My internal job title does not match the usual market title. What should I do?

Show your official title, then add the market equivalent in brackets or in your first bullet. That way the title stays verifiable and recruiters still recognise the role.

Examples:

• "Officer, Grade 4 (Procurement Officer)"
• "Associate II (Financial Analyst)"
• "Executive – Operations (Operations Coordinator)"

Or use the first bullet: "Procurement officer role covering vendor selection, purchase orders and contract renewals for a hospital group."

Why this matters:

• Recruiters search for market titles, such as "Procurement Officer", not internal grades.
• Reference and background checks confirm your official title, so it must still appear.
• The equivalent must be honest. If your internal title is "Associate" but your work was at analyst level, "(Financial Analyst)" is fair; "(Finance Manager)" would not be.

Use your headline and summary to show the role you are targeting. Your past titles should always stay recognisable as the titles you actually held.