It was just another usual day of shuffling between Figma and Slack and Google Docs — when I stumbled upon a doc I was tagged in. One of my managers had commented, “I am going to tag some senior designers on this to get this project rolling”

And I was tagged.

It was the first time it hit me after my promotion. Aah, so I can be counted as a senior now. 💁‍♀️

But the funny thing was, I was already on that project, getting it to roll for a few days. So with the title change, nothing changed in terms of my day-to-day projects, the way I was working, or the opportunities I was getting.

When people say “titles don’t matter” — I always hope they mean titles don’t affect the opportunities you get at work, how much you are heard, or the impact you can have on a company. And that can be considered sign of a very good working culture.

Difference between me as a fresh grad vs senior designer?

If I do I have to point out a few key changes, I would say I am now
1. Extremely comfortable walking into a room with stakeholders and presenting my designs and rationale, and driving team to a decision. Earlier I would count on my manager/senior to be around.

2. Thinking more about end-to-end experiences and how it fits into the overall product experience, rather than just doing my bit and moving away.

3. Stronger hold on my craft, communication skills, and frameworks/workshops.

4. Finding ways so that our team has a better way of documenting, staying aligned, and having fun. Basically also involved in defining team processes beyond just my projects.

These changes happened over time, and surely as you can imagine wasn’t as easy as a LinkedIn update!

So am I coming to the conclusion that titles don’t matter at all? No.

I think they matter. This is my personal take based on my experiences.

I have seen titles matter when you are trying to switch jobs, especially if you are moving across countries. They influence the kind of opportunities recruiters reach out with, and the following conversations and negotiations you have with a company. Sadly, you also cannot deny the gender pay gap and inherent biases in the tech industry.

Depending on the career ladder of a company (which can vastly differ based on size of the company), if you are performing at a higher level, having a title and compensation that aptly reflects it is great catalyst for your career.

So just to sum up.

Nothing drastically changed about my role. I am still doing what I did before, being heard the same way, and finding the same opportunities within the company to grow, and I am very grateful for that. It’s just that the title also reflects that now.

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