Over the past couple of weeks, I've been going through job boards, Craigslist ads and even local classified ads, looking for job openings. One thing I've noticed is that there are an awful lot of ads out there looking for "rock stars", "ninjas" and even "Jedi". Can there really be that many rock stars?
It's a trend that seems to be on the rise. Companies say that they are looking for a "Sales Rock star" or a "Computer Ninja" in order to specify a certain type of applicant. According to Indeed, the number of times the word "ninja" appears in a job listing has increased by 7,000 percent.
When asked, employers who use these creative phrases say that they do so as a way to stand out. To them, they are trying to attract the very best candidates and hope that they will be better able to do so with a creative ad. I just wonder what sort of person responds to the ads, claiming to be a computer rock star.
To me, it seems a little silly. However, I did some research and found that people have been using other terms, like "guru" for years on their business cards.In fact, job titles are always something that have been flexible. For example, at Google, the head of space initiatives, Tiffany Montague - who oversees the company’s collaborations with NASA and the commercial space industry - has Intergalactic Federation King Almighty and Commander of the Universe printed on her business cards.
As the creative job title fad grows, it becomes even more difficult to stand out as say, a mere receptionist, when you can be the chief gatekeeper. Perhaps there is something we can take away from this, and that is that when you are marketing yourself online, maybe it's helpful to come up with a creative and clever job title. It might not get you the job, but it will certainly get conversation going and allow you to make a more memorable elevator pitch.
For now, I think I'll just stick to being a blogger. What about you? Do you have a creative job title? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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