Three word job titles make you stand out

Two weeks ago, I urged that you MUST have a Two Word Title, and this post on LinkedIn sparked a flurry of responses and lots of cool examples of two word titles.

However, I kept thinking about it.

You actually need to go beyond two words- three is even better.

Here's why.

As I was driving along on my road trip, I thought to myself,

"What kind of Creative Disruptor am I? What am I disrupting these days? Could I enhance my two word title to be even better?"

And the answer was- yes!

I wasn't just a Creative Disruptor. I'm actually a Creative Career Disruptor.

The addition of one word, "career", changes everything.

My line of work is exposing a massive career paradigm shift that's afoot. I'm not disrupting everything. I have a very clear focus, and that adds a specific dimension to my identity that I need to call out.

In science, we use classification systems to create taxonomies and order. You might remember Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species from high school biology. This framework applies to our professional identity as well.

Three columns. First with scientific categories. Second is more general to more specific. Third is disruptor to creative career disruptor

When you use one word to describe who you are, you're at the highest level. It's the most generic. You'll literally find yourself in good company with one million other folks on LinkedIn.

When you use two words to describe who you are, you're in the middle. You're a little bit more specific, but you're not yet unique.

When you use three words to describe who you are, you're one of a kind. You're very specific, clear, and better yet--RARE. There are likely no other LinkedIn matches, and that can be a really good thing (depending on how you're trying to brand yourself, of course).

REALIZATION AND RECIPE

A one word title only contains a noun. A two word title has a noun plus one other element, but a three word title contains three parts. A three word title encapsulates more richness, detail, and expansiveness about who you are.

The three parts to a three word job title are as follows. It doesn’t matter what order these three parts occur:

  1. A descriptor (adjective)

  2. A domain (field of study/ discipline)

  3. An identity word (noun)

Examples of three word titles:

“I am a …..”

  • Creative Career Disruptor

  • Life Tension Methodologist

  • Purposeful Curator of Ideas

How do those sound? Pretty clear and interesting, huh?

By using this recipe, you show you know yourself. You sound laser focused on who you are, your area of expertise, and what KIND of NOUN you really are.

You can also download my free DIVINE framework, which is a handout that explains the key factors for making a strong job title.

It's time to pay attention to what you call yourself at work.

WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELF MATTERS

List titled what you call yourself matters. Then the list of ten different sayings that start with if your job title is simple

If your job title is simple, it's probably already been done.

If your job title is simple, it probably lacks high demand.

If your job title is simple, it probably doesn’t stand out.

If your job title is simple, it means you’re not challenging your sense of yourself.

If your job title is simple, it means you’re not being introspective enough.

If your job title is simple, it means you're redundant.

If your job title is simple, it doesn’t excite you.

If your job title is simple, it doesn’t excite your team.

If your job title is simple, it doesn’t excite the world!

And, if any of these statements resonate with you, leave me a note as to why.

Dr. Sarabeth Berk Bickerton