Ever have someone list they are a higher position than they are?

Just wondering have any of you ever had someone list themselves on their resume or LinkedIn as a higher position than they are? I have a coworker that lists he is the Lead Network Engineer but he isn't. His title is Network Engineer and my boss doesn't see him as the lead either.

It doesn't bother me as it is just a title and he is looking to quit anyway but I was wondering if any of you have coworkers that do this?

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

xnx

I would never do such a thing... it's like being a 'IT Technician' and putting down 'Network Engineer'. But then again I am the sort of person that doesn't exaggerate their skills / experience..

IIIMaster

cyberguypr wrote: »

I see a few problems for both scenarios. First, if you embellish your title and a new employer wants to contact the old one and verify the position, conflict will arise. You claim to be a "systems Engineer" but the old job had you as a "Server Administrator". That raises red flags for the new employer. Of course you could pull the "well, I don't want my new employer contacting my old one" but that's another story.

Now say you are in the situation jamesleecoleman describes. If you go to an extremely cheap new employer they may choose to ignore your actual duties and just use your old Desktop Support title as leverage to low-ball you. I've seen this happen way too many times. You could be deploying all kinds of enterprise grade solutions but again, if the employee is cheap and wants to minimize cost. I've been in this situation twice: when transitioning form Desktop Support to Server Admin as well as during my transition from Systems Engineer to Infosec Engineer. It wasn't much of an issue because my new employer understood my title had nothing to do and my expertise did the talking for me.

Long story short, I don't embellish, change (or whatever you wan tot call it) my title as it may cost me at some point. If you believe your title doesn't reflect your duties, you must engage your manager and correct the issue.

From my understanding they can only verify your employment that is it. Did James B work their from A to Z ? Technically though... Unless your manager say something more.

IIIMaster

You can put what you wish on a resume. I spoke to an engineer today that was really lost but does that make him any worthy ??? He is the head IT in his dept now.
What counts is when you step in that interview and the interview usually has 3 aspects. They will discuss what they do in the dept you apply for... Usually scope and roles. They will ask your current job roles and answer any technical questions.
They know if they are speaking to a knock off. They will smile in your face without prejudice while they allow you to run your mouth and answer questions incorrectly.

Magmadragoon

I think the title does hurt people sometimes. For example, I have the title IT Support Tech but what I do is much more than that because I do server room builds, network switch configuration, Linux configuration, and desktop support roles. It seems every time a recruiter calls me, they assume because of the title, think that all my roles does is answer phone calls and work remotely from the site. It actually hinders because they do not read the descriptions of my resume just look at the job title.

VAHokie56

@Magmadragoon

It sounds like you are a JOAT ( jack of all trades ) ill take a guess and say maybe you work for a relatively small environment and support all aspects. What do you think your title should be?