It’s no secret that companies, especially startups, are getting increasingly more creative with their job titles. They believe that unique, funny and ridiculous job titles will attract like-minded people, therefore making a “we think different” message clear from the first sight.
1. Paranoid In Chief
Company: Yahoo
Description: Let’s be honest — Paranoid in chief sounds much more intriguing than plain old “chief information security officer.” And it makes sense: Yahoo’s entire cybersecurity division is known as “the Paranoids.”
2. In-House Philosopher
Company: Google
Description: This title is proof that your philosophy degree could land you a job at Google. Even the search giant needs someone to turn to when it has a question. The company literally employed someone whose job is to solve engineering problems using “a humanistic perspective.”
3. Chief Storyteller
Company: Microsoft
Description: Microsoft’s “chief storyteller” doesn’t sell anything — he literally just tells stories. This person is responsible for “changing the perception of Microsoft through stories.” Those stories can be told through blogs, photos, cartoons, keynotes, and events.
4. Chief Executive Unicorn
Company: PowToon
Description: Because there aren’t enough unicorns, there’s one over at PowToon as well. Ilya Spitalnik is CEO (or CEU) of the company that sells software to make animated explainer videos. However, it looks like Spitalnik may have changed his title to “Chief Renegade Scientist.”
5. Chief Play Officer
Company: Toys “R” Us
Description: Each year, Toys “R” Us, Canada, hires a qualified candidate to play with and review all the hottest new toys before they’ve hit the shelves. When 12-year-old Émile Burbidge found out he got the job, he said he knew it would be the “coolest job in the world.”
6. Executive Sensei
Company: Virginia Mason Medical
Description: You’ll need a master’s degree, 10 years of leadership experience and some executive coaching to qualify as an “executive sensei,” according to Virginia Mason Medical’s recent posting on hiring site Monster.com. The sensei will help support clients and manage the business aspects of the company.
7. Bacon Critic
Company: Time Inc.
Description: Yep, you read that right. Time Inc.’s brand, Extra Crispy, actually hired someone to critique bacon. Though the job has been filled, the candidate seems pretty qualified — he has eaten 31 different animals in the span of a month. We’ll leave it at that.