More S’pore Employers Are Inflating Job Titles, Like “Director” Title for Junior Roles

By
Kimi Tan
-

According to Singapore Business Review, The British recruitment group Robert Walters has found that an increasing number of Singapore employers are practising job title inflation.

What’s job title inflation, you may ask?

Robert Walters Singapore describes this as offering inflated or exaggerated job titles that may not accurately reflect the position’s responsibilities, seniority, or salary.

Inflated job titles refer to roles intended for professionals with a maximum of two years of experience, and often use words such as “Manager” and “Director”.

“Maximum of two years of experience” means that even if you have only a few days of experience, you can be “Manager” already leh. 

This is probably why so many of your friends are already boasting the title of “Manager” or “Director” even though they haven’t been working for that long.

According to the agency, 2023 saw a 24% increase in positions with such titles.

Why This Occurs

In a media release on 11 March 2024, Robert Walters Singapore said it polled over 150 professionals on LinkedIn in January this year. The agency found that 85% of those polled agreed that the job title is important or very important when applying for a role.

Imagine you want to apply to a job and you’ve received offers from two companies. Both companies have the same job scope and similar salary, but one offers you the title of “Sales Director” while the other offers “Sales Associate”. Obviously you’ll choose the former, right?

According to the agency, 43% of hiring managers have, or are, considering inflating a job title to attract and retain professionals.

However, they found that these efforts have seen limited success, with only 21% sharing that it has the desired effect.

In fact, Robert Walters Singapore warns that this may even create problems for both employers and employees.

The Problem With It

Robert Walters Singapore has warned that job title inflation can cause talent mismatch and resentment.

“If employees are given inflated job titles, it may be difficult for them to understand their actual job scope, or make it confusing to know who does what, which could lead to tasks not actually being done,” said Monty Sujanani, Country Manager, Robert Walters Singapore.

Due to inflated job titles, fellow professionals may not view a job title as a major indicator of seniority or the level of responsibility and experience tied to a position.

Robert Walters Singapore found that managing a team (46%) and the importance of the job (34%) were seen as the top indicators of seniority. In contrast, only 20% believed that a C-Suite or Head-of title reflected seniority.

The agency advises hiring managers to avoid inflating job titles as it could cause inefficiencies and inequality within the organisation. Robert Walters Singapore also warns it may even result in employees leaving, which is the opposite of the intended effect.

At the same time, “employers must be aware that the pendulum swings both ways – attaching senior titles to junior positions can deter suitable candidates as much as it attracts them – making them feel too underqualified to apply,” said Habiba Khatoon, Director of Walters People.

“Clearly defining roles and responsibilities, and having accurate job titles can help to ensure fairness”, said Sujanani.

Job Title Inflation Isn’t Just a Problem in Singapore

Singapore isn’t the only country experiencing this phenomenon.

Other countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada have seen an increasing number of inflated job titles too.

Robert Walters found that there has been a 53% increase in positions featuring “Lead” or “Manager” in the job title, with a maximum of 2 years’ experience in the UK and Ireland.

Similarly, Toronto in Canada has seen a 50% increase in positions featuring “Lead”, “Vice President” or “Manager” in the job title, with a maximum of 2 years’ experience.

The agency also found that an average of 46% of young workers do not see managing someone else as an indicator of seniority.

If this trend continues, we could just start seeing entry-level workers with the title of “CEO”.

Well, not really, since there’s usually just one CEO at the head of the company, but wouldn’t it be fun to tell people you’re a CEO?

Also, job titles aren’t the only thing getting inflated, as it seems polytechnic graduates in Singapore are also seeing higher wages. That’s one inflation we don’t mind.

Over in TikTok, there’s a drama involving property agents that’s caused by us. Here’s what happened:

Read Also:

Advertisements
 
Kimi Tan