Do job titles matter?

After our seminar on networking, I started wondering more about job titles. We all have one, but doesn’t really matter what it is? When you meet people for the first time, that’s how they identify themselves.

It sort of makes me think of the scene from American Psycho when all the executives are showing their business cards to one another commenting on the paper. I’m sure we’ve all come across colleagues who had a high-level title, but they really didn’t live up to it. And I’m also sure we’ve come across people who had an entry level job that knew more than the supervisor three levels up. Workers come into job titles for a variety of reasons from losing a job and being forced to take an entry level position to becoming a high-level manager because your best friend is the CEO.

For me, I really don’t pay attention to the titles, but why people do what they do. That passion is what turns into being able to inspire others and make positive change for our world. When I meet someone for the first time I pay close attention to their body language, how they answer questions, and what they say. This usually tells me pretty quickly what type of person they are and if this title fits their work.