Recruiter Explains Why Changing Your Job Titles On Your Resume Is Crucial When You're Looking For A Job
It's not being dishonest. Instead, it's actually being even more accurate.
fizkes | Shutterstock If there’s one rule that’s been drilled into all of us when it comes to looking for a job, it’s to not lie on your resume. This makes sense. If your potential employer wants to verify something that didn’t actually happen, that’s a problem. But what about things that aren’t a lie, but your company still might dispute?
One recruiter thinks that you have to be completely accurate in your description of what job you performed at a company, even if it means using a title that the company might not agree with. To her, that is actually the best way to be completely honest and give yourself the best chance at landing a new role.
You should actually change your job titles on your resume when looking for a new job.
A former recruiter and career expert named Hanna, known as @hannagetshired on TikTok, offered her thoughts on whether or not job candidates should change their job titles on their resumes. She’s completely in favor of it.
“Just in case nobody’s given you this permission yet, take it from an ex-recruiter,” she said. “You can update your job title on your resume or your LinkedIn profile when you’re applying to jobs to make yourself more competitive.”
The very mention of this probably makes a lot of people anxious, as it sounds suspiciously like telling less than the truth on your resume. Actually, Hanna said it is really the way to be the most honest, in a way that still benefits you.
“So, there are so many jobs out there that have job titles that only make sense within the context of that company,” she continued. “So maybe they use internal nomenclature that only that company uses. Or the job title doesn’t exactly match the full scope of your responsibilities. Or if you were to go work at another company, your job might actually sit under a different department.”
Hanna’s own take is that you can use this as an opportunity to be more accurate. “I am of the opinion that you can update the public-facing job titles to more accurately reflect what you do,” she said.
The recruiter offered an example of when changing your job title would be helpful.
“Hiring still happens between people, and your LinkedIn page and your resume need to communicate what you know how to do for a company,” she argued. That’s when she gave an example of when this could be helpful.
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“So let’s say you got hired as an email marketing manager, but your scope over time has expanded, and now you help manage some of the content strategy, and you support with social media,” she said. “Well, if that was me, I would probably update my job title to say ‘digital marketing manager,’ or ‘email plus content marketing manager.’”
Hanna did, of course, point out that you can’t lie when making statements like this, but as long as you’re accurately representing your time at the company, you should be good to go.
Other experts agreed that altering job titles on your resume is important.
Career coach Bruce Eckfeldt said it’s okay to tweak your job title on your resume as long as you’re careful about it. After all, a new company that’s interested in you may reach out to your current or former employer for information.
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“You can always edit for clarity and communication so long as you’re not misleading or misrepresenting your background or experience,” he said. In the example he offered, he suggested that when you have moved past the entry-level role of production assistant in your duties but still haven’t been officially promoted, you instead state on your resume that you’ve been on the production team for three years.
This is still completely true, but it better represents your work and expertise. And, when you’re looking for a new job, that’s what it’s all about.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
