When technical titles get overloaded
Over the years, I have experienced the confusion of title/role mismatch — especially when a founder/recruiter is on the hunt for their “technical guy” and they call me. Depending on the company’s age/recruiter’s experience/founder’s battle scars, the person usually creates a job title that often misrepresents their needs and requirement. Often, the words say one thing and the needs/responsibilities call for another.
Some cases in point:
- A CEO contacts me saying they want a “CTO” that they can “bounce product ideas with” and then expect the person to not only code, but manage an outsourced team and be mentally in sync with the CEO at any time so the product stays within the mental assumptions of the founder.
- A recruiter contacts me with a VP Engineering role with a bullet point saying “not afraid of getting your hands dirty” which is British for “we need you to code” as well as “manage the team, develop the organizational culture and keep us on schedule”.
- A friend asks me to meet with their friend because they are looking for a “Chief Architect” for their new web and mobile application. When the meeting occurs, a few minutes into the conversation unveils the real goal — which is to convince me to be the lead…