Is it just me, or are things getting a tad out of hand in the realm of job titles? It's true, new job titles emerge all the time. I remember the time when Toilet Cleaner, Dustbin Man and Air Hostess went out, to be replaced with Sanitation Engineer, Refuse Collector and Flight Attendant.

There are some very good reasons for these developments. As women began to take an equal place in the workforce, titles became gender neutral. Globalisation (or some would say, Americanisation) has had a strong influence. However, it seems that recently, the rapid growth of e-commerce and the mad dash for available talent has created a hype all of its own. Now, more than ever, companies are using hip titles to attract qualified people. Here are some of the ones we've come across recently (along with some of the old economy translations):

It has also come to our attention, that there is a growing fashion for titles that have somewhat of a royal or religious flavour. Take, for example, Content King (or Queen), Tech Guru, Cultural Czar and Internet Evangelist.

The 'new economy' has broken down previously compartmentalized duties and responsibilities. Now employees across the board are expected to perform in multi-tasking, matrix environments. There are also new, cool-sounding job titles to mask these increasingly vaguely defined roles. These include:

Associate: E-Business, Portal Director, Principal and E-Business Specialist. In fact, these days, if you've managed to get 'E-' on your business card, you know you've made it. If you have 'M-', you have certainly moved beyond the ranks of us mere mortals and will probably be wondering how you are going to spend your cyber fortune.

The emphasis on knowledge-based work has given rise to opportunities for the single supplier. These are individuals who do not want to have to spend their working time in the office or be tied to a single employer. These people are now being referred to as 'Open-Collar Workers' or 'Permalancers' - the former work from home or the office as it suits them and, as a rule, don't wear ties. The latter chose to freelance on a permanent basis.

Finally there are the BIG Cs:
Chief Information Officer, Chief Technical Officer, Chief Knowledge Officer, Chief Growth Officer, Chief Imagination Officer, Chief Reality Officer. I'm told, by a reliable source, that CIO and CTO have worrying consequences for their owners; CIO being the abbreviated form of 'Career is Over' and CTO standing for 'Career Terminally Over'.

Are titles are important? Do important sounding titles impress you? Have you got an unusual job title? Let us know what you think. Contact Us!