Job Titles: Types, What They Mean & How to Come Up With Them

Job titles are utilised to describe a person’s role and level within a corporation. Composing positions with the wrong job titles can slow down hiring with heaps of useless loopholes and wasted interviews.

In this article, we’ll give you a complete guide on the best way to select the proper job titles to your business.

Once you’ve picked the right job titles for your roles that you want to fill, read how to write a project description and how to get the most of your Really job posting.

Rankings of Job Titles & Definitions

Before describing ways to create job titles to your company, we want to provide you a framework for how to think about job titles. In order of power from the top down, below are various prefixes for some Frequent job titles and how they relate to business structure:

Job Title	Common Forms	Appropriate for Who?
Chief XXX Officer	CEO, COO, CTO, CMO, CHRO, CFO	Owners & major equity holders of the company, the highest ranking members of each division, or the company’s main authority figures both internally & externally to the company
Managing Director or Director of XXX	Director of Marketing, Director of Operations, Technology Director	Team members that report to the CEO right or heads of their respective departments; not appropriate for company owners
Senior Vice President, Vice President, Assistant Vice President	SVP of Finance, Assistant VP of Human Resources	Team members who report to a Manager or C-level (e.g. COO, CTO, etc.) of their division; these names are often seen only at firms with More than 50 employees.
Manager, Supervisor, Lead, Team Lead	Lead Analyst, Call Center Manager	Team members that handle a group of individuals (usually promoted from Representative or Associate degree ). Alternatively,”manager” can also imply somebody who handles a procedure or function, like a Social Media Manager.
Associate, Representative	Customer Service Representative, Business Development Associate	Entry-level roles and functions that don’t have any management responsibility (of a team or of a job ).
Clerk, Assistant	AP/AR Clerk, Administrative Assistant	These names are connected with special functions within a division (such as an AP/AR Clerk who reports to the Controller) or reserved for workers offering assistance to a staff or executive (Administrative Assistant).
Intern, Aide	Marketing Intern, Physical Therapy Aide	Intern is earmarked for a current student or fresh grad; an intern may work part time or full time, occasionally for student loan. Aide is intended to get an unlicensed or non-degree holding worker in a division.

Popular Job Titles & What They Mean

Sometimes you get a business card from someone and wonder exactly what their title means or what position they have in the firm. You can use the common job titles shown at the following table as a starting point and adapt them to your company and business.

Popular Job Title #1	Popular Job Title #2	The Difference
CEO	President	A President is generally next in command to the CEO and is much more involved in daily operations than a CEO. You do not usually find both functions until a company develops to 50+ employees and becomes too large for your CEO to manage alone (or anything that threshold is).
CFO	Controller	A CFO is a tactical leader of the finance division, and probably has a strong stake in the business with the CEO. A Controller is responsible for financial systems and processes, more such as a Head Accountant, and is not usually at the table.
Sales or Account Representative	Business Development Manager	In general, these titles mean the Exact Same thing. The most popular name was”Salesperson” until that became a”dirty” word. An Account Representative does not always do sales though and might instead be the second in line after the purchase was made.
Accountant	Accounting Clerk (or variation of this)	An Accountant is usually a certified CPA or has some degree in accounting. An Accounting Clerk or Accounting Assistant does not typically have any certification and instead is more administrative and in charge of a single period of this process, like Accounts Payable (AP).
Office Admistrator	Administrative Assistant	An Office Manager usually is in charge of the physical office space and the functions around it, such as ordering supplies. From time to time, they also serve HR functions. An Administrative Assistant generally helps a department or executive in tasks such as scheduling, emails, and paperwork.
Task Supervisor	Product Supervisor	While these two titles get confused a lot, the difference is in the title itself – a project supervisor manages projects and project teams along with a product manager manages a product, normally from a marketing or technical perspective.
Software Engineer	Software Developer	Used almost synonymously, the distinction is that all of Software Engineers are also Software Developers, but not vice versa. Additionally, an engineer will normally possess at least a bachelor’s degree whereas a programmer can have any degree or no education.

Industry Specific Business Job Titles

It’s possible to use the common job titles shown in the table as a starting point and adapt them to your company and industry. Indeed ranks job classes based on the number of job postings printed on their site. Below are the top 10 job categories and a URL to the most popular job titles in each business.

1. Management Job Titles

Direction has become the most popular job category on Really with 445,546 published job places. Popular jobs under this category include middle management and executive functions like Supervisor, Team Leader, and Executive Director. Each direction role holds distinct responsibilities and takes a unique skillset. Learn about management job titles in more detail.

Post your management jobs on Indeed and receive $50 in sponsored project credit here.

2. Retail Job Titles

The second most popular job class on Truly is retail with 422,340 postings on the website. The most sought after jobs under this class are frontline roles and first-line management posts. Positions such as retail sales associate, customer service associate, and grocery store partner demand similar skillsets and have overlapping duties. Therefore a small business owner running a retail shop has to be careful to use the ideal retail job titles if you’re searching for a worker.

Post your retail jobs on Indeed and get $50 in sponsored job credit here.

3. Food Preparation Job stinks

This work category is the third most popular on Truly, racking up 378,119 postings. Job seekers look for entry level openings under this category like bartender, cook, and dishwasher. While food prep jobs are not closely related, it’s very important to specify the assignment to avoid confusion. If run a little restaurant or food establishment, the designation in the kitchen or around the ground should be the basis of your food prep occupation names.

4. Nursing Job Titles

Nursing is the fourth popular job category on Indeed with 329,613 registered project posts. The most in demand positions under this category are home care and personnel tasks. Nursing is a special class as it requires certification, licensure, and graduate or postgraduate education. If you operate a small clinic or hospice, coming up with the right nursing job titles is vital. Otherwise, you might get candidates that are either underqualified or overqualified for the position.

5. Sales Job Titles

Recording 244,319 job places on Indeed makes earnings the fifth popular task class. Sales job seekers primarily look for customer-facing functions or executive positions. The same as retail, sales positions have responsibilities and criteria which intersect. By way of instance, sales agents have similar responsibilities and requirements as inside sales agents. Thus, a small business operator should carefully examine the obligations of this position before creating sales job titles.

Post your earnings jobs on Indeed and get $50 in sponsored project credit here.

6. Utility Job Titles

Utility comes in at number six with 236,476 job postings on Truly. Jobs under this class perform tasks associated with installation and upkeep like service technician, installer, and field technician. Utility jobs vary considerably as each role demands a specific kind of expert instruction, certificate, and licensure. Consequently, if run a small utility or maintenance provider, you must determine the required skillset and background to come up with the proper tech or utility job names.

7. Customer Service Job Titles

The seventh spot is owned by the client service class with 171,810 project postings on Indeed. There are multiple tasks within this class with requirements and tasks which overlap. For instance, a customer service representative may also work as a call center representative or a customer care representative on the ground of a shop. The person needs to learn appropriate skills such as computer competence to be able to perform functions. A small business operator must identify unique abilities inherent to every post to utilize the correct customer service job name.

8. Administrative Job Titles

The most popular job class on Truly is administrative jobs using a record of 156,849 job postings. Even the most pursued admin tasks are entry-level positions such as administrative assistant, clerk, and secretary. Because most openings are rank and file jobs, a candidate may submit an application with little to no specialist background. But, an entrepreneur who runs a small business must use administrative job titles that accurately depict the duties and obligations of this vacancy.

Post your administrative jobs on Indeed and get $50 in sponsored job credit here.

9. Driving Job Titles

With 146,616 job posts on Really, driving takes the ninth most popular job category spot. The class distinguishes driver jobs according to type of vehicle, route, licensure, and obligation. By way of example, a truck driver operates another vehicle and takes a different license from a delivery driver. If you operate a small delivery or logistics company, you must come up with a driving job name that reflects these criteria. Otherwise, candidates might send their application even if they are not qualified for the post.

10. Software Development

Software development is the tenth most popular job class on Indeed with 145,744 jobs postings on the site. Job seekers under this category look for developer and engineer occupations. Software development is a highly technical field. Candidates must have the proper educational background together with high level of competence in a specific set of technologies to be prosperous at a development or technology job. Therefore, if you operate a tech company or utilize tech aid, you must be knowledgeable about the specs necessary for each position so you can come up with the ideal software development job titles.

Post your software development projects on Indeed and get $50 in sponsored project credit here.

How To Come Up With Job Titles

It is important to align your project title with your work description. In reality, you can often determine a work title once you’ve got a crystal clear comprehension of the roles and duties of the position. Learn more about how to write a job description and ask yourself the following questions That Will Help You create the right job name:

What section does the employee work in?

The section they are in (i.e. Finance, Sales, Marketing, Operations, etc.) should generally be a part of the title.

What position does the employee have internally?

Chief? Director? Associate? Basically, does the worker report to other people, or do other men and women report to them? Or are there individuals above or below them in the business (e.g. a Senior Analyst versus a Analyst)?

Is that the same as that which the position ought to be viewed as externally?

If so, then move on; if not, then consider what kind of authority you want them to possess. By way of instance, is the individual a decision-maker who has the ability to make decisions with customers or customers? Is this individual representing you at trade shows or conventions? You will want to give a title that conveys authority once the individual meets potential customers.

Are they a supervisor of a process or of people or both?

You may want to include Lead for a process manager from the name, and Manager at a public manager title.

Does the title suit the company culture and team?

For example, if you pride yourself at a super casual atmosphere, but then start handing out Managing Director names, the names may not fit the culture you are trying to create. But if you are in a small financial consulting firm, having proper titles is the only way customers will understand who does what. Think of the business in a bigger context and perhaps sketching out the company structure on a whiteboard can help you develop project titles that fit your business culture.

These questions can be considered as a formula for creating job titles. Still having trouble? Try out the Indeed Job Title Generator.

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Example — How to Choose a Job Title

For example, let us answer these 5 questions for a couple examples.

To start, let’s use Maggie, a staff writer and editor of Fit Small Business’s Marketing and Reviews segments, as an example. Let us answer the 5 questions to find out if we come up with the ideal job name for her.

1. What section is Maggie in? — Editorial/Writing.
2. What rank does she have? — She is managing editor of the Marketing and Reviews sections of the website.
3. Is that what everybody should know internally and externally? — Yes.
4. What/who does she manage? She manages other authors of Marketing and Reviews content and is in charge of its Marketing and Reviews content.
5. Does the title fit in with the rest of the team at Fit Small Business? — Yes.

Result: Maggie is editor and staff writer for the Marketing and Reviews department at Fit Small Business.

Let’s also use Mike, our SEO Director, as another example.

1. What department is he ? He is in our Marketing department.
2. What position does he have? — He is a supervisor in the Marketing department.
3. Is that what everyone should know internally and externally? — Yes.
4. What/who does he handle? He oversees the search engine optimization team and the search engine optimization process.
5. Does the name fit in with the rest of the team in FitSmallBusiness? — Yes.

Effect: Mike is your SEO Director in our Marketing Department.

Internal Job Titles vs. Titles When Posting a Job

The job title you use internally does not have to be the same one you use when hiring. As long as you’re not misleading folks, it’s fine to use a job title in your job posting and job description that will get you more traffic and more capable applicants.

By way of instance, here in FitSmallBusiness, we were searching for a Search Engine Optimization (search engine optimization ) Specialist, and posted our job on Indeed.com with that title. You could listen to the crickets–we have barely any candidates! When we published the job with the job title of Digital Marketing Specialist, and kept the description centered on SEO, we got a slew of applicants and discovered the right candidate fast.

If you want different job titles to your job posting and post-hire, just be sure to be more upfront with your applicants about the true name of this job they’ll have formerly hired!

Find the Right Job Title for Your Post with Indeed

To assist you determine the ideal name for your job postings and job descriptions, try Indeed’s Job Title Generator. This tool is super handy because it tells you three things:

1. Just how many job postings are currently out there containing the job name (s) you are considering
2. How many people are looking for that job title when searching for postings
3. Compares postings per task name for various job titles.

As an Example, the line in BLUE below is for a Digital Marketing Manager and the lineup in ORANGE is for an SEO Manager from the Indeed tool. It is possible to see that Digital Marketing Manager generates more job seeker interest, and that’s the reason we went with this particular name.

Once you discover the best job title, you may produce a sponsored job posting on Really and get it to the peak of the search results for your candidates you want to reach. Click here to get $50 in sponsored project credit with Really.

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Job Titles & Company Construction — Cases

What exactly does a full company structure look like with project titles? Let’s look at a few examples.

Example 1: Retail Store

For ABC Clothing Store:

• Shop Owner or CEO and/or Store Manager (based on who she’s speaking to)
• Shop Manager (if There’s a layer of management under the Store Owner)
• Assistant Store Manager(s) or Shift Managers (people who are accountable when the Store Owner and Store Manager are gone)
• Retail Associates (people who operate the floor and cash register)
• Inventory Associates (those who work the back room and potentially overnight changes )
• Marketing Manager (manages the advertising functions of the Company, but likely not a team; Based on the Company size, this might also fall upon the Store Owner or on the Shop Manager)

Example 2: Boutique Management Consulting Business

For XYZ Management Consultants:

• CEO and/or Principal Consultant (determined by who the owner is talking to)
• Consultant (able to speak directly to clients without CEO, may manage a team)
• Senior Associate Consultant (high-level team member who might afford parts of the consulting process, has some customer interaction)
• Associate Advisor (employee bee consultant-crunching numbers, study, making presentations for Senior Associate Consultant & Advisor )
• Administrative Assistant or Office Manager (helps out around the workplace and Might function as assistant to the CEO or even a Consultant)
• Business Development Manager or Client Manager (performs sales/marketing functions)

Example 3: Real Estate Office

For M&D Real Estate Company:

• Real Estate Broker (a broker has passed a top level examination and is senior to an agent; this could be the owner of the company)
• Real Estate Agent (brokers have also passed an exam and act as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of property on behalf of a broker)
• Revenue Assistant (general assistant to the real estate sales process, may help broker or broker )
• Closing Coordinator (aids with paperwork things to get a real estate closing and may also help ease the process between the buyer and vendor (when the broker or agent Should be outside selling)
• Administrative Assistant or Office Manager ((helps out around the workplace and Might function as assistant to the broker or agents)
• Business Development Manager or Client Manager (performs sales/marketing functions)

Top 5 Tips for Selecting Job Titles

Here are a few best practices to follow when assigning job titles for the first time or upgrading titles across your organization:

1. Inform your team if this is the first foray into occupation titles

Surprising people, particularly around something that matters to them as well as to their general career course, isn’t a good idea. Tell your staff that it’s time to make titles for everybody and explain why you are doing it (business growth, hiring more people, maybe other reasons).

2. Do not overthink it/keep it easy

Companies like Apple and Google are becoming creative with their names, like calling their HR Department the”People Department”. Don’t feel the necessity to be elaborate. Standard names such as Finance, Operations, Customer Service, and HR work just fine for the vast majority of small businesses and make more sense to individuals.

3. Be sensitive to seniority and expertise

Do you have a vast selection of experience levels and ages within your company? You will want to take that into consideration when making job titles, within reason. There is absolutely no reason to appease someone with a”large” name they don’t deserve, like giving a 25 year old a”Managing Manager” role. However, remember that people will see these titles to reflect the hierarchy of the business, so take this into account.

4. Document the names with an org chart

Whether you have short individual meetings or a team meeting, you need to tell everybody everything you decided on for their titles, in addition to everyone else’s. In case you’ve got a group of over 10, an organizational chart (which could be easily created with org chart software) may be helpful as people get used to the new job names. Below is a good example of an organization chart for a bakery.

5. Be open to comments…within reason

Circling back to stage 3, you may get some bruised egos or some constructive criticism from team members or supervisors. Hear out their thoughts, or add them in on the procedure in the get-go, but remember–it’s ultimately your enterprise and your structure. Do what makes sense.

The Bottom Line: Job Titles

Job names are significant for a small company and may be easy to overthink. Go throughout the 5 questions for every person as a starting point and go from there, and now you may always check your names with Really’s Job Title Generator.

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