Job title?

[bellefast]

Hi all!

 

I recently got the job I have been waiting for since March of this year. The position is listed as Mentor. I really don't like this title (it is extremely general) and I was wondering if I could make up an appropriate title that suits my job? I am not just mentoring students, I am collecting information about them, helping them transition through their undergrad life in and outside class. I also have to do several reports on them to keep track of their grades. I'm basically an academic advisor without being one (since I am a grad student and I have a smaller work load). I have heard you can change the name of the job title. But I am not sure what to do. So what do you all think? Should I contact the people I work for and ask them for guidance?

 

Thanks!

[ANDS!]

Change it for what?  A CV?  If so, if you feel the job title is to general or vague, you can just describe your duties there w/o shining on about the actual title.

[juilletmercredi]

Helping students transition through undergrad IS mentoring.  All of the duties you're doing sound very much like mentoring.

 

I agree that you should list your real job title, because in the event that someone calls to verify (this typically doesn't happen for admissions but does happen all the time in job hunting) you don't want your title to not match what your supervisor says your title is.  Then just list your job duties and/or accomplishments below the title.  I think people often understand that titles aren't always reflective of all or even most of your duties, so they look to your description to give them a better picture.

[danieleWrites]

Nothing is stopping you from calling the position whatever you like. However, if the places to which you're handing your CV think it's a great idea to call your employer up and ask them to tell you how you did in your job as a Student Adviser, Assistant Adviser, or whatnot, you're going to have a person saying, oh, no, she was a mentor, not an adviser, and a potential employer thinking, yeah.... If that's the official job title, don't change it lest it turn around and bite you. Like ANDSI said, leave the title and work the role.

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I had that issue with a job... I think the job title was a remnant from before the department restructured or something, because it was really misleading.  I think I just told my boss what title I was using on my resume, in case anything came up.  In your case, since it's accurate but a bit wishy-washy, perhaps you could do both: Mentor/ Assistant Student Advisor -- or something like that.