Job Title Matters

When I was promoted to Director of Design and Web Services, I did not think much of it. I had a raise and a part-time web developer/editor reporting to me, but not a whole lot changed.

Recently I was invited to be on the hiring committee for the position of Director of Communications. My role was to make sure the candidate have sufficient technology to do basic tasks including putting together a monthly email newsletter, writing a blog post, and, of course, using social media.

After all the interviews, the committee discussed the best candidate to make the recommend to the Dean. We all came up with the same candidate, however, I was concerned about the lack of technical skills from a potential candidate. When I voiced my concern, one of the committee members suggested that I should be reporting to the new Director of Communications. I was shocked, but my reply was, “You can’t direct a director. I am the Director of Design and Web Services.” The committee member didn’t say anything.