Why do job titles matter?

Job titles are crucial for the ability to attract qualified and representative candidate pools. Clear and descriptive job titles help candidates quickly understand if the role is a good fit for their skills and career goals. This improves the overall candidate experience by ensuring that job seekers can easily find and apply for roles that match their qualifications and improves an organization's ability to use their recruitment marketing budget efficiently.

In Datapeople, we have three major forms of job title guidance:

  1. Avoiding job board jail: Job titles that appear spammy are blocked by job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed, even if they have been advertised. Organizations that repeatedly post problematic job content are restricted by job boards (or put into "Job Board Jail"). 
  2. Optimizing for better job search visibility: Just as article titles help pages rank in search engine results, job titles play a key role in improving visibility. Including relevant job titles with keywords that job seekers are likely to use helps job postings appear in search results. For example, a job posting with the title "Senior Software Engineer" will rank better for searches related to senior engineering position than “SDE III” or “SE IV” (which are abbreviations for Software Development Engineer or Software Engineer). SDE and numbers (III/IV) are not common search terms but Software Engineer is.
  3. Ensuring correct calibration of the role and the title: Job title inflation is the practice of leveling up a job title without leveling up the associated responsibilities and requirements along with it. For instance, adding ‘Senior’ to a ‘Software Engineer’ job that only has mid-level or junior requirements. While some think that title inflation can raise the value of jobs in candidates' eyes so they get a more qualified candidate pool, Datapeople's research shows that it leads to fewer qualified candidates applying for the position. Moreover, when the title doesn't reflect the compensation, candidates can feel that they’re a victim of a 'bait and switch'. 

Search visibility

At their heart, job board search looks for keywords in job titles that match what job seekers are searching for. For example, a job title like "Senior Marketing Manager" is more likely to rank well for searches related to senior marketing positions than a vague title like "Marketing Professional". 

  • Use industry-standard job titles: Titles that closely align with the search intent of job seekers help improve relevance. If users are searching for specific roles or expertise, having precise job titles that match these terms improves the chances of the job posting appearing in search results. For example, titling to a “Head of Customer Success” role as the “Chief Happiness Officer” will be less likely to be found by candidates because it does not use industry-standard keywords that candidates use in their job search. 
  • Make keywords work for you (not against you): Keywords related to the specific skills, experience, and qualifications relevant to the job can enhance visibility for relevant searches. Assuming that Python is a critical technology in the job description, adding Python to a “Backend Engineer” job title will attract more applications from candidates experienced in Python, rather than having candidates familiar with other backend engineering languages (like Java, C++). Similarly, titles that clearly define the job role and level help both search engines and job seekers quickly understand the position. For example, "Entry-Level Data Analyst" provides clarity on the experience level and job function.
  • Be concise: While job titles should be descriptive, they also need to be concise. Search engines and job boards have character limits for titles, so it's critical to strike a balance between detail and brevity to avoid truncation. Moreover, to avoid keyword stuffing, search algorithms give lower ranking to jobs with long titles. We've seen this occur with job titles with 6+ words. 

Avoiding common pitfalls

  • Don't use internal product / team names or acronyms: These are not common search terms and will result in lower search ranking. The keywords are working against you because the job title is weighed down by them. But you should include this information in the job description body. Candidates appreciate knowing which department or team they’ll work in and what projects they’ll work on.
  • Don't use job titles to organize your data: Use the metadata fields in your ATS to organize and categorize job posts. If you need help with these, reach out to our Customer Success Manager who can connect you with experts who can configure these. 

It goes without saying that titles should accurately reflect the role described in the job posting. While your Talent or People functions might have specific internal job titles for compensation and leveling reasons, we recommend using a more user and search-friendly job title when advertising the job post. Datapeople users also include a line in the job posting to describe the internal job title for clarity. This avoids candidates feeling like the job changed at the offer point, and provides a helpful document for compliance. 

Search engines weigh job titles based on their relevance to search queries, clarity, and keyword inclusion. Well-optimized job titles that accurately describe the role, use relevant keywords, and engage job seekers can improve search visibility, click-through rates, and overall effectiveness. Following search engine best practices for job titles helps ensure that job postings reach the right audience and, in doing so, attract qualified and representative candidate pools. 

Additional References

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