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Common Job Title Mistakes That Cut Applications

September 10, 2025 by

When it comes to hiring in IT, job titles might seem like the least of your worries. After all, surely what matters most is the role itself, the salary, and whether you find the right person?

But here’s the thing: the job title is your shop window. If the sign outside your shop is confusing, misleading, or just plain dull, fewer people are going to walk through the door.

Here are some of the most common job title mistakes we see — and why they can quietly cost you applications.

  1. The Mystery Novel Title

“Technical Ninja”, “Data Wizard”, “Code Rockstar”.
These might sound fun in the office, but they don’t help on a job board. Candidates search by keywords. “Rockstar” doesn’t rank for “Developer”. The result? Qualified people never even see your advert.  You might get one or two rockstars applying I suppose, but its unlikely they’ll have the skills required.

Fix: Stick to titles people actually type into search bars. “Software Developer” will get you far more traction than “Code Alchemist”.

  1. The Acronym Avalanche

“WINTEL SME (FTS) with SC Clearance”.
If your job title looks like alphabet soup, most candidates won’t bother decoding it (even those whose job it is to decode things). Save the detail for the description.

Fix: Keep the headline clean. You can mention specialisms (e.g. “Windows Engineer”) without throwing every acronym at the wall.

  1. The Level Ladder Problem

Is a “Lead Engineer” more senior than a “Principal Engineer”? Is “Analyst II” better than “Analyst III”? Unless your candidate already works at your company, they won’t know.

Fix: Use widely recognised seniority markers like Junior, Mid, Senior, Lead. And make sure the title matches the responsibilities (and salary).

  1. The Title That Doesn’t Match the Role

Calling a first-line support role a “Systems Engineer” might attract applications — but from the wrong people. The right candidates won’t apply because they think it’s too senior. You might get applications from systems engineers who haven’t read the job description properly or realised that the salary and skillset is far below their expectations, but that really isn’t helpful when it comes to getting the role filled.

Fix: Be accurate. A clear title sets the right expectations and saves everyone’s time.

  1. The Novel-Length Title

“Senior Cloud Infrastructure & Networking Engineer (Azure, AWS, Cisco, VMware, O365, Intune)”.
If your title doesn’t fit in a LinkedIn box, it’s too long.

Fix: Keep it sharp — one role, two specialisms at most. In fact, most job boards recommend you leave these out entirely – they belong in the advert text, not the job title.

It’s tremendously easy to apply for jobs nowadays – we’ve come a long way from waiting for applications to arrive by post, which is what happened my colleagues and I started in recruitment!  Now, you can easily apply with one click from your PC, or even from your mobile phone.  On a small screen, your job title is often the first (and sometimes only) thing a potential applicant sees. Get it wrong, and the best candidates might never even click. Get it right, and you’ll widen your reach, improve relevancy, and save time in shortlisting.

Final Thought
If you wouldn’t proudly put it on your own CV, don’t put it at the top of a job advert. Clear, accurate, searchable job titles don’t just attract more candidates — they attract the right ones.

Steph joined us in 2010 having previously worked in IT recruitment, marketing and retail. Steph has an MA Hons degree in Philosophy from St Andrews University. Her role at Blues Point entails managing our service delivery team and supporting candidates through the recruitment process. Interesting fact: not content with dedicating her life to IT recruitment, Steph also moonlights as a wine writer!

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