Getting that job

Question

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of trying to move on from my current employer. It is a small college with a very small student population. I've moved around a bit inside the IT department there to fill needs and experience a few things outside of programming.

In the process of my job search, I've had a few interviews that were for jobs that are functionally equivalent to what I have now, but with more pay. These didn't pan out due to the reason: "We found someone with experience tailored to our environment."

Here is my predicament.

Up until April of last year, my job title in no way reflected what my primary job function was. The IT department had no titles for programmers since they could never afford one (yes, I probably sold myself short). I'm actually still the only one.

In an effort to be honest on my resume, I have been using the titles I was given. However, no matter what I say, there seems to be a cloud of doubt due to the titles listed. I've heard from recruiters who actually call me that they first thought I've only been programming for less than a year, even though my resume clearly states in the description of responsibilities of those jobs that I have been programming all along. In reality, I've been programming at least 3 years professionally and far longer in a personal sense.

Do any of you have any suggestions on how to remedy this problem without omitting information?

Answer 1

Hypothetically, if someone calls your department and asks to speak to a programmer, who would they give the phone to? If the answer is you, then you are perfectly within your rights to give yourself a more appropriate job title.

Ultimately, a job title is a short description of your job - if the title doesn't match the job, then it was erroneously given and should be changed.

Answer 2

Put whatever job title you think is appropriate on your resume, if you think that is an issue. As long as you're not claiming to be a "Vice President of Software Development", I don't see a problem with a little title-inflation.

Answer 3

I'm not so sure it's the job title that is the problem. It could be interviewing skills. Always be extremely excited about the job they're offering. Ask for the job during the interview. Walk around their office in awe of the work environment they're offering you and say things like "I really want to work here".

I know that sounds cheesy, but it worked for me. About 90% of the interview process (and business in general) is getting the person who makes the decisions to like you.

Answer 4

The first thing to understand is that recruiters and HR people do not understand your resume and will not read it in full. Generally the people that will do that are the people looking to actually hire you.

The recruiter skimmed over your resume, looked at a couple bullet points, didn't see the experiences they wanted right off the bat and questioned you.

However if you have been working as a solo programmer or basement programmer just make sure you aren't getting in over your head. If you question whether you were a developer it gives me the sense that you weren't focusing full time on application design and development and that your job entails a lot of duties unrelated to solving problems with code.

Answer 5

At my previous employer, software developers were lumped into the "Information Specialist" title. The company had at least 50,000 software developers with that title. I was an "Information Specialist Senior" and had a roles and responsibilities document that was several pages long. My main role at the company was in enterprise architecture, I was referred to as "enterprise architect" by the clients, and people recognized my skills/experience in that area.

So on my resume, I put Enterprise Architect. Who knows what an Information Specialist Senior is anyway?

Answer 6

I think its the qualification and experience on the things you worked on before will get you a job. ultimately you are applying for a job and not the title. So use whichever title they want as long as you qualify for that