In recruitment, language matters. A lot.
But in the rush to hire, many Australian employers forget this one crucial truth:
Job titles are often meaningless.
What you call a “Marketing Manager” could be a Marketing Assistant at best in another company. Your “Operations Coordinator” might be handling tasks a national manager would own elsewhere.
And when the title doesn’t match the reality — either during hiring or internally — it leads to three common and expensive problems:
- Attracting the wrong candidates
- Creating misaligned expectations
- Losing trust (and productivity) post-hire
Why This Is Happening More Often in Australia
In startup and SME environments, job titles have become:
- Inflated to appear more appealing
- Borrowed from corporate structures without context
- Disconnected from the duties they’re meant to reflect
This means the same job title can mean vastly different things depending on:
- Team size
- Budget control
- Decision-making authority
- Technical vs strategic responsibilities
Recruiters and candidates are left guessing. And too often, they guess wrong.
The Real-World Cost of Misleading Titles
Let’s say you post an ad for a Business Development Manager.
In your company, that person:
- Cold calls prospects
- Handles admin and sales reports
- Reports to a sales director
- Has no budget or direct reports
But many BDMs elsewhere:
- Manage key accounts
- Develop sales strategy
- Lead a small team
- Own a revenue target
So what happens?
- Experienced BDMs apply, then withdraw once they hear the real scope
- Junior candidates get hired, underperform, or feel misled
- Your brand reputation as an employer weakens
It’s a recipe for mis-hire, poor onboarding, and unnecessary churn.
How to Fix the Title–Duties Mismatch in Recruitment
1. Scope the role, not the title
Before you post a job or brief a recruiter, ask:
- What will they actually do every day?
- What decisions will they make?
- Who do they interact with?
- What’s the role’s impact?
Then write the job ad and job title around the duties — not what the last person was called.
2. Benchmark titles against market norms
Use sites like:
- Seek Talent Insights
- LinkedIn Talent Solutions
- Market salary guides
- A recruiter like Ingenious People, who can advise how roles are scoped across similar businesses
This helps avoid over-promising or under-titling — both of which turn candidates off.
3. Be brutally clear in your job ads
Say this:
“This role is suited to a candidate currently working at coordinator or officer level looking to step into a broader title.”
Or:
“While titled ‘manager’, this is an individual contributor role with future pathway to team leadership.”
Transparency weeds out poor-fit applicants before they waste your time — or you waste theirs.
4. Use competency frameworks
Rather than focus solely on tasks, define the capability level you expect:
- Strategic vs operational
- Independent vs collaborative decision-making
- Level of autonomy and influence
This ensures alignment during interviews and beyond.
Why Candidates Are Wising Up (and Ghosting You)
Top candidates now come armed with:
- Questions about reporting lines
- Expectations about job scope
- Insights from Glassdoor or LinkedIn
- Market salary benchmarks
If what you’re offering doesn’t match what the job title implies, they walk.
Worse? They ghost you, because they see your role as misleading — or worse, disorganised.
How It Impacts Internal Promotions Too
This isn’t just a recruitment issue. Inside many businesses, employees are given title bumps:
- To retain them
- As a form of non-financial reward
- Without changing duties
Later, when they apply for external roles, they:
- Get shortlisted for jobs they’re not ready for
- Struggle to match real-world expectations
- Damage their reputation in the market
Smart Alternatives to Misleading Titles
When in doubt:
- Use accurate and modest titles (you can always clarify scope in the ad)
- Add a sub-heading in the job post (e.g. “Operations Coordinator – Logistics Lead Role”)
- Let the role description sell the opportunity, not the title
Want Help? Get an Outside View
Recruitment agencies like Ingenious People often run into mis-scoped roles and poorly defined job ads that set employers up for failure.
The best ones will:
- Challenge your assumptions
- Redefine role clarity
- Match you with candidates who understand the true scope — and want it
That’s how you avoid bad hires caused by marketing your role with the wrong label.
Final Word: Strip the Ego, Get the Fit
There’s nothing wrong with ambitious titles — if they’re honest.
But in Australian hiring, the most common mistake is letting the title drive the hire, rather than the business need.
Start with duties. Get the structure right. Use titles that help, not confuse.
It’s how you build trust with candidates — and make hires that stick.