Best practices on job titles including lists of titles by hierarchy and departments

Job titles are the core of the workplace. The job title is key to attracting talent and often represents an employee's seniority on the team.

In this Guide, you'll learn about:

• Job Title Hierarchy
• IT Job Titles (Excluding Developers)
• Software Developer Job Titles
• Engineering Job Titles
• Cyber Security Job Titles
• Cryptocurrency/Blockchain Job Titles
• Sales Job Titles
• Marketing Job Titles
• Communications Job Titles
• PR Job Titles
• Design Job Titles
• Social Media Job Titles
• Human Resources Job Titles
• Customer Service Job Titles
• Call Center Job Titles
• Product Management Job Titles
• Warehouse Job Titles
• Diversity Job Titles
• Operations Job Titles
• Popular Leader Titles
• Administrative Job Titles
• Executive Assistant Job Titles
• Facilities Job Titles
• Legal Job Titles
• Accounting Job Titles
• Payroll Job Titles
• Finance Job Titles
• Insurance Job Titles
• Job Title Tips and Best Practices
• Funny & Creative Job Titles
• Capitalizing Job Titles
• Rewriting Job Descriptions & Job Titles
• Job Title Abbreviations and Acronyms

Job Title Hierarchy

Most companies have an org. chart like the one below with 6 major tiers:

An organization's job titles are usually closely aligned with these 6 major tiers. Large organizations get much more complicated. The U.S. Federal Government has 15 job grades with 10 steps with each.

But a good place to start thinking about job titles is with the simple 6 tiers shown in the org. chart pyramid above.

Let's start at the top:

C-Suite Job Titles List

At the top of the job title hierarchy is the C-Suite. The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) usually manages all other people who have C-level titles as well as a President if there is one.

On some occasions (usually in a transitionary period), the CEO might report to both the board and an Executive Chairperson such as is the case with Disney's CEO Bob Chapek.

Here's an example of an org chart of C-Level executive job titles you might find in a large enterprise:

Check out The Top 20 C Level Titles [with Descriptions] for a comprehensive list of C-Suite job titles.

Note: Some industries use different job titles for leadership. For example, Non-Profits often refer to their leader as Executive Director. And healthcare companies sometimes use Chief Medical Officer and Chief Clinical Officer for their #1 role.

Vice President, Director and Manager

Below the C-Suite, most companies use the traditional VP, Director and Manager levels where:

• VPs manage the Directors
• Directors manage the Managers
• Managers manage the Individual Contributors

Individual Contributor (IC) Job Titles List 

People with individual contributor (IC) job titles often represent the largest group within an organization. IC job titles vary by department and often include a qualifier word such as:

Entry-Level Job Titles List 

An entry-level job title at a large enterprise might be related to an Intern/Training/Apprenticeship program. Examples:

• Intern (e.g. IT Intern, Legal Team Intern)
• Trainee (e.g. Financial Advisor Trainee, Underwriter Trainee)
• Apprentice (Apprentice Engineer, Sales Apprentice)
• Assistant (e.g. Sales Assistant)

Smaller companies often lack such entry-level programs and might skip such entry-level titles altogether. They might use the individual contributor-type job titles as the entry-level title instead (e.g. Marketing Specialist, HR Generalist, Sales Associate, etc).

Another common entry-level job title is "Assistant" (HR Assistant, Sales Assistant, Marketing Assistant, etc.). The job board Indeed had 309,198 jobs with "Assistant" in the title as of March 26, 2020. Some Assistant titles, though, require some experience. Executive Assistants for large enterprises are usually reserved for someone who has been an Exec Assistant before or has some industry experience.

Now, let's look at some top departments and the job titles they use at every one of the 6 major tiers of titles.

IT Job Titles List (Excluding Developers)

Most Information Technology (IT) teams have a traditional set of job tiers. The IT Org chart/hierarchy might look like this:

Many large enterprises use Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer as the title responsible for IT. Smaller companies might simply call them VP of IT, Head of IT or Director of IT.

The CIO or CTO usually reports into the CEO or, in fewer cases, the COO or CFO.

What are the most popular IT job titles these days?

Check out Here are top 10 job titles candidates search for the most based on a recent month of Google queries:

1. Data Analyst (20.8%)
2. Data Scientist (11.4%)
3. System Administrator (6.3%)
4. Computer Technician (5.5%)
5. QA Tester (4.9%)
6. Network Administrator (3.1%)
7. CIO (2.6%)
8. Database Administrator (2.6%)
9. IT Technician (2.3%)
10. Information Security Analyst (2.1%)
11. Entry Level Data Analyst (2.1%)

Software Developer Job Titles List 

While software teams often report into IT, many modern organizations (especially tech-driven companies) have their own org chart that might bypass IT and report directly into the CEO.

Here's an example of an org chart of a typical software engineering/development team:

At Airbnb, for example, the job title used for their software team leader is VP of Engineering and they report to the CEO (see Software Engineering Problems ("Who runs the show: Airbnb senior management")).

In Airbnb's case, the Director of IT and Director of Security both report to the VP of Engineering.

Other companies might use the title VP of Software Engineering for their software team leader.

Here's a list of the 10 most common software job titles that candidates search for based on a recent month of Google queries (source: The Top 50 Software Job Titles [Ranked by What Candidates Search For]).

1. Web Developer (11.57%)
2. Software Engineer (9.92%)
3. Software Developer (6.28%)
4. Front End Developer (4.63%)
5. Network Engineer (4.55%)
6. Java Developer (3.14%)
7. IOS Developer (2.56%)
8. SQL Developer (2.31%)
9. Android Developer (1.98%)
10. Salesforce Developer (1.9%)

You'll note that some software titles are general (e.g. Web Developer or Software Engineer) while others are platform-specific (Java Developer, Salesforce Developer).

There's also a healthy debate on the differences between "Engineer" versus "Developer" versus "Programmer" versus "Coder", etc. Check out The Top 50 Software Job Titles for an explanation of their similarities and differences.

Engineering Job Titles List 

Below is an engineering hierarchy chart with top seniority listed at the top down to entry-level jobs at the bottom:

DEVELOPER VS. ENGINEER

A quick note on software engineering. Although many companies hire engineers, some also hire developers.We have found that these job titles can be used interchangeably. You can read more about the developer vs engineer debate in our top 50 software developer job titles blog.

For this blog, we decided to focus on job titles with the word “engineer” or “engineering” in them. Now, let’s have a look at a typical org chart of engineering job titles.

Here is a list of the 10 most common Engineering job titles/keywords searched for based on a recent month of Google queries (Source: Top 30 Engineering Job Titles [with Descriptions]):

1. Software Engineer
2. Network Engineer
3. Mechanical Engineer
4. Quality Engineer
5. Electrical Engineer
6. Engineer
7. Entry Level Software Engineer
8. Data Engineer
9. Manufacturing Engineer
10. Engineering Technician

Cyber Security Job Titles List 

While researching cyber security job titles, I ran into a small dilemma. Is it “cyber security” (2 words) or “cybersecurity” (one word)?

The common person knows that cyber security and cybersecurity are one and the same. But it turns out that candidates use one version (when they Google for jobs) at a much higher clip.

A quick example (or three) before we jump right into the top Cyber Security Job Titles:

1. “Cyber Security Analyst jobs” is searched 1,500 times per month by candidates versus “Cybersecurity Analyst jobs” at just 150 per month.
2. “Entry Level Cyber Security jobs” gets a much higher 9,300 per month vs.“Entry Level Cybersecurity jobs” (900 searches per month)
3. “Cyber Security Engineer jobs” is searched 300 times per month by candidates vs. “Cybersecurity Engineer jobs” ( just 10 searches per month).

Now that you know how candidates are searching for job titles in cyber security, let’s have a look at a typical org chart of cyber security job titles.

Here is a list of the 10 most common cyber security job titles/keywords searched for based on a recent month of Google queries (Source: Top 30 Cyber Security Job Titles [+ Descriptions]):

1. Information Security Analyst
2. Cyber Security Analyst
3. SOC Analyst
4. Security Engineer
5. Application Security Engineer
6. Blockchain Developer
7. Penetration Tester
8. AWS Cloud Architect
9. Cyber Security Engineer
10. Chief Information Security Officer

CryptoCurrency/Blockchain Job Titles List 

What are the best blockchain and cryptocurrency job titles for you and your team?

Blockchain vs Cryptocurrency

While researching crypto job titles, I found some blockchain positions using “cryptocurrency” in the titles and vice versa. So, what's the difference between blockchain and cryptocurrency?

I list both blockchain positions and cryptocurrency job titles since they are so related. Below is a list of the top 15 blockchain job titles based on Google queries we found on ahrefs.

 Blockchain Developer is the top searched-for job by candidates and also the most requested cryptocurrency job description by employers. What is a blockchain developer? A Blockchain Developer is one of the most popular blockchain positions. This is a programmer role that develops applications using blockchain technology.

Here is a list of the 5 most common crypto job titles/keywords searched for based on a recent month of Google queries (Source: Top 15 Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Job Titles [+ Descriptions]):

1. Blockchain Developer
2. Crypto Analyst/Blockchain Analyst
3. Cryptocurrency Writer
4. Blockchain Consultant
5. Cryptocurrency Trader

Sales Job Titles List 

The top title in Sales is usually Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) or Chief Sales Officer. CROs sometimes manage teams beyond traditional sales. At Splunk and Namely, the CRO manages both sales and marketing.

At most SaaS (software as a service) companies, the CRO manages "Customer Success", the team that takes care of the client once a sale is made. Most SaaS companies have the CRO manage Customer Success because the majority of SaaS revenue comes from renewals and upselling after the initial sale.

Here's a typical sales hierarchy/org chart with examples of jobs within each.

A key difference in sales job titles versus titles in other departments (like IT, Marketing and Finance) is that many sales titles are based on territories. Examples

• VP of Sales, APAC (Asia Pacific)
• National Sales Director
• Territory Sales Manager (Northern California)
• Inside Sales Rep (Midwest)

Sales titles can also be based on vertical industry such as:

• Business Development Manager, Healthcare
• Senior Account Executive (Retail)
• Key Account Sales Manager (Wholesale Fashion)

Which titles do candidates search for the most?

Here is a list of the 10 most common sales job titles/keywords searched for based on a recent month of Google queries (Source: The 16 Best Sales Job Titles [Ranked by Search Volume] ):

1. Sales Associate (26.5%) (this is a title used primarily in retail. E.g. Walmart has 666 Sales Associate job openings as of March 15, 2020)
2. Sales Representative (13.6%)
3. Account Executive (9.3%)
4. Sales Manager (6.4%)
5. Salesperson (4.7%)
6. Sales Consultant (3.5%)
7. Sales Development Representative (2.7%)
8. Inside Sales Representative (2.4%)
9. Business Development Representative (2.3%)
10. Sales Executive (1.9%)

All of the above job titles (except #4) are individual contributor positions. This is another unique part of sales job titles. The ratio of individual contributors to managers is very high.

Marketing Job Titles List 

The job title for the top marketer is usually Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The CMO reports to the CEO.

Here's a hierarchy/org chart of the 6 core levels of marketing job titles:

The Top 25 Best Marketing Job Titles shows a list of the most common marketing titles candidates search for on the web -- here are the top 10:

1. Brand Ambassador (26.4%) (this is more common in the retail industry)
2. Copywriter (15.5%)
3. Social Media Manager (15.2%)
4. Marketing Manager (7.2%)
5. Marketing Coordinator (5.8%)
6. Marketing Analyst (2.5%)
7. Marketing Director (2.2%)
8. Brand Manager (1.6%)
9. Social Media Coordinator (1.4%)
10. Marketing Associate (1.4%)

Communications Job Titles List 

A lot of people use Marketing and Communications interchangeably, but Communications can be its own world.

Here's a hierarchy/org chart of the 6 core levels of communications job titles:

The Top 20 Communications Job Titles [Includes PR] shows a list of the most common communications titles candidates search the web -- here are the top 10:

1. Communications Director (11%)
2. Communications Manager (9.5%)
3. Public Relations Specialist (9.5%)
4. Public Information Officer (9.5%)
5. Publicist (6.3%)
6. Communications Specialist (6.3%)
7. Spokesperson (6.3%)
8. Vice President Communications (4.7%)
9. Communications Coordinator (4.7%)
10. Public Relations Assistant (4.7%)

PR Job Titles List 

Public Relations can also be its own island. In those cases, here's how the titles for a PR team often look. Here's a hierarchy/org chart of the 6 core levels of public relations job titles:

Top 20 Public Relations Job Titles [+ Descriptions] shows a list of the most common public relations titles candidates search on the web -- here are the top 10:

1. Public Relations Specialist
2. Publicist
3. Public Relations Assistant
4. Public Relations Manager
5. PR Assistant
6. PR Manager
7. Senior Public Relations Manager
8. PR Consultant
9. PRO
10. Public Relations Director

Design Job Titles List 

During our search for the most popular roles in a design team, we found 6 types of design jobs. The most-searched-for design job titles fall under one of these categories:

1. Graphic Design job titles
2. Industrial Design job titles
3. Interior Design job titles
4. Web Design job titles
5. Instructional Design job titles
6. Creative Design job titles

Art Director and Creative Director are searched on Google 6,800 times per month (combined), which puts them in the top 10 most-searched-for design job titles.

Depending on the size of the company an Art Director may also take on the role of the Creative Director; sometimes called the Design Director. At larger companies, like Facebook or instance, the design team uses all 3 design job titles. At Facebook, these design roles are part of the Global Creative Team, each focusing on different products (e.g. Instagram, Whatsapp & Facebook general).

Large or small, the design team plays a critical role in most businesses. Let’s have a look at a typical design job title hierarchy.

The design job titles candidates search for the most, according to The Top 25 Design Job Titles (by Candidate Search Volume) are:

1. Graphic Designer
2. UX Designer
3. Illustrator
4. Art Director
5. Instructional Designer
6. Designer
7. Creative Director
8. Web Designer
9. Industrial Designer
10. Game Designer

Social Media Job Titles List 

Social media job positions often fall within the Marketing department. However, they have become so vital that it's worth highlighting social media-only titles here.

Here are brief descriptions of a few of the most common social media positions:

Social Media Manager

A Social Media Manager is responsible for growing a business through social networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The role of a Social Media Manager is to create social media content that is in line with a brand and lead social media marketing campaigns

Note: Check out our post on Content Creator Job Description Examples for other ideas to add to your social media JDs.

Social Media Coordinator

A Social Media Coordinator works with the social media team in an organization to write content for various social media channels. A Social Media Coordinator also frequently interacts with fans or followers and measures social media engagement. Other duties of a Social Media Coordinator are staying up to date on the latest social media platforms and trends, sharing social media data with senior management, and building a social community that elevates the brand.

Community Manager

A Community Manager, sometimes called a Social Media Community Manager, is a link between loyal brand followers and an organization. A Community Manager is responsible for interacting with a company’s social media audience on various platforms to build a strong following. A Community Manager researches the latest trends and uses them to actively promote a brand which can increase popularity and the bottom line.

Social media is also changing so fast that employers are hiring for platform-specific positions. For example, Instagram Brand Ambassador and Instagram Influencer were the #6 and #14 most searched social media job titles as of 2020.

Check out The Top 20 Social Media Job Titles [by Popularity] for a more comprehensive list. We also give 5 Examples of a Social Media Coordinator Job Description that might help get you started writing your own.

Human Resources Job Titles List 

The senior-most HR job title is usually Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) or Chief People Officer (CPO). The Chief Talent Officer title is sometimes used for the top HR leader, though that is usually at an early-stage (mostly tech) company.

Here's a classic HR hierarchy/org chart:

The HR job titles candidates search for the most are:

1. Recruiter (22%)
2. HR Assistant (12.1%)
3. HR Analyst (7%)
4. HR Generalist (3.8%)
5. HR Coordinator (3.5%)
6. Virtual Recruiter (3.5%)
7. Human Resources Manager (2.9%)
8. Headhunter (2.9%)
9. Training Manager (2.2%)
10. Facilities Manager (1.3%)

Some organizations include diversity within HR but many more modern companies are including diversity in the C-Suite with its own team. An argument for separating diversity from HR is that some companies have diversity goals beyond their employees (e.g. diversity of vendors or customers).

Customer Service Job Titles List 

There can be a fuzzy line between customer service and account management. For example, the role “Account Manager” is most often a sales role that hunts for new business (e.g. Lenovo uses Global Account Manager for a “Proactive Solutions Selling” position). However, an Account Manager is also sometimes used as a customer service/customer success role focused on supporting and growing an existing account.

To help clarify when an Account Manager is more of a sales role, a best practice is to put “Sales” in the job title. Here’s a typical org chart of Customer Service position titles.

The customer service job titles candidates search on the most, according to The Top 20 Customer Service Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Customer Service Representative
2. Customer Service Manager
3. Customer Success Manager
4. Call Center Supervisor
5. CSM
6. Implementation Manager
7. Call Centre Manager
8. Call Center Representative
9. Relationship Manager
10. Remote Account Manager

Call Center Job Titles List 

What is the difference between a contact center and a call center? Many top companies like AAA, Amazon, and Facebook have changed the name of their "call center" to "contact center" because "call center" seems outdated. These terms can be used interchangeably, but there are differences thanks to technology.

If your company uses more than phone calls for customer support, you might go with "contact center." But, "call center" titles are still widely recognized and used by companies like CBS, ADP, and AT&T. What about call center vs call centre. Some global companies use one or the other, or both. They mean the same thing, but "center" is the American English spelling, and "centre" is the Commonwealth English spelling.

Call center titles for leaders vary depending on company size and industry. Some larger companies roll customer service and call center positions into 1 or more groups. For example, Walmart uses "Customer Service and Call Center jobs" as a category on their careers page. They also have a Chief Customer Officer, Janey Whiteside, who reports to the CEO and the E-Commerce Chief. Whiteside looks after the Walmart "customer journey," including call center support.

Call centers aim to have a high volume of calls to solve customer issues. Customer service gives more 1-on-1 support during the entire customer process. Let's have a look at a typical call center hierarchy.

The call center job titles candidates search on the most, according to The Top 20 Call Center Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Chat Agent
2. CSR
3. Remote Chat Agent
4. Call Center Supervisor
5. Call Center Representative
6. Online Chat Agent
7. Call Center Manager
8. Live Chat Agent
9. Call Center Director
10. Customer Care Representative

Product Management Job Titles List 

Product Development and Product Management are not exactly the same, but they are very closely related when it comes to the product team structure. Product requirements are written by the Product Management team who then works directly with the Product Development team to set the priorities and vision for a product.

In smaller companies, the Product Management team and the Product Development team may be one and the same. Oftentimes, a Product Management job description even includes the requirement of a Product Development background or skillset.

Let’s have a look at an org chart showing a typical product team structure:

The product management job titles candidates search for the most, according to The Top 20 Product Management Job Titles [with Descriptions ] are:

1. Product Manager
2. Associate Product Manager
3. Product Owner
4. Product Designer
5. Product Engineer
6. Senior Product Manager
7. APM
8. Product Analyst
9. Product Design Engineer
10. Junior Product Manager

Warehouse Job Titles List 

When looking for a warehouse worker job description, you will find warehouse job titles listed under a handful of teams including:

• Distribution (CVS uses)
• Supply Chain (Coca-Cola uses)
• Operations (Beyond Meat uses)
• Logistics (ABC Supply Co. uses)

Although these companies’ warehouse jobs are listed in different teams, they all have a similar warehouse shipping and receiving job description, among other warehouse job titles. The size of your organization and the product you provide steers what qualifies as a warehouse job and who leads the team.

So as you can see, warehouse jobs may fall under any of these teams. Let’s have a look at a typical org chart of Warehouse job titles to get a better picture of how a warehouse team fits together.

The warehouse job titles candidates search for the most, according to The Top 40 Warehouse Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Forklift Operator
2. Machine Operator
3. Material Handler
4. Warehouse Manager
5. Warehouse Associate
6. Warehouse Supervisor
7. Logistics Manager
8. Production Manager
9. Order Selector
10. Logistics Coordinator

Diversity Job Titles List 

The senior-most Diversity job title is usually Chief Diversity Officer or Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. The Chief Culture Officer title is sometimes used for the top Diversity leader, though that is usually at an early-stage (mostly tech) company.

Here's a classic Diversity hierarchy/org chart:

The Diversity job titles candidates search for the most, according to The Top 20 Diversity Job Titles (by Candidate Search Volume) are:

1. Chief Diversity Officer (23.8%)
2. Diversity Officer (11.9%)
3. Diversity Director (9.5%)
4. Diversity Coordinator (8.3%)
5. Diversity Consultant (8.3%)
6. Chief Culture Officer (6.0%)
7. Diversity Manager (6.0%)
8. Diversity Trainer (3.6%)
9. Director of Diversity & Inclusion (2.4%)
10. Inclusion Specialist (2.4%)

Operations Job Titles List 

What is Operations? Operations positions make an organization run smoothly. Here is a simple definition from Operations Job Titles Explained (Monster) article. “…an Operations employee contributes to making an employer’s wheels run less expensively with fewer squeaks and bumps.” Here’s a typical org chart of Operations position titles.

The Operations job titles candidates search for the most, according to The Top 20 Operations Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Operations Manager
2. Director of Operat
3. Vice President of Operations
4. Operations Research Analyst
5. COO
6. Operations Analyst
7. Operations Specialist
8. Operations Coordinator
9. Business Operations Manager
10. Solutions Consultant

Administrative Job Titles List 

Administrative jobs are often interwoven with Operations (most common), Finance, HR, and Legal. We perused 40 top career pages to see how top-performing public companies list Administrative jobs versus Operations jobs. Here’s a typical org chart of Administrative position titles.

The Administrative job titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Administrative Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Virtual Assistant
2. Receptionist
3. Administrative Assistant
4. Personal Assistant
5. Office Assistant
6. Assistant
7. File Clerk
8. Executive Assistant
9. Secretary
10. Office Manager

Popular Leader Titles

What are the best leader titles when recruiting for management-level roles?

Here’s a list (by C-level/VP/Director/Manager) to help you pick the best for your company. These are the most-searched-for leader titles by candidates on Google (source: ahrefs). Use the table of contents below to easily navigate the list:

• Cybersecurity Leader Titles
• Marketing Leader Titles [includes social media]
• Communications Leader Titles [includes PR]
• Design Leader Titles
• Human Resources Titles
• Diversity Leader Titles
• Customer Service Leader Titles [includes call center]
• Operations Leader Titles [includes administrative & facilities]
• Product Management Leader Titles [includes warehouse]
• Accounting & Finance Leader Titles
• Legal Leader Titles
• Facilities Leader Titles
• Funny Leader Titles

Executive Assistant Job Titles List 

Executive Assistant titles are some of the most-searched roles for an administrative team. Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants share very similar roles and responsibilities. Some companies only use Executive Assistant titles, some only use Administrative Assistant titles, and some have both.

There are different levels of executive assistant roles. Depending on the size of the company, the admin structure can include one support person for executives, or many. In larger companies, a candidate may start as an Administrative Trainee then move up to Administrative Assistant (I, II, or III), then Senior Executive Assistant…and so on. Here’s a typical hierarchy of assistant job titles:

The executive assistant job titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Executive Assistant Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Virtual Assistant
2. Receptionist
3. Administrative Assistant
4. Personal Assistant
5. Office Assistant
6. Assistant
7. Executive Assistant
8. Secretary
9. Office Administrator
10. Administrative Coordinator

Facilities Job Titles List 

Facilities Management (or Facility Management) is a key piece of a company’s infrastructure. In larger companies, the Head of Facilities Management usually reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) or VP of Operations. Larger companies with multiple offices, also tend to have multiple Facilities Managers for each location or division. Smaller companies may only have 1 Facilities Manager or Director role that reports to the CEO.

Facilities’ job descriptions and duties can look very different depending on the type of company you are looking at. Let’s have a look at a typical facilities management job title hierarchy.

The facilities job titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Facilities Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Facilities Manager
2. Building Manager
3. Director of Facilities Management
4. Maintenance Director
5. Facilities Coordinator
6. Facilities Engineer
7. Facilities Assistant
8. Director of Maintenance
9. Facilities Maintenance Manager
10. Move Coordinator

Legal Job Titles List 

The legal job titles Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel are sometimes used interchangeably, but they also carry out different roles depending on the size and type of company.

For example at Crowdstrike, Paul Shinn is the Chief Legal Officer and Cathleen Anderson is the General Counsel. Both are high-level leadership roles, but they manage different parts of the legal processes at Crowdstrike.

During our search for the most popular legal positions, we found 6 types of tasks managed by a company legal department. Depending on the industry and the company size, the legal team is responsible for one or more of these tasks:

1. Intellectual Property
2. Regulatory Compliance
3. Contract Management
4. Legal Conflict Management
5. Litigation
6. Privacy

A smaller start-up company may only have a single General Counsel or a Legal Consultant, but larger companies often have an extensive legal team. A legal team structure varies at private law firms as well. For this article, we focus on legal job titles at top companies, but also include a few top-searched legal titles for law firms and courts. Let’s have a look at a typical legal hierarchy.

The legal titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to Top 20 Legal Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

1. Legal Assistant
2. Legal Secretary
3. In House Counsel
4. General Counsel
5. Compliance Officer
6. Counsel
7. Patent Agent
8. Contract Administrator
9. Inhouse Counsel
10. Chief Compliance Officer

Accounting Job Titles List 

The senior-most Accounting job titles are Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) and Chief Financial Officer (the CFO is used in businesses where Finance and Accounting are one department).

Here's a traditional Accounting hierarchy/org chart:

The Accounting titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Accounting Job Titles are:

1. Accountant (21.2%)
2. Bookkeeper (16.3%)
3. CPA (8.5%)
4. Accounting Clerk (8.5%)
5. Staff Accountant (7.9%)
6. Accounting Assistant (7.9%)
7. Controller (5.4%)
8. Senior Accountant (3.6%)
9. Tax Accountant (3.0%)
10. Accounting Manager (2.7%)

Payroll Job Titles List 

The Payroll titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Payroll Job Titles are:

1. Payroll Specialist
2. Payroll Manager
3. Payroll Clerk
4. Payroll Administrator
5. Payroll Director
6. Payroll Accountant
7. Payroll Technician
8. Payroll Processor
9. HR Payroll Specialist
10. HR Payroll Administrator

While candidates search for the 10 jobs above, employers care most about these top 5 payroll titles and descriptions:

• Payroll Specialist
• Payroll Manager
• Payroll Clerk
• Payroll Administrator
• Payroll Processor

Finance Job Titles List 

The senior-most Finance job title is Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Here's a traditional Finance hierarchy/org chart:

The Finance titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Finance Job Titles are:

1. Financial Analyst (43.8%)
2. Financial Advisor (9.4%)
3. Economist (7.8%)
4. Credit Analyst (6.4%)
5. Budget Analyst (4.7%)
6. Entry Level Financial Analyst (4.7%)
7. CFO (4.4%)
8. Finance Manager (3.0%)
9. Purchasing Agent (2.0%)
10. Financial Manager (2.0%)

Insurance Job Titles List 

What are the best insurance job titles?

Many insurance job titles are used across different industries (e.g., health insurance agent, life insurance underwriter, home insurance broker, etc.). For the purpose of this article, I focus on general insurance job titles and descriptions.

The insurance job titles that candidates search on (on Google) the most, according to The Top 20 Insurance Job Titles [with Descriptions] are:

• Actuary
• Insurance Adjuster
• Claims Adjuster
• Insurance Agent
• Actuarial Analyst
• Insurance Underwriter
• Insurance Investigator
• Adjuster
• Entry Level Actuary
• Insurance Claims Adjuster

While candidates search for the 20 jobs above, employers tend to care most about filling just 5:

• Insurance Agent
• Actuary
• Claims Adjuster
• Insurance Underwriter
• Claims Adjuster Trainee

Job Title Tips and Best Practices

How long should a job title be?

Employers looking to optimize the length of a job title to better attract candidates might follow these 3 tips, according to How Long Should a Job Title Be?

• 1 to 3 Words
• 10 to 20 Characters
• Less than 60 characters (because it will get cut off on Google, Bing and other search engines)

An easy way to trim down the length of job titles is to avoid unneeded words or characters such as location, symbols ($,!,*), the name of your business and whether the job is full-time versus part-time.

What about gender neutral job titles?

You'll also want to make sure your job titles are gender-neutral. There continues to be job titles that reveal gender stereotyping such as:

• Chairman (Chair or Chairperson is preferred)
• Salesman (Salesperson is preferred)
• Craftsman (Artisan is preferred)

Check out this list of gender specific job titles at Gender-Neutral Suggestions for the Top 25 Job Titles That Still Use the Word “Man” for titles to avoid.

What are some examples of funny job titles?

Some companies come up with creative job titles for different roles. Take these examples:

• Chief Happiness Officer -- (Google had a “Chief Happiness Officer” position (also known as Jolly Good Fellow) filled by Chade-Meng Tan. 72 companies are listed on LinkedIn as having this cool job title.
• Cast Member -- Disney famously calls every employee in its park a "Cast Member" (this applies not only for Disney characters but also for any person operating rides, serving food, sweeping up, etc.
• Muse -- Kate Spade uses the cool job title "Muse" for its sales associates.
• Director of Storytelling -- Blue Cross Blue Shield used this for a copywriter/marketing director type position.

These creative job titles can be attractive for an employee to possess.

Other companies try to be outright funny. Here are a few funny job titles I've seen over the years:

• Señor System Administrator (instead of "Senior" System Administrator)
• Direct Mail Demi-God (Direct Mail Account Manager)
• C3PO – Chief Power Plugs & Patches Officer
• Ruby on Rails SCAP (Super Crazy Awesome Programmer)

We also list some Creative Titles for Sales Reps.

Do You Capitalize Job Titles?

Job titles stand out, but should job titles be capitalized? It depends on how you plan to use them. Writing in a professional setting may call for capitalizing job titles. Depending on the type of communication piece you are writing, you will want to follow a style guide.

The most popular style guides are:

• AP — Associated Press
• APA — American Psychological Association
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• MLA — Modern Language Association
• The Oxford Guide to Style

Job titles appear in both written documents or digitally on places like a Linkedin profile or job posting. Here are some examples of when to capitalize job titles.

• Job Descriptions -- “Global Director of Talent Acquisition”
• Email Signatures -- “Sally Simpson, Director of Human Resources”
• Cover Letters -- “I am applying for the position of Brand Manager at…”
• Resumes -- “Senior Recruiter, September 2016-Present”

More about capitalizing job titles can be found here: Do You Capitalize Job Titles? [4 Examples]

Rewriting Job Descriptions & Job Titles

A recently published CNBC Technology Executive Council (TEC) survey shows companies are at risk of a talent shortage over the next year. The TEC comprises 100 top tech executives from various companies, including start-ups, enterprises, non-profits, and government organizations. In the TEC survey: "44% of respondents said that finding enough qualified employees to fill open positions is the biggest risk they face over the coming year." source: Cyber threats, ongoing war for talent, biggest concerns for tech leaders (by Susan Caminiti)

These execs (and their organizations) are managing this risk in a few ways:

• creating flexible, on-the-job training opportunities -- 61%
• creating apprenticeships -- 39%
• rewriting job descriptions or job titles -- 42%
• eliminating academic degree and job description requirements -- 24%

You can read why we think these TEC executives are headed in the right direction with their talent strategies and how Ongig might be able to help in our blog CNBC Survey: Rewriting Job Descriptions & Job Titles are Top Talent Strategies.

Job Title Abbreviations and Acronyms

Do you use job title abbreviations in your job ads?

Since there are SO many title abbreviations, here’s a list of 325+ we find often in job ads. We divided the job title abbreviations into mini lists by industry or department (with a table of contents), so it’s easier to navigate. Here’s the list:

• Executive Abbreviations
• Manager Abbreviations
• Assistant Abbreviations
• Engineer Abbreviations
• Software Developer Abbreviations
• Sales Abbreviations
• Designer Abbreviations
• Other Professional Abbreviations
• Judge Title Abbreviations
• Medical Title Abbreviations
• Funny Title Abbreviations

Job Title Suggestions

As a recruiter or HR professional, selecting the right job titles is crucial for attracting top talent to your team. In recent years, the job market has become more competitive, and job seekers are paying close attention to the titles they see during their job search. So, here are some tips and job title suggestions to help you choose the best job titles to attract the right candidates.

Job title suggestions: Tip #1

First, it's important to match the job title to the specific role and level of experience. For example, in IT careers, common job titles like "System Administrator" or "IT Manager" are easily recognizable and help job seekers understand the job function. However, consider using unique job titles for specialized roles, such as "Technical Product Manager" or "Security Breaches Specialist," to highlight the specific position and skills required.

Job title suggestions: Tip #2

In addition, when creating job titles for different roles within your organization, think about how the title reflects the career paths available. For example, a title like "Project Manager" might appeal to candidates interested in project management, while a title like "Head of Marketing" could attract those with experience in digital marketing. Therefore, using clear and targeted professional titles helps job applicants quickly identify if the role aligns with their career goals.

Job title suggestions: Tip #3

Furthermore, in various industries, different titles can make a significant impact on attracting top talent. For example, in retail jobs, titles like "Team Leader" or "Customer Service Manager" are straightforward and indicate the job level. For smaller teams or startups, you might use more creative titles like "Innovation Lead" or "Creative Team Member" to reflect the dynamic work environment and attract innovative thinkers.

Job title suggestions: Tip #4

It's also helpful to consider the traditional title versus new titles that have emerged in recent years. While traditional titles like "Business Analyst" or "Team Leader" are still effective, new roles and titles are becoming more common and can make your job postings stand out. For instance, titles like "IT Leaders" or "Digital Marketing Specialist" can attract candidates with specific skills in those functional areas.

Job title suggestions: Tip #5

Remember to align the job title with the class specification and the level of the position. So, this ensures that candidates understand the expectations and responsibilities of the role. Additionally, using a list of job titles that includes both common and unique set of job titles can help you reach a wider range of potential candidates.

Job title suggestions: Tip #6

Lastly, keep in mind that the right job title not only attracts the right candidate but also represents the professional job titles your company values. So, whether you're filling various roles in a larger organization or building small teams, the job title plays a crucial role in defining the job function and appealing to job seekers.

Invest the time to carefully choosing job titles that reflect the specific role, level of experience, and career paths available. In this way, you can attract top talent to your team and ensure a good fit for both the candidate and your organization.

Editor's note: I plan to add plenty more content on job titles, including tips on additional departments. Thanks for reading and come back if you'd like to see updates!

If you want to make sure you see updates to this Guide, please Subscribe to "Superstar" (my monthly newsletter on unique & free stuff for talent & diversity leaders).