I hear a lot of people these days talking a lot about titles. Whether they want to be a Director, a VP, Manager, President of the Universe - a lot of time is spent by a lot of people trying to be crowned with a certain title. I've got some news for you - what you are called matters a lot less than what you do.
Between most companies, titles are often disproportionate. They don't easily interchange. A Director in one agency may simply be an account executive with a different organization. As you're building out your career path, focus less on what people call you and more on what you are called upon to do.
The best way to set yourself up for success in your future career journey is to look to gain responsibility. You can do this by:
- Managing staff
- Being given a larger work load
- Managing more accounts
- Achieving higher thresholds in your numbers
- Hitting larger goals
Whatever you're doing now, look to add a level of responsibility and expectations to your role. Set higher goals. Increase your management skills. Develop your accounts and relationships.
Think of it this way: the more you do, the more value you provide to your company and your specific role, the more likely you are to get promoted. But if you're always looking at what you're called, that doesn't necessarily define what you can do. How many of us know someone with a fancy title yet you're always wondering what they do? Ever had a supervisor who sticks a lot of their work load onto you?
You should also think about it in relation to interviewing and growing into the next phase of your career. A company doesn't care if you're the Associate Director of Shiny Things if you don't have the skills to do the role you're applying for. Nobody cares if you're a hot shot in name if you cant produce results. Always be growing, learning, and adding skills to your resume - not collecting titles.
Career goals should never be defined by what you're called. They should be defined by what you're doing to better yourself, maintain strong passions for what you do, and what you're contributing to the goal of the organization. As you're building your resume and paving your path to greateness, focus less on what you want to be called and more on what you want to do.