Finding content in your job title
Dave CROCKER
dhc2 at dcrocker.net
Wed Mar 31 22:06:54 UTC 2010
On 3/30/2010 8:14 PM, Steve Bertrand wrote:
> For instance, I like to present myself as a 'network engineer'. I have
> never taken formal education, don't hold any certifications (well, since
> 2001), and can't necessarily prove my worth.
We exchange business cards to help the other person know some things about you
that are relevant.
The string of text that we call title can tell them something of your
responsibilities, knowledge, skills, accomplishments, or the like. It's a short
string, so you have to choose carefully. As noted, some words in a title are
formal terms of art, with restrictions on their application. "Therapist"
requires a license in most states; etc. So you have to balance between benefit
to the reader, corporate culture and rules, and legal/formal restrictions.
Sometimes, your official company title isn't very helpful for this purpose and
sometimes it is. Some companies allow or encourage whimsy; personally I find
those usually to tell me that the company is silly, but sometimes it
communicates a sense of fresh corporate culture.
If you get to choose the text, decide what is most important for others to know
about you from that card. Consider it from their perspective, not yours.
Assume the card has been passed to a third person who hasn't met you and doesn't
get information from the intermediary. Or that the person who got it looks at it
6 months later.
Does reading the text for title tell them something that they will find helpful
to know?
d/
--
Dave Crocker
Brandenburg InternetWorking
bbiw.net
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