Job Title vs Job Salary

One of my clients suggested that I should use his corporate email. I said OK. Why not? I already signed an NDA. We have worked on more than one project together. This also gives you a feeling that it's going to be a long term. Also, I don't have to worry about security. All correspondence and file transfers will go through company email system now. So, it's almost like a regular 9-5 job feeling thanks to this tiny detail. So, the client asked, what should we use for my official job title. I thought for a second. It's all the same to me. Yet, for the client, this is an important question. I understand. I may get in touch with some of his full-time employees, customers, or partners. It's all about the professional image, isn't it?

So, I said "Content Manager" should be just fine. This is what I do. Regular blog writing and some web content adjustment here and there when needed. Then the client asked to include an additional title in my job title "Content & Social Media Manager." Honestly, I had some second thoughts about it. Why? Well, I write a blog post and then I just upload it on WP. It's not a big deal. Then I use Facebook and Twitter share buttons. That's all. I don't know, but I'm pretty much sure that social media management includes some additional activities than a simple share of content as I do every single week. Yet, I didn't want to spoil the great working atmosphere we have. So, I said that I'm perfectly fine with whichever job title he chooses for my email signature.

This situation reminded of not so good old regular office working days. That is one of the reasons I decided to become fully independent in the first place. This obsession with job titles. I see it every single day on LinkedIn among other places. Email signatures and business cards are the source of endless inspiration. I know some of my former colleagues. When you see their job titles, you think they are rocket scientists. In addition, some of the previous clients I used to work with also had this eye-catching job titles that I thought I'm going to work with multinationals. I had to Google to figure out what some of the three-letter job titles meant in the first place. You know CEO, CTO, ABC, and so many others. The last one is a joke, but I'm not going to be surprised if that one means something too.

Does it really matter how your job title is going to be called and what's going to write in your email signature, LinkedIn profile, business card, and similar? What matters are the things you do. The most important thing is how much you are going to be paid for it. Right? I remember how one of my friends desperately wanted to be a "sales coordinator" instead of a simple "sales representative." He actually had just one guy to coordinate while doing sales and that was he himself. Then I asked myself, is this some kind of a corporate trick. They give you a fancy job title, so you can be happy about it and completely forget about your salary and other perks among other things.

Honestly, do you fall for these things called eye-catching job titles? Or, maybe you give a strong advantage to the job salary rather than the job title itself? Who cares what job title you are going to use as long as you are getting paid according to your expectations and plans? In my regular, let's call it a private email, I don't use any signature. I'm not a consultant. I'm not this or that. All I care is the amount I'm going to get for my next project. That's all. How do you feel about this job title vs job salary thing? Do you know some people, colleagues, friends, and similar, who take these things about job title a little bit too serious for your taste?