Would you take a job with a lesser title?

jetgrrrl

I'm a candidate for a job in an organization affiliated with my own, and I think I have a pretty decent shot at the job. Hours would be similar to how but with, I think, somewhat less stress (I'm in communications and the organization I work for now has constant crises, hence I am always doing crisis communications, which, while exciting don't mesh so well with family life). The salary would be equivalent, possibly a little higher, and with better benefits. I would also go from having one report to two reports. However, my current job title is "director" and my new title would be "deputy director." I mentioned this to a colleague at another organization the other day and he kind of cringed and said he wouldn't consider applying for a job with a lesser title. Now, this is a (nice) man who is a good 15 years older than me with no children whose needs he is trying to meet, but I wonder if he is right. How damaging do you think a job switch of that kind would be on my resume? Unfortunately I don't think the title is negotiable as the title of the person I would report to is "Director".

jetgrrrl

Sorry, hours similar to "now" - need to cut my nails!

shannm

I wouldn't care. In my field, titles are somewhat relative to specific groups.

Pips09

Titles can vary so much from one organization to another, that this type of change wouldn't bother me. As long as the pay and responsibilities are on par with what you would expect. Of course, a huge title leap, like from a Director to a Coordinator or Associate, would bother me, but not Director to Deputy Director.

If I saw that on your resume, I would assume you may have gone from a smaller organization to a much larger one (based on the responsibilities).

jetgrrrl

So this job would be at a university (I'm currently at an academic medical center) and I would be overseeing media relations for four of their (significant) "schools". Currently I oversee (with my boss) media, I do some pubs, some internal coms and I oversee social media - frankly it's too much under one person, and while there would be more "buck stopping" type responsibility (I think) involved with this new position, I wouldn't have so much stuff under me (no social media, no internal coms, no marketing, etc.) I have an interview next week so I guess I really just have to get a better understanding of how my responsibilities would look. I also realize I'm kind of asking to have it both ways - I would like fewer tasks but I don't want it to look, at least, like I have less responsibility.

2chatter

Is the Director v Deputy Director thing an HR title? I ask because we have HR roles and Job Titles. They don't always make sense together, and I am certain some people select the higher of the two on their resume when they move on.

Leap08

I wouldn't care as long as the pay was what I was looking for, but in my field titles really don't mean a whole lot. Every company seems to use a different titles, and even within my own company similar jobs use different titles.

SunAndRain

Given all the considerations you described I would absolutely take the new job

jetgrrrl

2chatter - so the head of all PR has the title of Director, so that's why the title here would be Deputy Director. Really it's probably a lateral move in terms of responsibility, it just looks like a step down in terms of title.

shakinros

I'd still take it. For me, the life improvement you outlined would be worth it x100. I also think the difference between Director and Deputy Director is negligible. Then again I work in and industry where there is no standard for titles and they mean completely different things at different companies.

MommyAtty

At my company, taking a lesser title would be a huge deal. But we are super-anal and weird about who resides where in the food chain. Maybe at an academic institution it wouldn't be a big deal? If I ruled the world, it wouldn't be a big deal. And in my world, being less of a generalist and more of a specialist usually means an increase in pay and respect. So I think if your resume is carefully drafted, the title change would be no big deal.

minirella

I work for a research institution affiliated with a large university. Titles are pretty much meaningless at the research institution however, within the university titles are pretty important.

engrgrl

I would take it if it was an improvement to my work/life balance and/or more in line with my career interests.  Titles can be important but they aren't everything

snicksnack

I work in communications and I am in a similar situation. I manage all of communications for a division additionally I manage social media for a larger part of the company that the division is part of. I use to run internal and i am still doing that because it has not been filled. It is too much and I am burnt out. To be honest at this point I would take a lesser title and less pay just to escape and be able to do one job and do it well. I say go for it.