I’m getting business cards at work. No one knows what my title is. My boss hired me because she “wanted what I could bring to the company, even if we’re not sure what that is yet.”
She said, when she hired me, “Let’s get you on board first, and figure out the details later.”
So.
[ul]
[li]I program the movies that our subscribers get. I program the movies at the “movie nights” we do at coffee shops and bars. [/li][li]I write all the ad copy, promotional emails, etc.: all the marketing materials. I maintain marketing contacts with various film blogs, distributors, etc.[/li][li]I write for the blog (although we’ve been too busy with Sundance coming up for me to have anything recent up there.)[/li][li]I do most of the day to day design needs. The website overall is done by an outside design house, but I design all promotional posters, postcards, web-page buttons, etc. Pretty much everything but the overall website.[/li][/ul]
So, the bland but obvious title line is “Programming, Marketing, Design.” But that’s both too long and perhaps too vague. My boss jokingly suggested “Jack of All Trades.” I suggested “Emperor of the Universe.” So we’re kind of stuck.
What’s the shortest, most elegant way to designate what I do?
Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Titles can play a large part in your salary/position at your next job.
I’d fight to get the words “Marketing” and “Manager” in there. If they push back, reiterate that giving you an inflated title is free to them. If “Marketing Manager” better describes someone else above you, make it more specific. “Promotions Manager, Marketing Department” (your title wouldn’t actually include the “Marketing Department”, but you get the idea).
I mostly find myself wishing I had a card when I’m in a bar or a coffeeshop and want to talk to them about us doing a screening there. So that’s mostly marketing. But I’d hate to think of myself as a “marketer.” Shudder. Still, I guess that’s the closest I’d come to a one-word title.
See, thing is, the sense around here is that I’m the person you go to when you want a brainstorm, a fresh look at something; the consensus is that I’m squeezer of the creative juices. That’s how the marketing thing became so big a part of my job. My boss initially pictured me writing capsules for all the movies, programming the subscription, and moderating a discussion board of our filmmakers. But every time she came to me, as the new guy, and bounced this or that idea off of me, she liked my ideas enough that that’s become the focus of what I do here. I’d like to get the word “creative” in there somewhere, the more I think about it, but maybe that’s more self-indulgence than sense.
I think that’s a mistake. A multiple title like “Creative and Marketing” conveys the impression that you either work for a very small business or you’re a gopher for various other people. Boring as it may seem, you’re better off sticking with a mainstream title that people can recognize and relate to. I’d agree with the suggestion of Marketing Director.
Ha. Creation. We’re back to Emperor of the Universe.
To be fair, I’ve heard “Creative” used as a noun, as the name of a department, for example. The purist in me bristles, but I think it would be clear enough.
The company is too small for me to be Manager or Director; I’d be the only person with such a title. Right now I’m leaning toward Marketing and Programming. Bland as that is.