The job title you put on your LinkedIn profile says a lot about you.
If the one that says:
- “General Manager at …”
- “CEO at …”
- “Application Developer at …”
In my case a few years ago I put “Innovation strategy, IT and digital transformation. Entrepreneur. Speaker. Founder of Baleares Business Leadership”.
At least it says 2 important things about me:
First: that I didn’t have it very clear. That I can’t decide between the many things I do professionally to convey it in a simple and intelligible way in a short sentence.
Second: that I work for the corporate world (what private individual could be interested in leadership, digital transformation or innovation?) but that I don’t do it from within a company. For the Entrepreneur thing and for not putting the name of a corporation in the title.
The reality is that the job title reflects what you do or would like to do.
If you work in a company, the job title is easy. Just look at your business card.
When you’re self-employed it’s… let’s say, more flexible. It depends on the day.
It’s an easy way for others to find you quickly and hopefully see if you are the right person to help them with their problem.
But we always express it in a politically correct way.
People put “Human Resources Manager”.
Nobody says “Unprofitable employee terminator”.
Although, it is possible that the company that is looking for you has the problem of finding a good “Unprofitable employee terminator”.
But that is not politically correct.
Some people write “Project Manager” instead of “Control freak with a deaf ear for excuses”.
But when someone really needs a Project Manager, they are looking for a control freak with a deaf ear for excuses. Or are they?
And what about the “CFO” who maybe, just maybe, is expected to act like a “Bad Money Cop”?
Because when I say I’m in “Innovation Strategy, IT and Digital Transformation” (let’s leave the rest for the moment) maybe it’s that I help companies as a “Sinker for weak business ideas”.
Because, let’s face it, the best outcome of any consultancy on a business idea or project is that you manage to prove that it has no future.
Let’s see, assuming it certainly doesn’t have a future. Of course it doesn’t.
Because if you manage to prove it, its promoters will stop throwing money and time away.
If you can’t prove it, there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be a success. It’s just that maybe you didn’t ask the right questions.
That you didn’t have an inspired day as devil’s advocate.
But back to the LinkedIn title: who’s going to be interested in hiring a “Sinker for weak business ideas”?
Actually, the people who hire you are looking for you to help them find those weak spots and take them forward.
In other words, if you come to the conclusion that the business has no future, you might save them a lot of money. But they’re not very happy.
Then you should put something more politically correct.
Maybe “Rescuer of innovative and technological businesses“.
Any suggestions?
I’m going to try it on my LinkedIn profile.
At the moment I don’t dare with the most politically incorrect one. What do you think?
I’ll let you know how it ends up.