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My job title is Applications Engineer. In my role, however, I work fully as a Data Scientist. I have tried to indicate my job function in my LinkedIn profile in various ways, including in my Headline, About section, job descriptions, and certifications.

I often receive messages from recruiters seeking applications engineers or field application engineers, and the job descriptions match those of what these positions do, and do not match my experience. Conversely, I do not receive messages from recruiters looking for data scientists. I speculate that my job title is a strong factor contributing to many recruiters' candidate searches, especially because the job descriptions and qualifications usually have little intersection with the qualifications and experience listed in my profile beyond my job title. So I find myself missing out on recruitment opportunities.

What is an appropriate and honest way to indicate my job function on my LinkedIn profile, without getting stuck behind a misleading job title in recruiter searches? In particular, I am interested in doing this such that I will come up for recruiters and companies seeking data scientists.

Thanks for any help!

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  • @user3558855 Linkedin profiles aren't a legal document. You can describe yiour job in your favorite terms.
    – David
    Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 11:35
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    In my experience, even with a very detailed and accurate profile, LinkedIn messages from recruiters are of generally low relevance. I think it's easier for them to spam possibly suitable candidates than to narrow it down. I get offers for positions requiring 5+ years experience (I have 32), for positions in electronic assembly (I am in environmental public infrastructure), for positions at firms where I've previously worked (without acknowledging it in the note), and for firms where I'm connected on LinkedIn to the hiring manager.
    – Theodore
    Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 17:27
  • @Theodore The last point should not be a red flag - it's a good idea to connect to the HM where you want to work. Ensures you'll be a 2nd connection to the recruiter.
    – Therac
    Commented Dec 10, 2022 at 19:38
  • @HK-51 In my case, the HM had already discussed the position with me directly and I turned it down. The recruiter didn't even know about this.
    – Theodore
    Commented Dec 11, 2022 at 22:22
  • @Theodore Same happened to me. Only so many positions and so many fitting candidates for a given (position, industry, location) tuple.
    – Therac
    Commented Dec 12, 2022 at 3:17

1 Answer 1

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Your job title is how your company chooses to describe your job.

You are free to use whatever term you feel is the best match to what you're doing. A linkedin profile is not yet a job application. Eventually you'll get a chance to explain or write down any formal details.

Recruiters will get candidates with their current job title matching their search terms first.

Exception: never adjust your seniority level or company grade, since that implies external rather than self-evaluation.

If you seek positions as a Data Scientist, and feel that you are performing DS duties at the moment, rename your position to say "Data Scientist".

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