As there are signs that the pandemic may be easing, the search will be on for work. However, before you even think about looking for a new role you need to go on a gobbledegook course or get an update to Google Translate.
One of the things that I have used LinkedIn for in the past has been for job searching. However, the other day I received a nod for the role of Employee Experience Representative. Next to it was a role of Talent Acquisition Partner. After much research I found out that company wanted to know if you wanted to work in HR!
That led to me doing further research for alternative titles to HR. So, add Human Capital Management, People Operations, People Resource Centre, Employee Experience, Employee Success, and Partner Resources.
But perhaps a call centre is more like the sort of thing you want. Then add Cast Member, Support Hero, Support Ninja, Happiness Engineer, Customer Advocate and Customer Guru to your list.
Clearly I could have researched much more, but I drew the line when the respected dustman was transformed into a Sanitation Engineer.
But the most disturbing title of all on the site is that of Influencer. I say this for several reasons. The first, and most important is that it is only those that you influence that can call you that. Naming yourself as an influencer is presumptuous at the very least.
It is also interesting to note that many people that call themselves influencers are very young and with little experience. However, they do seem to have an endless supply of platitudes that are supposed to encourage you to be positive. We can all Google these and post them, but that doesn’t make us an influencer. Nor does the fact that you know how to post on the internet.
What we really need are people with experience who are prepared to support you in whatever way you most prefer. We don’t need all these invented titles that mean little and act as self-aggrandisement. What we want is a trusted friend.
Why cant we get back to calling a shovel a shovel, and stop calling it an earth moving implement. Incidentally, I have changed the phrase from ‘spade’ to ‘shovel’. Despite the original phrase being created by Erasmus in the mid-1500s, the use of it in the USA from the 1920s my well have made me the subject of the cancel culture. But that is for another blog.
