The richest man in the world, newly created Elon Musk, has a new job to match his fortune. Although his empire spans several industries, he is releasing the name of CEO to only one of the companies under his thumb, opting for the title of “Technoking” at the electric car manufacturer Tesla.
For Musk, the duties of a Technoking do not seem to be different from those of a traditional CEO, as the industrial billionaire will see that the previous mission of his position remains intact, according to Wall Street Journal. Former Tesla chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn will make an equally superfluous leap, changing his official name to Tesla’s Master of Coins. (His real job is not expected to change).
Musk and Kirkhorn have given each other stupid titles because they are strong men who give blows, but apart from a few titles and giggles from Musk’s army of acolytes, the titles themselves mean nothing. And, strangely, it’s true for most job titles.
“Technology” gives us a little lesson to the rest of us, regardless of our vocations: job titles rarely, if ever, explain your real work. Because you will not soon mark a business card with an irreverent title that will start the conversation when you talk to someone about the job or even do a job interview it is better to emphasize what you do.
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Titles do not mean the same thing in different organizations
Being a senior vice president of sales for a faceless corporation does not mean that your responsibilities will accurately reflect the responsibilities of one SVP to another.
What you do for a living is a rather inevitable topic of conversation. If it’s something you really want to talk about, you’ll need to dig deeper into the details and not just give a three-word answer like “I’m a lawyer.” Everyone has a vague sense of what it means to be a lawyer, but the real details of a career are always different from person to person, even if technically they have the same job on paper.
Be more imaginative in your explanations
Of course, you don’t have to identify one pseudo LinkedIn influencer who throws away corporate jargon, but feel free to explain what you’re actually doing with a little more color and panache. Because behind many gentle job titles lie at least some kind of purpose. Of course, we strive to pay the bills and keep our heads above water, but occasionally there may be something worth sharing in the conversation that exposes the broader purpose of the workplace.
As Gene Marks wrote in Entrepreneur in 2018, job titles are virtually meaningless and are generally used to strengthen their ego:
What do you say when people ask you what you do for a living? Are you the “owner of a small business?” An entrepreneur? “A” CEO? ” “Don’t believe him. You’re none of these things. These are just titles, created to make people feel more important. That’s not what you really do.”
Instead, consider details about what you do in more granular terms. You don’t have to write a speech, but if you’re an immigration lawyer, consider saying “Help undocumented people consult legal resources so they can reunite with their families” or if you’re a computer programmer, you can say “Help when building a software that is the foundation for popular applications and websites. “Your title is implicit in the synopsis you provide. Whether or not you’re a leading web designer, it doesn’t make much difference to the person you’re talking to.
Do what A more interesting conversation
If you don’t expand what you do, you will takes the conversation to a standstill; or worse, you risk starting at best and sound pretentious at worst. You are unlikely to use the title of “Technique” or the Supreme Emperor of Accounts Payable Soon, but fortunately you have more to talk about beyond your title, anyway.