Do you identify yourself as a PR goddess when you answer your phone? Do your business cards tout the quasi-cryptic title "AK" (understood, by those "in the know" to stand for
ass-kisser?)? Sue Nail, a tech sector veteran, bore these interchangeable titles proudly during her days with Des Moines-based Prairie Group Software in the mid-'90s.
Few would disagree that job titles have become less regimented in recent years, given an overall flattening of organizational hierarchies and a shift toward more casual, if not
downright silly, work environments. And nowhere is the goofier-is-better job title trend more apparent than among Internet companies and the PR agencies that love them.
Yahoo! PR staffers, we're told, don atypical titles such as "buzz kahuna" and "media maven." Log on to the Web site for San Francisco-based SparkPR - a "new economy boutique
agency focused on launching start-ups" and you'll find counselors sporting cheeky distinctions such as "chief firecracker," "rocket scientist," "chief detonator," "chief dy-no-
mite"...and our personal favorite, "DaBomb," a title held by publicity guru Leslie Bottoms.
Hey, don't be too quick to pooh-pooh the idea. There's some good PR value in them thar job titles. DaBomb, after all, scored a little ink in Fortune magazine not long
ago (the magazine ran a small quiz challenging readers to match zany job titles to descriptions of what their owners actually did for a living). Nail adds that her unorthodox job
titles at Prairie Group made her more memorable and endearing to tech editors and beat reporters.
But then there are the problems that come with free expression - particularly in the world of job hunting.
"We see titles like that as a red flag," says Carol Ball, who owns her own executive recruiting company in Wilton, Conn. "It's a sign that the person may not be a team player.
It doesn't very well help a company in overcoming its communications issues, if you can't even grasp what the person does. It may work for a boutique agency in the west village,
but it's not gonna happen at Microsoft."
Weird titles are pretty much non grata on a resume, Ball adds. "If the recruiter has to spend more than five minutes sorting through a resume and supporting materials [these
kinds of stunts] become more annoying than clever and have the opposite effect."
And yet Gabe D'Annunzio, a counselor with KHJ PR in Boston who uses the title "thaumaturge" (which means "miracle worker"...we looked it up) says he would happily use the
descriptor on a resume, critics be damned.
"It would be a great way to test the environment you might be going into. If they couldn't deal with it, I wouldn't want to work there anyway." D'Annunzio, by the way,
specializes exclusively in tech clients.
In reality, most practitioners aren't quite so brave - and hence operate more in accordance with a Bruce Wayne/Batman sort of dual identity, carrying multiple cards, resumes
and titles to suit every occasion.
This journalist, for one, could stand to have a little more fun in her life. Plus, she has been known to show signs of a split personality (particularly when deadline is
approaching). How about some job title suggestions for the "Jenny Sullivan formerly known as editor"? Send your ideas to [email protected]
.