ambiguity from the beginning, that ambiguity can grow and lead to an unsatisfied employee who isn’t sure of their place in the organization, no matter the title.