Your position title field is used as the subject field of an email. Whether you are sending your resume via email or posting your resume on an internet job board, It is the first thing a hiring authority will see before even seeing your resume.

Here is an example of how this works in layman's terms from your own point of view:

You see an ad in the newspaper selling a car. The ad reads:"2009 Car for sale, please call for inquiries" and of course you see about 20 other ads saying the exact same thing.

If you are in the market for a car, do you think you would have the patience to call every single one of those ads to find out more information?

No! of course not! Maybe you'll randomly pick 3-5 out of those 20 ads to call first.

The same goes with any person in a human resources or recruitment department managing a career opportunity for their company - If you are not making ALL the information readily and easily available to them (showing how on target you are for the opportunity) then how do you expect them to identify you as a prospect?

Recruiter's Biggest PET PEEVE - Job seekers who put the following titles:

  • - Any I.T. Position
  • - Consultant
  • - Management
  • - Sales Rep.
  • - Project Manager
  • - Software Developer

The question on every single person's mind is ... "of what?"

Wonderful - you've told me you're a Software Developer, of what? What programming languages do you know? You're a sales rep, what have you sold? You're a Project Manager - what projects have you worked on? Wow you're a consultant - can you tell us how to make our business work better?

How can a recruiter match you to open positions if even you don't know what you are targeting?

The Elevator Pitch : The point is to express as much information about yourself in the shortest amount of space. The term "Elevator pitch" is used when a business or a person is seeking venture capital (money) for a new business idea.

The idea is simple, you walk into an elevator with the the person who you think will give you the chance to prove that your new business idea will work and get them to invest.

You now have the investors full concentration being that you are alone in the elevator together.

The mission: convince the investor that your idea is worthwhile, the catch - you have to do it by the time they reach their floor! ..Tick Tock..

Just as every product or service you see is advertised, you have to market and advertise yourself. Of course there are differences, such as the fact that catchy sayings aren't going to cut it.

When companies are deciding who to hire, they want the facts! Those facts are Experience, Skills, Functional and Technical Knowledge!

If I get a resume and the position title says "Business Analyst - U.S. Taxation" its a lot easier for me to understand (and market you to my clients) what you are either capable of or striving for than someone that simply puts "Business Analyst".

Be as specific as possible. Stop being Vague. Do not use adjectives to express yourself, leave that for your cover letter - your Position title should be short and to the point

Position Title Do's & Don'ts

Tip # 1. Industry - What Industry are you seeking a job in?

Are you a Human Resources Manager with Healthcare Experience? Then your industry is Healthcare/Medical

Are you a network administrator with Telecom Experience, then Telecom is your Industry.

If you find that your position crosses over into more than one industry, then put slashes "/" between each industry name. For example Healthcare/Insurance (never more than 2)

Tip # 2. The position you want - First things first, be realistic!

If you just got out of school, don't think you can get a cushy executive position (unless its your own start-up).

Most jobs have a general title to them such as Manager, Engineer, HR, Admin. The key is to tie this in with your industry.

For Example: - Plastics Engineer - Cad/5 yrs. Exp.

  • - Call Centre Team Manager/Team Supervisor/Team Lead
  • - HR/Administrative Assistant
  • - HR Assistant - SAP - 1 YR.

Tip #3. What are Your Skills

Not your soft skills meaning "good listener" we mean your hard skills such as experience with specific hardware, software, career achievements.

If you have some in demand skill that you know is in need then put it!

  • - Sales person could write - "Sales/Finance/5yrs Exp/Top Earner" or "Top Sales Producer""Relationship Builder"
  • - Software Developer could write - "Software Developer - C++/VB/Cold Fusion/PHP/J2EE""
  • - Engineer - "Sewer Filtration Engineer"
  • - Human Resources Assistant with specific HR Software experience: "HR Assistant - SAP - 1 YR./Taleo"

Tip # 4. Years of Experience

If you have 3, 4, 5, 15+ years experience, then say it!

Years of experience shows that you are tenured and knowledgeable about the industry, that you probably have contacts and good resources and thirdly that you are familiar with the applications and processes required on the job and you will have a faster learning curve at a new company.

How to say it: "Automotive Sales Manager - 3 yrs Exp."

Notice how Yrs (Years) and Exp. (Experience) are abbreviated. Remember we only have 40 characters lets make good use of them.

If you don't have experience then obviously don't mention this. You want to focus more on the first two points.

Don't ever put Entry Level – unless they request it in the subject heading , I never understood that one. Why get shot down before they even meet you? To get familiar check out job listings and read the job descriptions, when you find a job description that you believe describes your capabilities use it.

The general formula is as follows:

  • - You can mix it around if you'd like.
  • - Don't put the words "and, or" - you only have 40 characters to make your point
  • - use "/,, &" instead of "or", "and"
  • - Do not type your entire position title in it in Capital letters - Too hard on the eyes.
  • - Only use Capital Letters when you abbreviate a word into two letters or you want to make a point stand out.

Use the F7 Button and - SPELL-CHECK!!!


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