European Titles

[Sarah Salukas]

This question doesn't exactly have to do with Boolean, but I'm hoping that there are some Internet Sourcers on here who may have run into this before....

I am doing a search for Medical Device Sales people in various countries across Europe. When I am searching LinkedIn, I continuously run into people whose profile list their title as "MR" -or- "MS" at CompanyX. --- What does this mean???

I know I think of it as Mister or Miss, but it seems very odd for people to list that as their title. I'm wondering if, in Europe, MR or MS stands for something else. Has anyone else run into this? Or know the answer? I can't get it off my mind, please help!

Thanks in advance – Sarah

[Adam Wiedmer]

Hi Sarah,

I've seen this alot and I thought it was a certification since many Europeans include their degrees in their Title, but I'm pretty sure that it DOES refer to Mister or Mrs. For example, if you do this search you get people in several areas and random industries:

site:linkedin.com (inurl:in OR inurl:pub) "mrs at" -intitle:directory

It must be a cultural thing. Probably the same reason that you will find Pictures and Marital Status (I've even seen Ht/Wgt, and "tone of voice"!) on European CV's.

-Adam

[Sarah Salukas]

Hi Adam,
I was afraid that was what you might say. I was really hoping it was some kind of certification or abbreviation for a title.

Seeing “Mr at CompanyX” doesn’t really help my sourcing efforts. I wish it would say “Mr. Electrical Engineer at CompanyX” instead. Oh well. Thanks for the reply – much appreciated. Have a great weekend.

Best,
Sarah


Adam Wiedmer said:

Hi Sarah,

I've seen this alot and I thought it was a certification since many Europeans include their degrees in their Title, but I'm pretty sure that it DOES refer to Mister or Mrs. For example, if you do this search you get people in several areas and random industries:

site:linkedin.com (inurl:in OR inurl:pub) "mrs at" -intitle:directory

It must be a cultural thing. Probably the same reason that you will find Pictures and Marital Status (I've even seen Ht/Wgt, and "tone of voice"!) on European CV's.

-Adam

[Bill Boorman]

Will update my profile later as this is a new network for me. As a UK based Recruiter trainer i can give you the answer on this.
In Europe title refers to your status and sex, not job title. The only exception to this is a profesional or academic title such as Dr or an honorary title such as lord or lady (member of the house of lords) or an honorary title such as Sir which has been bestowed by royalty.
Quick translation:
mr - male - married or single
mrs - female - married
miss - female - single
ms - female that does not wish to disclose

Only other exception to this would be if the title is in a non-english language such as german where herr would mean mr, etc.
As you are unlikely to search for titles, probably not really important but should clear this up.

@BillBoorman

PS: In the UK qualifications or memberships of profesional bodies are listed as initials after the first name. eg:
I am Mr Bill Boorman F.R.E.C.
9Fellow of the Recruitment & Employers Confederation)