Farewell to advisers — the “evangelist” is being sought. In an effort to give themselves a cosmopolitan look, many companies in German-speaking countries choose English-language terms in their job advertisements. This often has understandable reasons. However, if the job description is too flowery or cryptic, according to experts, this reduces the chances of success in the talent search.
The spectrum ranges from the sober everyday to the enigmatic. Some examples: “Evangelist
The use of English is related to the increasing international business activity and also the increasing internationality of the workforce in Germany, says Maike Andresen, professor of business administration at the University of Bamberg. Communication is often only in writing in English. In some departments of large corporations, however, English is now also spoken. “Consequently, the job titles and descriptions are now also in English,” says Andresen.
“The labor market is becoming more and more global, not least because of the prevailing unemployment,” says Tobias Zimmermann, labor market specialist at the international job portal Stepstone, with a view to the shortage of staff. “For this reason, it can make sense for companies to work with English-language job titles, as these can be connected globally.”
The “facility manager” has gained greater notoriety, having replaced the “caretaker” that was common in the past. The example also illustrates how the foreign language is used for embellished job titles. Because many of the “manager” positions offered are not management positions, whether facility, sales, research or knowledge manager. A hotel in Cologne is looking for a “cleaning agent” on Stepstone instead of a cleaner. So far, however, this designation has not been widely used.
Giving a well-sounding English title to a completely normal employee position can make perfect sense for a company. “We’re in an applicant market, and a somewhat more pointed title can help,” says Philipp Kolo, an expert in the world of work at the international management consultancy Boston Consulting Group.
Among the pioneers of flowery job titles are IT companies looking for “evangelists” or “architects” who have nothing to do with the spread of Christianity or the construction industry. The term “architect” should emphasize the creative aspect, analogous to the work of a real architect, says Bamberg professor Andresen. IT companies originally described people as “evangelists” who were supposed to bring the blessing of digitization closer to the general public and customers.
And vice versa, traditional German-language job titles often have the reputation of being hopelessly conservative. “If you are looking for young, digitally savvy talent and advertise a clerk, hardly anyone will read this ad,” says BCG consultant Kolo. In the end, however, an unusual title must also match the company and the job. “If you write down ‘Better Living’ and in the end it’s the old office, it doesn’t work,” says Kolo.
According to Kolos, globally active companies are also trying to harmonize their roles globally. “If a company has strategic personnel planning and the positions have different names in each country, there is no comparability.”
But how are English-language job titles perceived by those concerned? Studies on this are rare, but in 2008 the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) asked young professionals about their preferences. “At that time it came out that young people wanted comprehensibility above all, and job descriptions from business are not necessarily the best,” says BIBB department head Monika Hackel.
“It should be clear what the job is and it should sound exciting. There are signals that young people accept, but Anglicisms are not one of them.” Many job advertisements are pre-formulated by the respective specialist departments. “The internal designations are often used without thinking about how they will be received by the recipients.”
Using your own compositions in job advertisements can be both an opportunity and a risk, says Hackel. “On the one hand, a company opens up the search space for career changers, for example. That can make sense — especially if the company knows that there aren’t enough skilled workers in a certain profession anyway.” But if abstruse names were chosen, “you might not find the advertisement at all”.
A completely different factor plays a more important role than a nicely worded job advertisement: the payment. “The salary range should never be missing in a job advertisement,” says Stepstone specialist Tobias Zimmermann.
According to Stepstone data, 80 percent of candidates say they tend to apply for jobs with specific salary information. And language also plays a role in a completely different way: According to Zimmermann, companies should ensure that it is not just men who feel addressed.
