Java programmer, LAN coordinator, firewall developer, Webmaster. Reading the help-wanted ads, you might feel overwhelmed by the abundance of job titles that didn’t exist 10, 5 or even 3 years ago.
But don’t be intimidated by titles like CAD administrator, HTML manager or Peoplesoft engineer, and don’t think familiar job titles are disappearing. They’re not really. It’s just that they’ve launched into a new dimension: cyberspace.
New job titles are continually emerging as a result of the World Wide Web, the almost 4-year-old medium that links the world via computer. With computers affecting all industries and occupations today, companies find that to be competitive, they need a presence on the Web, launching everyday business into a whole new realm.
“Job titles evolve to reflect changing technology and new ways to get things done in the workplace,” says Jeff Christian, president and chief executive of national executive search firm Christian & Timbers Inc. Christian says new job titles have appeared in the past few years because companies are using titles, such as chief technology officer and Webmaster, to show investors, stockholders and the public that they’re on the cutting-edge of technology and are keen to the changing world.
At first glance, today’s job titles might seem like a foreign language, but after translation, you’ll realize these are basic jobs written in a different way–new computer terminology reflecting the exploding Internet-driven marketplace.
Take, for instance, LAN coordinator and HTML manager. LAN and HTML are computer languages; the endings are traditional titles. Most of the job titles today begin with Internet-related terms but end with the following familiar, and interchangeable, titles: coordinator, administrator, manager, architect, engineer, analyst, consultant and account executive.
“Today you have to read job titles differently and, as you’ll find, they’re the same old job functions rewritten to incorporate the new environment on the Web,” says Steve Oserman, reference librarian and career specialist at Skokie Public Library.
The key is not to shy away from daunting titles like cyberartist, cyber travel agent and cybrarian. As companies rely on Web pages to promote or sell their wares, almost all businesses, including corporate, non-profit and healthcare, are looking for workers who can adapt their traditional skills into company cyberspace:
– Internet marketing manager: advertising, sales, marketing and retail skills are needed to advertise, market and sell products on Web sites.
– Platform architect and videographics engineer: architects and engineers are needed to design and build company sites; graphic artists, broadcasters and music editors are sought to create vibrant and exciting Web sites.
– On-line broker: Wall Street has gone digital as brokerage firms perform on-line trading.
– Teledoctor: provides consultations via the Internet.
And what about all those seemingly off-the-wall titles like firewall developer and CAD administrator? Computer lingo, which can be learned and “which could disappear as quickly as it emerged, only to be replaced by new software and job titles,” advises Oserman.
Not all cyberjobs have new or unrecognizable titles. Familiar job titles also are prominent on the Web, such as editor, proofreader, art director, ad creator and sales rep. These titles strongly indicate the direction companies are taking to reach customers with their traditional business sense in a non-traditional fashion
A newer title that has quickly become popular is Webmaster, a position that blends many skills with the interactivity of the Web.
Vytas Cuplinskas, Webmaster at Interactive Coupon Network in Chicago, didn’t study to be a Webmaster, since the job didn’t exist a few years ago, but he is thrilled to be applying his marketing, advertising and lobbying background to the new medium. “The choice to become a Webmaster was a natural fit in bringing my skills into the digital age,” says Cuplinskas.
At Interactive Coupon Network, which provides Internet marketing tools for retail and restaurant chains and travel providers, he is involved in the graphics, content and marketing of the Web site, which allows customers to clip and print coupons from the Web. He also is heavily involved in customer service and public relations as he promotes the service and answers questions from consumers who send him messages.
“You have to be flexible in wearing many hats and keeping up with technology, but the fun and excitement of the job is rewarding,” says Cuplinskas.
Where do you find a burgeoning job opportunity like Cuplinskas did? Oserman says it’s the speed of the changing workplace that makes on-line help-wanted listings more advantageous than any other source because the Web sites usually have the most up-to-the-minute job postings and the most current emerging job titles.
“Job books and career guides can’t keep up with how fast job titles change,” Oserman says. “The Internet is the best place to job-hunt hundreds of sites containing thousands of job titles.”
Also, if you’re interested in a particular company, its Web site normally has job postings directly on it, giving you direct access to the company of your choice.
Oserman, co-author of “The Guide to Internet Job Searching,” recommends several Web sites to search for jobs in Chicago and internationally: America’s Job Bank at www.ajb.dni.us/; The Monster Board at www.monster.com; and Yahoo!Chicago at chi.yahoo.com/.
Chicago-area jobs also can be found at www.shsinc.com/chijobs.htm, www.chicago-computer.com/jobs.htm and www.marketingjobs.com/.
After scouring the job ads, don’t think that you have to be a computer wizard to leap into cyberspace and land a job in today’s digital business world. Surviving the new medium means learning the basics of computer software currently used in the job market, then continually improving these skills as technologies change. “Companies are looking for skilled, educated people, but most of all, people who are flexible to change,” says Mary Ann Jirak, coordinator of Community Career Services at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine.
Jirak says don’t discount job ads because of the looming titles, nor pigeonhole yourself into learning one trade to fit the title. “You need to look at the industry that you’re interested in as a whole. Study the industry rather than the job title.”
To help people adapt to the ever-changing workplace, the federal government has mandated regions in Illinois, in conjunction with schools and several government offices, including the Illinois Department of Employment Security, to provide free career guidance and job search information to anyone, employed or unemployed. Known as Illinois Employment and Training Centers, the centers provide career assessment, counseling services and educational courses, as well as job search services.
The two Chicago-area centers are the Northwest Suburban Employment and Training Center at Harper College, 723 W. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights, 847-758-2370; and the Illinois Employment and Training Center at Daley College, 7500 S. Pulaski Rd. 773-884-7000.
As more business takes place in cyberspace and as more computer technologies and software are introduced, job titles will continue to alter, emerge and disappear. It’s the chameleon nature of the World Wide Web, still in its infancy, that requires those unemployed and employed to remain marketable by honing skills, keeping up with the latest software and being ready for change in a cyberinstant.
