Are Job Titles Losing Their Meaning? How Job-Title Inflation Could Damage Your Future Career. When a job title is upgraded without raising the associated responsibilities and requirements, this is called job title inflation.

You may have heard this one before. As you wait to interview for a new job, you hear the words, "The Director of First Impressions will be with you shortly."

Traditionally, job titles have served as a way to quickly express the nature of an individual's work. However, companies have used more creative and grandiose titles in recent years in an effort to attract top talent, leading to job-title inflation. As an example, you will often find inaccurate job titles on LinkedIn.

In most cases, it's pretty obvious how it works. Perhaps a company is trying to retain talent by offering a higher title without providing the responsibilities and pay that should accompany it. After being frustrated by uncredited work, a job seeker may devise a creative way to describe their last gig.