A Better Way To Determine Job Titles
A few weeks ago, Fiverr posted a whole series of jobs with random titles. People were asking me what I thought about it as a marketing strategy. Here’s what it looked like:
It worked. Someone on Twitter (I refuse to call it by another name) cited results like: career page views up by 91%, applications up by 43%, and they filled every single job.
Now, if you dive 1 layer deeper, you’d see that Fiverr didn’t actually post jobs with these titles. They had their employees change their own job titles which drove attention in their network. They got employee referrals off the stunt. Those wild job titles wouldn’t work to get attention for a job you’re posting.
The History Of Job Titles
I’ve been doing some research about job titles for my book on job postings (coming soon). I never really thought about it before doing this research, but the history of job titles is a story of privileged people showing off.
The concept of job titles has evolved significantly over time and as a reflection of changes in societies, economies, and organizational structures. They go back as far as ancient times, evolving through the medieval ages, Industrial Revolution, and tech booms. A lot of things were decided by job titles hundreds of years ago. In some ways, a lot of things still are.
Crazy part? Those decisions are all based on some words people threw together however many years ago. During the industrial age. Maybe last week in a brainstorm meeting with Carol from HR and the hiring manager. I mean, really. Doesn’t that seem kinda crazy?
Free Job Title Generator
Job titles are still all made up. Yet, most people are using the job title they made up without any strategy in mind. That’s why I created this free Job Title Generator.
The purpose of a job title is just to make sure your job gets found. You need to start by identifying a few options. This tool is designed to help you do that. You enter the mandatory requirements and it will spit out a few options.
Then, take those titles to Google Trends. Enter each one to compare and see which one gets the most traffic. A/B test that vs your current title and measure it on quality. See which one drives the most applicants you’d actually phone screen. Take the winner from there.
Give the job title generator a try. I’d love if you let me know what you think in the comments!
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Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.
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