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What should my title be?
For the past seven years I've been a software project/program manager, and prior to that I spent almost two decades as a full-stack engineer. My current job title is Sr Technical Program Manager, but to be honest, the project management side of things bores me to tears. What I love doing - and have been doing a lot more of over the past six months - is process analysis and automation. My question is: what IS that job? If I were to look for another job doing what I'm doing now, what job title would I search for?
22 Comments
Corinne Burch
47
11/10/20 at 9:19PM UTC
in
Hi there, here are a few possible job titles that may be what you are looking for: Business Analyst - Automation, Automation Engineer, Process Automation Analyst and Senior Automation Analyst. Good luck!
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:05PM UTC
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Thanks Corinne! This is very helpful.
Anna L GarciaTop 30 Performer | Diversity Champion | Mentor
27
11/10/20 at 9:35PM UTC
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Agree with Corinne and you can also try Robotic Process Automation or AI Process Analyst
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:05PM UTC
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I'll look into that too; thanks Anna!
Liz G-OHead of Global Employer Brand & Marketing
63
11/10/20 at 9:55PM UTC
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Given your what you're doing, would you even consider shifting slightly to User Experience (UX) Design? With your background, that might be a great next step!
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:06PM UTC
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That's an interesting career pivot. I'll definitely think about that. Thanks Liz!
Allison KostiukMarketing, Consulting & Project Management
45
11/10/20 at 10:07PM UTC
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I agree with Corinne, Analyst is a hot title these days. Lots of analyzing these days. Throwing in the word Senior shows your experience and expertise. What an asset you are no mater the title!
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:06PM UTC
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Thank you Allison!
Farah BajwaManager | Mentor | Consultant | Coach
187
11/10/20 at 10:31PM UTC
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My experience has taught me that different companies can often times refer to the same role with different titles, or sometimes the title can be slightly misleading. If you're networking like with a recruiter or employer, rather than referring to a title, describe to them the role you are looking for and let them give you the title.
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:09PM UTC
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Good point! I've certainly seen Program Manager used interchangeably with both product and project management roles, although those are two very different sides of the coin. I'm sure the same is true of business automation analyst positions as well.
Anonymous
11/10/20 at 10:31PM UTC
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Agree with Corinne, another variation is Business Process Analyst; some companies also have Technical Analysts that focus on what you are interested in.
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/10/20 at 11:10PM UTC
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Thank you for the insight!
sandmanstone
119
11/11/20 at 1:17AM UTC
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Some pragmatic advice - Your title is only part of it - reframe your last 7 years to lead summaries with the technologies you have worked with. Amp up the language around automation and process work. Deprioritize language in your resume and your Linkedin profile that focus on Program Management - reduce Agile certifications, change your LI summary to be engineering focused, have the bullets under your job descriptions be about leading tech teams, doing code reviews, etc. The right recruiter is going to find you regardless of the title you seek. :) If the wording on your profile is more what you seek, and less what you have done, you will be shocked at the folks who will start reaching out. :) Best of luck!
Mimi BishopBiz+Life Coach for GenX Women (and Millennials)
1.24k
11/11/20 at 2:13PM UTC
in
This is excellent advice -- you want to be sure you're adding in the right keywords so that recruiters will find you in a search.
As this comment suggests, taking an overall look at your experience and skills can really help with this.
Another recommendation is to do some research on LinkedIn of people with those titles and then set up a few conversations to get a better idea of what their roles are. Like others mentioned in this thread, it may look different at different employers.
Good luck!
Jen McVickerSr Technical Program Manager
32
11/11/20 at 4:58PM UTC
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Thank you both! This is excellent advice.
Mimi BishopBiz+Life Coach for GenX Women (and Millennials)
1.24k
11/12/20 at 11:33AM UTC
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You are welcome!
Sarah FrancisSecurity Professional |Boeing corporation
12
11/11/20 at 7:40AM UTC
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Process Analyst is an IT professional specialized in analyzing business processes and workflows.
Process Analyst Automation (RPA) Robotic Analyst Automation .
I wish you the best of luck.
Limor Bergman
24
11/11/20 at 11:33AM UTC
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It is hard for me to tell without understanding what you do and what are your goals.
My recommendation is to look for jobs and see what companies are looking for and what job titles reflect best what you want to do.
Process or automation engineer can be a title you can use if you use your engineering skills.
Rebecca CarusoWorkforce Intelligence professional
15
11/11/20 at 12:50PM UTC
in
My advice is to focus on the job descriptions and not the title. I do a lot of process improvement and automation work within HR, however my title doesn’t reflect that at all and I find it rather daunting to fit what I do into a title.
That being said, some additional key words you might want to focus on being Business Process discovery or process architect
Avery LucasSocial and Digital Marketing at David Yurman
38
11/13/20 at 7:31PM UTC
in
Agreed, I would look at skills vs. title. Roles and titles are different at every company, but if you search for keywords in what you're interested in, you'll be able to find something you'll enjoy!
Noreen Whysel
76
11/15/20 at 4:06PM UTC
in
In some industries like banking and big 4 consulting (or is it five now? It used to be 6) “analyst” is a very low level. With your experience, look for senior and VP level roles. LinkedIn let’s you search by seniority level. Don’t be shy about punching a little higher than your weight.
Nikd147Dynamic, forward thinking business professional
255
11/15/20 at 11:54PM UTC
in
A good resource that I use is O*net: https://www.onetonline.org/
This site helps to find job titles based on your knowledge, skills, and abilities. If the project management side bores you then I would speak to your Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) about reclassifying your title. I do not know what the process is at your company, but at the company where I work, anyone that wants to be reclassified must write a white paper to justify why they want to be reclassified. The caveat is that the title has to be one that exist within the company already. The HRBP will take the white paper and compare it to the qualifications and job duties of the requested title. A friend of mine recently got reclassified from an Administrative Generalist to a Data Analyst following this process. Thank you for being self-aware and taking steps to align your title with your true passions.
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