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It’s so easy to say “I don’t care about titles” but in many cases and for many people, titles matter a lot. Here’s a quick thread on titles and why they matter, aren’t always transferable, and why in many cases they are tied to compensation and often, influence. 🧵

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What's most important to you? Level/title or salary? I'll go first.... BOTH

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First, let’s get some terminology sorted out: ⚫️ Title: the public or company-wide facing business title. ⚫️ Level: the underlying level supporting that title (HR leveling). The two are often linked but that’s not always true. Two people at same level can have diff titles.

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For example, you often see a “Head of Design” or an “Engineering Lead” title. These are sometimes business titles that have a ../Director/Sr. Director/VP level associated with them. Two people with a “Lead” title the same or two diff companies could have two diff levels.

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With that in mind, it’s super important to know your level in an organization or know the level you’re being offered at if you’re joining a new team. There’s always a leveling in the background, make sure you know what that is.

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Levels impact your comp. Most large enough companies have compensation bands that are somewhat flexible but also determine your comp levels. Level 1 vs. Level 2 will generally overlap but level 1 vs. level 3 will likely have a material difference.

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Titles and the associated levels are generally reasonably transferable within similar industries and companies. For example, if you work at big company X and moving to big company Y, your current level will have an impact on the offer you get at the new company.

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It’s not always 1 to 1. Sites like levels.fyi offer ways to look into how these levels translate across different organizations.

Levels.fyi | Salaries & Tools to Level Up Your Career

Search 100k+ salaries for different companies, job titles, career levels, and locations. Explore our tools to help you get paid more!

1:06 AM · Mar 2, 2022

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Here’s something important to understand: at the end of the day leveling, not titles, is what impacts your comp the most. You can be Level X and move to Level X-1 at a different company and still get paid more. Pay attention to how levels translate from one company to the other.

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Compensation isn’t everything. The title itself could help supercharge your career in the future. Even if you’re being paid less now, your title can open doors for you. It often doesn’t close deals but opens doors. Your ROLE and IMPACT is what closes the deal.

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Titles are also important for influence. Managers often say “if I can influence this, you should too” and most organizations SHOULD be built that way but that doesn’t mean they are that way now.

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Titles help open a door for you or get you the response and influence you deserve but it’s impact that keeps that moving forward. We all know someone who uses their title to get their way. That’s not influence, that’s … not good!

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Now that we’ve established titles are important, what does that mean for you? It means you should likely care about your level and title but not obsess about it.

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I mentor folks every week who share how the next title is their GOAL. Don’t make that the case. Increasing your IMPACT and delivering good work is the goal. Titles come after. However, don’t ignore the after part. Advocate for it. Get a clear understanding of what it takes.

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Be clear about what it takes but then do that, what it takes. Those who make titles their ultimate goal often struggle to achieve it because they lose sight of the work.

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This is not conclusive advice and there are always different cases but I hope I’ve at least convinced you that titles aren’t everything but they’re also not unimportant. Good luck!

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