Quick answer: Use the title a suitable person would type into search, not an internal grade and not a clever nickname. The title is a search key. Personality belongs in the description, not in the label people filter on. Prefer something like Senior Unity Developer over Unity Wizard or Specialist II.
I see small teams treat the title like branding. They invent a cute label, paste an internal grade, or cram Warsaw Remote into the first line. Then they wonder why the right people never show up.
In my opinion the title is not where you show personality. It is how candidates find you.
How do I choose a job title for a job posting?
Pick the closest standard title a good candidate would type into LinkedIn, Indeed, or a UK board like Totaljobs.
LinkedIn’s hire guidance is blunt: use industry-standard or recognizable titles, especially ones from the suggestion dropdown when you post. Do not use gimmicky titles like “data ninja” or “social media rock star.”
Indeed says the same in plainer words. Prefer a clear industry-standard term. Their example: Senior Data Analyst beats Level 4 Data Analyst III or Data Analyst Rockstar. They also found that 36% of job seekers who use job sites search with the exact title they want. If your title is a private code, you are invisible to that habit.
Totaljobs (UK) tells recruiters to pick a suggested title when they can, keep it simple, and avoid jargon, symbols, acronyms, and quirky labels. Do not mix levels in one string (Junior/Senior Software Developer/Engineer). Leave company name and salary for later fields.
A working pattern for small teams:
- Role family candidates already know (Software Engineer, Account Executive, Office Manager).
- Seniority when it is real (Junior, Mid, Senior, Lead, Head of).
- One specialization only if people search it (Unity, Payroll, B2B SaaS).
That is enough. Do not write a sentence in the title field.
What titles should I avoid?
Internal grades and clever nicknames.
| Skip this | Use something like this |
|---|---|
| Specialist II / P3 / Grade 6 | Senior Operations Analyst |
| Unity Wizard | Senior Unity Developer |
| Growth Ninja | Business Development Manager |
| People Partner III | HR Business Partner |
| Sales / CS / Admin | Three separate posts |
My rule matches what the boards say: do not publish internal titles. Map them to the closest thing a suitable person would search. You can keep Specialist II in your HRIS. Candidates never need to see it on the ad.
Cute titles look immature on a serious hire. They also fail search. LinkedIn, Indeed, and Totaljobs all warn against quirky or gimmicky labels for that reason.
Also skip:
- ALL CAPS, exclamation points, and promo spam in the title
- Salary or “hiring now” stuffed into the title
- Multiple jobs jammed into one title
Indeed treats the title field as the clear, searchable name of the role and nothing more. I agree.
Should location go in the job title?
No. Location has its own field.
On Canvider Basics, Role Title is free text. Locations is a separate field (up to 10). Put Warsaw, London, or Remote there. Do not write “Senior Developer (Warsaw / Remote)” as the title unless you have no location field at all on a channel.
Boards already filter on location. Doubling it into the title burns characters, truncates badly on mobile, and makes the same role look different every time you post.
Why does a clear title matter beyond search?
Because everything downstream reads that string.
Ambiguous titles weaken skills and salary suggestions, the quality of the job description draft, sourcing overlap in your talent pool, and LinkedIn matching. Vague LinkedIn title matches get skipped on reconnect on purpose. That is not a bug. Matching on “Wizard” or “Champion” would create noise.
If you use JobCraft, it drafts the description on Step 3 from the title, skills, and location you already entered. It does not invent or suggest the title for you. A clear Role Title on Step 1 is still your job. Soft guidance only: Senior Unity Developer, not Unity Wizard. There is no hard character ban list in the product. The market still punishes vague labels even when the software lets you type them.
For length of the body once the title is set, see how long a job description should be. For the internal permission step before the public ad, see what a job requisition is.
How do I check a title before I publish?
Run three quick tests.
- Search test. Paste your draft title into LinkedIn Jobs and Indeed. Do similar, serious roles appear? If you only see odd one-offs, rewrite toward the cluster.
- Stranger test. Show the title to someone outside your company. Can they say what the person does in one sentence?
- Channel test. Use the same external title on LinkedIn, your careers page, and other boards. Rewording per channel creates tracking mess and confuses referrals.
When you are ready to post, centralizing applications from multiple boards keeps replies in one place. If you hire on LinkedIn often, our note on posting a job on LinkedIn from your ATS covers the publish path.
What is my simple rule?
Use the title a suitable person would type into search. Not an internal grade. Not a clever nickname. Put location in Locations. Save personality for the description.
If you want a clean place to create the role, enter a clear title, then draft the description, start a Canvider account.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose a job title for a job posting?
Use the title a suitable person would type into search. Prefer a standard market label with seniority when it matters, such as Senior Unity Developer. Skip internal grades like Specialist II or P3, and skip clever nicknames like ninja or rockstar.
Should I put the city or remote in the job title?
No. Put location in the Locations field. Boards and ATS tools already have a place for city, country, or remote. Stuffing location into the title wastes space and muddles search matching.
Can I use a fun title like ninja or rockstar?
I would not. LinkedIn tells employers not to use gimmicky titles like data ninja or social media rock star. Indeed and Totaljobs push the same idea: standard, searchable labels beat quirky ones. Personality belongs in the description.
Do I need the same title on LinkedIn, Indeed, and my careers page?
Yes, for the public posting. One clear external title across channels helps candidates and keeps your screening aligned. Keep internal grade codes in your HR system if you must. Do not put them on the ad.