The title of the job posting read, “First Impressions Director.” A quick scan of the duties and responsibilities made it clear the position was customer service-related. Although fun, attention-grabbing job titles like this are sprouting up more frequently online, the attention you get (not to mention, lack of SEO) from these obscure job titles may not be a good thing.

Calling All Gurus and Ninjas

Online recruitment marketing is effective when you target the job seekers most likely to be a fit for your open positions. Quirky job titles make it much more difficult for ideal candidates to find you.

You might argue that these funky job titles are an expression of your company culture and help you stand out among other employers. And while Chief Web Wizard may invoke a sense of liveliness and wit that are important elements of your workplace, at first glance, outsiders will be left scratching their heads trying to figure out exactly what a Chief Web Wizard does and how they might be a fit – if it even shows up in a search.

Trading Fun for Clarity

The simple truth is unconventional job titles confuse people. That confusion leads to a number of recruitment challenges, including an influx of applications from unqualified candidates attracted to the “fun” title or worse, the loss of qualified candidates who won’t read beyond the title because it just doesn’t make sense.

Clarity – while potentially boring and mundane – gives context and meaning to job titles. Given the limited attention span of most online job seekers, they’ll appreciate clarity over obscurity. So instead of posting a Project Wrangler position, stick with Project Manager.

Quick Fact

According to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, there were zero searches for the phrase “Project Wrangler job” but over 165,000 searches for “Project Manager job.”

Today’s lesson: reserve the funky job titles for internal use. They can definitely make an ordinary job more fun, but when it comes to the external communication of job titles, focus on clarity. Then, use other recruitment marketing tools, like employment videos,social referral networks and talent communities, to help job seekers discover just how cool and spunky your company really is.