Recently, I put on my job-seeker hat and visited a popular recruitment site on the Web. Like any typical employment candidate, I searched the site's job database to see what kind of opportunities it contained. The site's search engine was easy to use, with clear directions that were written in English, not techno-babble. Basically, all I had to do was identify the search criteria or keywords that were important to me and then designate my industry, desired location and salary objective.

I entered the term "manager" in the keyword area and selected the telecommunications industry, a salary objective of $50,000-75,000 and any location in the U. S. I hit the search button, and 10 seconds later the search engine produced 26 pages of information listing 648 jobs, each one described by its title, location, employer, salary and date posted. Here's the rub: There was virtually no descriptive information among the job titles to help me or any job seeker determine which positions were more interesting or appropriate.

Among the first 15 positions in the results, there were two product managers, two area managers, three account managers, three marketing managers and four sales managers. Although the employers and locations varied, the job titles had obviously been drawn from internal position descriptions or print ad copy. They were standard institutional names, offering no context or sizzle that would differentiate them from other opportunities. As a result, all of the positions looked alike, leaving me with one option when trying to determine which job to open and read: I flipped a coin.

Such is the nature of online recruitment advertising. Unlike with print ads, where you can quickly scan the text beneath the title to see what an opening is all about, the search engine in most online job databases forces job seekers to select jobs based on their titles. And while a rose by any other name may still be a rose, a job title in a list of 647 other titles needs some color and fragrance to help it stand out. Indeed, creating an original, entertaining, enticing title for each of your job postings is a key factor in maximizing your return on investment in online advertising.

What sets a title apart? First, remember that these titles are not going to determine a position's size or level of accountability. They will not appear on an organization chart or be used to assign salary levels. Instead, their purpose is to sell your opportunity to prospective candidates. Second, these titles are not simply the electronic renditon of something developed for a print ad. They are not immediately followed by nor do they lead seamlessly into a text description of a job. Rather, they act as one-line billboards that must quickly capture the interest or pique the curiosity of readers as they scan through a (sometimes very long) list of similar job openings.

In short, good titles tempt talent. Here are some tips to help you add allure to your titles:

• If your organization has a special or unique culture, describe it in your title. For example, "Sales Manager, fast growing, entrepreneurial company."
• If your location is a key factor in attracting new employees, include it in your title. For example, "Marketing Manager in a great company near great fishing in northern Wisconsin."
• If your opening offers an attractive financial benefit, say so in the title. For example, "Sales Manager, $50K or more bonus opportunity."
• If your organization is a leader in its field, highlight its reputation in the title. For example, "Product Manager with #1 telecommunications company in the Midwest," or
• If the job itself involves extraordinary responsibility or challenge, capture that aspect in its title. For example, "Account Manager with start-up sales team for an exciting new pharmaceutical product."

So, what's in a title for an online job posting? Everything. It's the element that transforms your job into a job seeker's brass ring.