When it is time to look for something different, one of the first things many professionals do is search for jobs that sound similar to the one they already have.
A case manager searches for case management positions.
A program coordinator searches for program coordinator positions.
A social worker searches for social work positions.
It makes sense. Those are the titles you know, and they are the easiest ones to connect to your experience.
But searching this way can also keep you looking at a very small portion of what may be available to you.
Your experience is not limited to the title you've held.
You may have spent years reviewing information, interpreting policies, coordinating across teams, training coworkers, solving problems, monitoring requirements, managing competing priorities, or making decisions.
Other organizations need people who can do those things too.
They just may call the work something different.
This is where understanding your capabilities becomes important. Instead of only asking, “What jobs have a title similar to mine?” you can begin asking, “Where else are organizations looking for people who can do what I know how to do?”
That question can lead you to roles you may not have thought to search for before.
It doesn't mean every unfamiliar title will be a fit. There are still requirements to consider, and there may be skills you need to develop.
But you cannot evaluate an opportunity you never allow yourself to explore.
Sometimes expanding your career options starts with expanding the words you use to search for them.
The next time you search for jobs, don't only search by the titles you've already had.
Search for the work you know how to do.
You may be surprised by what comes up.
You're not unqualified. You're MISTRANSLATED.
To landing what you've earned,
Kourtney Checots
Career Strategist
Founder, MISTRANSLATED