We recently read a fantastic article over at The Undercover Recruiter about how choosing entertaining yet ambiguous job titles in your job ads can backfire. The same is also applicable for job seekers who have LinkedIn titles like “Inside Sales Rockstar” or “Digital Marketing Guru”.

While you may think adding ‘creative’ job titles to otherwise fairly run-of-the-mill jobs can make your job opening seem more appealing, it’s not only misleading but it’s also doing your ad a complete disservice. As the article explains –

An employer will decide that since their company thrives on “outside-the-box” thinking and encourages unique and creative ideas inventing a radical title for a decidedly non-glamorous position will send the outside-the-box thinkers rushing to apply. Unfortunately, employers who do this are not taking something very important into consideration – unique position titles only make it harder to find candidates who are searching for jobs, as they often never reach their targeted audience.

If you want to give your job the best possible exposure you need to think like a candidate. What are they more likely to search for – “Strategic Superhero” or “Business Development Manager”. That’s not to say if your company has that quirky culture that enjoys calling it’s employees Ninjas and Unicorns that you can’t do that – but wait till you’ve been through hiring process and discuss it with your potential new hire before labelling them the latest “Numbers Wizard”.

And job seekers, remember you’re in the same boat as well. Even if you’re not actively job seeking, keen headhunters and employers are seeking out top talent using traditional job titles and keywords.

Besides, unless you can covertly sneak up on your nemesis and bring them down in one fell swoop – you’re not a Ninja.