Would a copywriter by any other name spell as sweet?
Tinker, tailor, word wholesaler? A copywriter’s musings on the names we call ourselves.
Two years ago, I changed roles. When an email came in from our receptionist looking to update company records, I responded with my new job title; copywriter. “Thanks, Emily”, came the reply. “Couldn’t they dream up something more imaginative for you?”
It’s not the first time one of my job titles has been the subject of some confusion. When I started at Beyond, I was a marketing executive. If you asked my mum, that put me right in the heart of things. In the boardroom. You know, with the other executives.
And as a copywriter, I’ve had my fair share of misfires when answering the inevitable, “So what do you do?” It usually involves people thinking I’m in the business of copyright law. When trying to set the record straight one night in the pub, I used the word creative and had a friend apply it to copyright law in the same way you’d apply it to accounting. And while I’m not the millennial answer to Nick Freeman, better known as Mr Loophole, who’s made his career out of creatively extracting footballers from sticky traffic and speeding offences, I like the idea that people think I could be.
I’m not precious about my job title. It probably could be more imaginative. I could be a storyteller, a word herder, a sentence slinger. Calling myself by any of these titles wouldn’t affect my work, but, pretentious as they are, I can’t say the same for my ability to sleep at night. Or my future career prospects.
Giving an old job a new title might seem like a victimless crime. But when you’re not getting called in for any interviews because no one’s keyword searching ‘design ninja’ in their mountain of CVs, you might start to feel differently.
In an industry where new jobs are springing up every day, the job market is filling with names I can’t keep up with. According to LinkedIn, 2018’s top four emerging jobs were in tech and this trend shows no sign of stopping. As the workforce changes, old roles will become obsolete making way for new ones to flood the mainstream. If you are one of the people taking on these newly created jobs and you have a hand in your title, it might be wise to dial down the drama. Remember, what’s witty or quirky now might just be cringey in ten years time …when it’s still knocking about on your CV.
And if you manage to get to interview with one of these edgy monikers in either your past or your present, you’re left the slightly ambiguous task of living up to a title no one really understands. I’m looking at you, code whisperer.
So, what’s really in a name? Not much, if you ask Andreessen Horowitz. The venture capitalist firm encourages startup founders to give out the highest titles possible because employees want them and they’re free. Except this is a bit like Free Parking in Monopoly. You pay the price in the resentment from other players. Using job titles as currency, and inflating them, can lead to freewheeling egos, under-performance and rivalry among peers.
I believe the opposite: words and names do matter. In today’s world where there are social alchemists and brand warriors freely (and unironically) floating about the job market, there’s strength in simplicity. It’s useful to have something that will stand the test of time and doesn’t confuse clients. Focus on being able to communicate what you can do clearly, rather than fluffing up a couple of words and hoping they do all the work for you. You don’t need to be a Storyteller with a capital S to be able to tell your story.
And as for me? I’ll be sticking with the trusty old faithful: copywriter. If it ain’t broke, I won’t edit it. Even when people ask me for advice on legally copyrighting their $$million dollar idea$$.
Emily Gallagher has been slinging words at Beyond for four years. She’s still trying to dream up a more imaginative way to say that.
