Title Matters

We all like to think we're not self-absorbed in our job titles, especially in the context of being quite accomplished in our profession after having so many years of experience or obtaining a post-graduate degree for it. Heaven forbid we sound like we're gloating–for some reason "I'm an Art Director" sounds hoity-toity compared to "I'm a designer". So when the subject comes up in the workplace or when we're talking to friends and family about what we do for a living, we tend to diminish the context of our job titles, or at the least sound timid when we say it. I think that's socially acceptable though.

But how about when the context of the conversation is about your worth within your department/company–the level of accountability that's on you (project and people-wise) and how your compensation compares with others on your team?

Externally, it can:

• Confuse what others in the company believe your 'profession's' job title really means

• Affect how you should be getting compensated.

Internally, it can:

• Affect how much you feel valued by the company/your boss.

For instance, your title is "Sr. Designer" yet you're doing work that also qualifies you to be an "Art Director," such as managing project allocation, people, and processes. Yes, I get that in some companies (like startups) you're really doing more beyond the scope of your job title to help the company succeed–that's assumed when you take a job at such a company. But in the environment of a well-established company–say, at least 10 years under their belt, and/or over 400 employees–title matters.

Since I'm a designer, I'll elaborate more using this profession as the example, and in the scope of a more established company with roles filled to fulfill every company function (Marketing, Finance, Design, HR, etc.). And because I've experienced this as a designer myself and because I've heard it from colleagues in the design profession, I've been inspired to write on this notion with real instances.

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Others in your company are not exactly sure what you are accountable for

There's a general understanding of what people do within a given department. However, there are times when Sam in Sales needs a seasonal merchandising list. Of course, she should go to the Merchandise Manager, right? Oh wait, the last time Kim in Sales needed this she obtained such list from the Sr. Designer because Pat in Allocations suggested that.

Unless you have had prior cross-functional meetings determining each person's role or a Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.) document created for common procedures/activities, we're left with communication carousel with our coworkers. It's not really an issue, but if it happens often enough it can frustrate and slow down what would've otherwise been 'like clock-work' activities.

Speaking of frustration, say your title is Sr. Designer, but you're doing things that an Art Director would do in addition to designing–allocating projects, managing workflow of individual contributors, etc. One, it takes away focus from your design time by either adding more time to your work day (e.g. overtime) or compromising the time you could actually be... designing, potentially sacrificing product design quality. And two, your compensation may not be commensurate with your workload which can either lead to looking elsewhere for a better situation or simply creating tension in your work environment.

How much you should be getting compensated

I don't think I need to elaborate too much on this. There are pretty much pay rate standards established in: first, your profession, and second, the industry you're in. It could also vary though by which country/region you're in as well. But let's stick with the general parameters of what's established within your profession for simplicity.

Many of us, in the vein of the first sentence of this post, won't admit that compensation is a motivating factor when wanting the appropriate job title. But, we all know it's important... we just keep it to ourselves. And when we (somehow... because I'm still in the camp that believes in pay rate transparency within a company) find out there's a disparity between what our coworkers of the same position are making vs. ours, that becomes an issue (I suppose that's one reason why there is no transparency!).

How much you feel valued by the company or your boss

When I landed my first design job out of I.D. school, I was stoked because I felt like my design school tuition and hard work to transition from a non-design background was paying off and being recognized as worthy enough to be offered a job. Three years in as a Designer 1 (entry level position) I had added to my resume complete, commercialized design projects (i.e. not just taking a template and modifying it, but taking ownership from research to development) like my team counterparts who were at levels 2 and 3. I felt it was time to seek a promotion to level 2. It wasn't until Senior level would you officially have people reporting to you so I knew this was reasonable, along with the merits I achieved through the initial years. Long story short, the Design Director at the time serendipitously communicated this pending promotion to me. He left [hurdle] and I was left campaigning with my supervisor to our new VP [double hurdle]. A couple months later, I was assigned a new supervisor. Later in the year, I was out.

Needless to say, I was dejected. Looking back now, I know I could've managed my attitude better to adapt and manage my desired progression. However, the portion of my feelings around the disparity of professional recognition was a good catalyst to seek change and shouldn't be ignored. It's your life anyway, right?