WORKING CLASS- Co-author of The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating

By Leslie Whitaker
CTW Features

TITLE TALES

Dear Leslie,

I'm about to launch a new business and I need a new title. I want something more interesting than president or CEO. While my main strength and skills run to the financial side, I make many creative contributions to the business. I'm trying to fashion a label that truly reflects the many facets of my leadership role. My wife suggested "big kahuna."Any better ideas?

Dear Reader,

What an opportunity - the chance to give yourself a name! The once-stuffy business world seems more and more appreciative of creativity, which makes this is an ideal time to try to select a title that stretches across your skill set. Maybe you'll start a trend.

Even titles that are now considered common, such as chief executive officer, were created by someone. The first corporate leader to call himself a CEO reportedly was Thomas J. Watson, Jr., president of IBM, who added the designation in 1956. But the label didn't catch on more widely until the 1970s.

Without knowing the nature of your business, I cannot provide specific suggestions for your own designation. Besides, big kahuna is hard to top. Perhaps you'll be inspired by some of the more intriguing titles that employees, entrepreneurs, and executives have started to take on:

Director of first impressions - receptionist

Human talent developer - human resources specialist

Chief evangelist - president of a small but growing company

Chief acceleration officer - executive in charge of leading the company into the future.

Steve Jobs calls himself "chief know-it-all." Maxine Clark is "chief executive bear" at Build-A-Bear Workshop, the popular retail chain where customers design their own stuffed animals. Even my intern, inspired after doing research on titles, christened herself with a new and fitting label: "junior information sleuth."

Have you encountered any catchy creative titles? Send them my way and I'll include them in a future column: leslie@ctwfeatures.com.

BUZZED, FIRED AND UNEMPLOYED

Dear Leslie,

I want to know what to do if you are fired because you were drunk at work. What should you put on your résumé?

Dear Reader,

You do not need to put anything on your résumé that indicates why your last job ended nor do you have to volunteer why you lost your job during an interview, If it comes up - and of course it's likely to - it's always best to be honest. For that reason, not to mention your own well being, you should take some positive steps before you venture back into the job market.

The first step is trying to figure out why you put your job in jeopardy and how to prevent that from happening in the future. Chances are you will benefit from treatment for substance abuse. AlcoholScreening.org (www.alcoholscreening.org) helps individuals assess their own drinking habits and locate local treatment providers. Other useful resources are the Substance Abuse Treatment Locator (www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov; phone 1-800-662-HELP), Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org), and the American Psychological Association (www.apa.org).

Once you have a track record of treatment, you will have a more positive story to tell job interviewers. If you are asked about your last termination, "You can say, That was then, and this is now," says Robert Hamm, supervisor of employee services, Employment Project for Recovered Alcoholics, based in New York City. "You can add that you've dealt with the problem, and it's been 'x' amount of time since you last indulged."

Here's hoping this low point sets you off in a new, more positive direction.

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send Leslie an email or write to P.O. Box 11156 Shorewood, WI 53211.

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