how much does job title matter ?

Question

Hello all,

I was a Sr. Business Analyst at one of the Pharma giants prior to my MBA. I shall graduate with MBA'2020 and I now have an offer from a pharma company as 'Program Analyst'(company policies). Even though the JD and role requirement is about managing teams and devising go-to strategies for countries, I am worried will this role be seen as a 'dip' in my resume. the compensation is better than the 'manager' level jobs(my other peers in the cohort got) in the country.

Could you please tell me how much does the job title affect my application if I apply to a consulting firm for the role of 'Consultant'?

thank you..

Answer 1

Hi there,

Yes sometimes the titles across companies are so confusing and hard to tell seniority.

This is why you need to clearly bring out the key details in the bullet points on your resume, e.g. the size of the project you handle (in $), the size of the team that you lead, the scope of the work, the challenges you have overcome and the impact you make (in $, %...).

Also check with the pharma company do they distinguish internal and external titles. Some companies do have 2 sets of titles and the external one sounds much better than internal ones.

Another data point company assess your seniority is when they get to see your current compensation package. But that is usually after you pass the interviews though.

Best,

Emily

Answer 2

Hello!

This is a very good point that for sure is going to be relevant for many people.

Indeed, the namings used by the different compies are so confusing nowadays (have a look at Amazon, where every one includes the world manager)

However, think that this is precisely why in a CV we put so much effort in the different bullet points that explain the experience, key tasks, impact achieved, key KPIs that measure that success...

In a nutshell, if what you will tell in that summary is of high quality -which it seems, given what you say in the post-, yo should not have an issue.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clar

Answer 3

Dear A ,

I can confirm your concerns that those job titles can be seen as a more junior staff, when you are applying to consulting. But don't worry about that, because if you're applying to consulting companies without previous consulting experience, you will be downgraded in both ways. So, I think that with your experience you will match to Associate position.

Good luck and if you need any help, just drop me a line.
André

Answer 4

Hi,

I would suggest to clear a bullet points with key words that describe the difference in responsibilities of the roles (e.g. Lead vs Conducted, Managed vs Support)

Another thing is not writing your actual title bu instead the responsibility (e.g. Stream Lead vs Senior BA, Team Lead vs Program Analyst)

Answer 5

Hi,

First of all, consultants will look at the years of experience and MBA, and you will be hired as an Associate (McKinsey scale) by default. So don't worry

Secondly - I would try to renegotiate the title with the company. Just give them your rationale.

Thirdly - you can always modify the title in your resume to the one that represents more what you are doing. Companies are not really checking the names of the titles

Best

Answer 6

Hi,

1) As others have mentioned, the bullets in your resume matter. The responsibilities you have and the impact you have created

2) Adjust the title to reflect the role and change it in LinkedIn and your resume. CHECK WITH YOUR MANAGER BEFORE YOU DO SO. For instance, there is a Senior Procurement Analyst in my team who has 4 analysts under her and is leading the entire Procurement efforts for my division. She checked with me if it's ok to write her Title as 'Head of Procurement for xxx' and I had no issues with it.

Hope that helps!

Nirmit