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I work for a company that has recently been acquired by a bigger company. As part of the integration, we will be getting new job titles.

I find my title does not fit what I have been doing and would set my back about 5 years in my career.

What should I do? Here are the options I see:

1. Accept it, dude. 

2. Challenge and if not successful, accept it.

3. Challenge and if not successful leave.

I was not consulted, neither were my skills taken into account. If I should decide to challenge the decision, I am not sure where to go - HR? 

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

acao162's picture

Unless you are going from CEO to anything else, a tite is pretty much meaningless, I think.  I've gone from Finance Clerk to Assistant CEO to Manager of Finance in the same office with the stroke of a pen.  Have my job duties increased over the years, yes, but truly, it is just a name change.  In my industry, the newest title sounds a bit pretentious and not "the norm"

Having said that, I definitely preferred the change away from "Clerk"!

If your title means that much to you, I think you start looking at what it takes to be that title in the new business.  It could be that you aren't there yet.  For instance, we don't have "Directors" or "Vice Presidents" - Manager is the "top spot" under the CEO.  If we grew again, we might have a need for a "Director", and as I don't have the education for that job, I would expect to have another boss.

If I was in your shoes, ie pushed back to "Finance Clerk", I think I would be pretty stung.  If the job doesn't change and the pay doesn't change and the accomplishments don't change, did anything really happen though?  My resume would still be the same, albeit with a couple of titles.  I'd look like the most accomplished, responsible Finance Clerk ever employed, that's for sure!

My advice - live with it.  Hold your head high, over deliver and work for the title you want.

Sulmi's picture

Thank you, ACAO162.

The core question seems to me about the meaning of the job title.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Job titles are a form of communication. They communicate what to expect from the person.

2. If everyone knows who you are and what you are doing, then the job title does not matter (much).

3. Therefore, as a rule: the bigger the company, the more the title matters. A big international corporation, the job title matters a lot.

4. Job titles also come with salary ranges. For example, a sales director has a different range than a sales manager etc. This is in particular true again for big companies with sophisticated HR systems.

5. Job titles v. age show how well you are progressing. If you are at an entry level with 50, it might mean that you have not done so well.
It might also mean that you have changed careers.

For those reasons, it seems to me important what title I have. However (coming back to the original question), there is a political element here, namely the ability to influence decisions at the new company. I do not think any employee from a company that has been taken over has much relationship power.

Any comments?

Sulmi's picture

Does anyone else have comments?
This must be a common question in Mergers/Acquisitions.

jwappelhorst's picture

You asked for specific recomendation on quitting your job. I don't think anyone is going to touch that. I would say that there is probably no downside to asking a couple of questions. How were titles decided? Is there a different system at the new company that would mean this is equal to my old title? Is there ability to negotiate or review my title? What effect will this have on my forward progress? Of course you would weave this into a conversation not rapid fire ask.

Mergers and takeovers are times of great peril and great opportunity. Being able to deliver during turbulent times puts you way ahead of the pack and performance is not dependent on your title.

While i agree with your analysis of the importance of titles. Be careful not to read too much into the issue. The new company may have a different way of interpreting titles or a different Hierachy. I have seen companies where Senior VP and Regional VP have had different meanings. Even if you decide that you need to move on you have to continue to deliver and getting caught up in this issue could distract you from much more important career priorities.

Best of luck.

 

G3's picture

Thanks for the question. Thank you to the comments who come before me. I would add that from what I understand, work is about relationships & results. Furthermore, what matters is what I've done & how well I've done it. The level of importance given to titles may vary from industry to industry & company to company. 

G3's picture

Thanks for the question. Thank you to the comments who come before me. I would add that from what I understand, work is about relationships & results. Furthermore, what matters is what I've done & how well I've done it. The level of importance given to titles may vary from industry to industry & company to company. 

G3's picture

Thanks for the question. Thank you to the comments who come before me. I would add that from what I understand, work is about relationships & results. Furthermore, what matters is what I've done & how well I've done it. The level of importance given to titles may vary from industry to industry & company to company.