The no-fluff guide to getting "Change" included in your job title

Sometimes when you’re changing careers, you might do a bridging role which straddles two or more disciplines. I coined the term “slashie” roles in 2022 for these types of roles (see my previous blog post here). If you’re going for Change Management roles, it’s essential to make sure that the word “Change” actually appears in your title SOMEWHERE. Here are some ideas to make this happen.

Negotiate it at the offer stage

Say you were successful and negotiating with the role, I tell my students they could say, “Look, I've just done this really practical Change Management course. I'm really passionate about taking all of the great skills and tools and templates that I've learned and using them. It would be really great to have the word “Change” in the title. Is that a possibility to adapt the job title to showcase the Change aspect appropriately for me?” If you’re in my Leading Successful Change program, really sell what you've gotten out of LSC, help showcase that and add value to the business from a Change perspective as well as from the other side of the role title slash or expertise. I've done that before where they were going to call me a “HR Engagement Lead”. I was like, “No thank you. I need to have the word “Change” in my title because that's what I do. I am not a HR person and I do not only want to be known for Engagement either. I need to have the word “Change.”” And I actually negotiated with them and then I got the word “Change” in. I ended up being called a “Change Engagement Lead.” Half the time they don't care what the title is, and in some organisations everyone is called the same standard title regardless of their discipline or expertise.

Negotiate for an external title with “Change”

You can also say “Great, happy to be known as that internally. Are you happy for me on my actual employment contract and externally on my CV and my LinkedIn to have [x] as my title?” And get the word “Change” in your title. It'll put you streets ahead if you're not going for a straight Change Manager role. So when you are having a conversation with the Talent Acquisition team or the hiring manager, you could talk about it then. If Change Management's part of the role description, then they're already interested in it. They could actually end up with somebody even better, even more skilled than what they had originally planned for the role.

Check the job ad vs job title on contract vs internal job title

You could discuss it with the Talent Acquisition Partner when you're talking about the role and being put forward for the interview. You could mention it in the interview as well. Personally, I would probably float it with the Talent Acquisition person first. Then, when you get to the signing stage, you'll be able to see that sometimes even the job title on the job ad is not the same as the job title on the contract that you sign. They can be completely different things. For example, one position I went for, the job title on the job ad was this, the job title on the actual contract was this, the job title internally in the Global Address List was this. They were three different things and I'm like “I just need the word “Change” in my title and the only thing I really wanted it on was my contract. Because my contract is the proof that that's what I signed, nobody can turn around and say, "Oh, but we called you a Change Manager inside." 

Ask for the job title if you don’t get a pay rise

The same thing happened when I wanted a pay rise, and they said, "We're not giving pay rises." That was after COVID. I was fine with it, so then I asked, "Can I have a title promotion?" They responded, "We don't really have Senior Change Managers. We have Change Managers and Change Leads, and the Change Lead roles are all filled. We can't really give you a Senior Change Manager title internally because nobody else would have that." So then I said, "Okay, cool, I'm about to renew my contract. Can I get Senior Change Manager put onto my new contract when I renew it, so that I can use it externally on my CV and LinkedIn?” And they said yes. I thought, “Bingo, I've got what I wanted.” I don't care what I'm called internally as a Change Manager; couldn't care less. All I wanted was to be able to show the progression externally from Change Manager to Senior Change Manager. I had the proof in my hot little hand because I had signed the contract that said so. 

There are so many ways of negotiating. Especially if, for example, you ask to negotiate on the salary and they won't budge, it's a great time to negotiate on the title. They want to give you something because they've already said no to your first request. 

I share a ton more tips for changing careers and negotiating pay rises and promotions in any profession or industry in my new first-ever book “Pioneer Your Career Change”.

The book officially launched today, so buy the book then be sure to come to my free online Book Club Kick Off Party this Thursday 14 November so I can help you get set up for success with the book and support you through the journey.

CLICK HERE to buy the book, join the free Book Club and come to this Thursday’s Kick Off Party

Lata xx