So, what’s my job title?
February 17, 2018 2:19 PM Subscribe
I’m on the market for a new job. Unfortunately, I’m not really too sure what my exact job title is. eCommerce experts will likely have the best insight on this. Job details can be found below.
Inventory Data Specialist is the job title my company has given me, but every search under that title yields slim results that aren’t exactly identical to what I really do. Basically, I create product web pages for an outdoor gear company from start to finish. Here’s a breakdown of exactly what I do:
I work with our company purchaser, whom provides me with a build list of new products we’re bringing into our inventory. This is in an excel sheet format and has the absolute basics of the product - things such as MPNs, UPCs, product titles, and pricing info. From there, I do a lot of data entry via excel, and I mean a lot of data entry. My next step is to contact the manufacturer sales reps, obtain the company’s product catalogs with detailed information on their entire line of products, and populate these spreadsheets with every single item specific I can possibly find. This includes things like dimensions, sizes, colors, product descriptions, their features, and so on. If I can’t find factory descriptions, then I get creative and write them myself. Next, I find all of the correct categories to place these products in for search results on eBay, Bing, Amazon, Google, amongst others. After this is finished, I find factory images of these products and customize them in photoshop. Once this chunk of my job is complete, I then upload the files to ChannelAdvisor and NetSuite and do all of the data mapping required to get these listings created. After the listings are posted, I then manage the product pages for accuracy and do listing corrections and optimize listings for eBay, Big Commerce, and Amazon.
You’d think that positions like this are commonplace in today’s world, and that I’d be able to find a position like this within any company that sells anything online. Job searching sure is tough when you don’t even know what you’re searching for. Any insight into what my job title is, or any suggestions for companies that might be able to utilize my talents would be fantastic. Thanks in advance MeFi.
Inventory Data Specialist is the job title my company has given me, but every search under that title yields slim results that aren’t exactly identical to what I really do. Basically, I create product web pages for an outdoor gear company from start to finish. Here’s a breakdown of exactly what I do:
I work with our company purchaser, whom provides me with a build list of new products we’re bringing into our inventory. This is in an excel sheet format and has the absolute basics of the product - things such as MPNs, UPCs, product titles, and pricing info. From there, I do a lot of data entry via excel, and I mean a lot of data entry. My next step is to contact the manufacturer sales reps, obtain the company’s product catalogs with detailed information on their entire line of products, and populate these spreadsheets with every single item specific I can possibly find. This includes things like dimensions, sizes, colors, product descriptions, their features, and so on. If I can’t find factory descriptions, then I get creative and write them myself. Next, I find all of the correct categories to place these products in for search results on eBay, Bing, Amazon, Google, amongst others. After this is finished, I find factory images of these products and customize them in photoshop. Once this chunk of my job is complete, I then upload the files to ChannelAdvisor and NetSuite and do all of the data mapping required to get these listings created. After the listings are posted, I then manage the product pages for accuracy and do listing corrections and optimize listings for eBay, Big Commerce, and Amazon.
You’d think that positions like this are commonplace in today’s world, and that I’d be able to find a position like this within any company that sells anything online. Job searching sure is tough when you don’t even know what you’re searching for. Any insight into what my job title is, or any suggestions for companies that might be able to utilize my talents would be fantastic. Thanks in advance MeFi.
I have done similar work for several retail websites, all department stores. We use a few titles:
- The collection of vendor info (images and copy) is Sample Management. This can also include handling physical vendor samples to obtain product info and coordination of photography.
- The final product description portion is handled by a team called Product Copy.
- The size, color, feature and classification portion is handled by a team called Item Setup.
- The team that handles search and SEO is called Site Merchandising.
I am familiar with what other eCommerce companies call their roles that handle similar functions, and when they are all combined the team is called Production.
posted by elvissa at 3:24 PM on February 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
- The collection of vendor info (images and copy) is Sample Management. This can also include handling physical vendor samples to obtain product info and coordination of photography.
- The final product description portion is handled by a team called Product Copy.
- The size, color, feature and classification portion is handled by a team called Item Setup.
- The team that handles search and SEO is called Site Merchandising.
I am familiar with what other eCommerce companies call their roles that handle similar functions, and when they are all combined the team is called Production.
posted by elvissa at 3:24 PM on February 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I do a lot of that and am an eCommerce manager, other times I’ve seen it as Online Retail Manager or Online Warehouse Manager although that one tends to lump in fulfillment as well.
posted by furtive at 6:41 PM on February 17, 2018
posted by furtive at 6:41 PM on February 17, 2018
I work in E-commerce for Best Buy, and each of those jobs is specialized into its own role, due to the sheer volume of products that we manage. If you’re looking at large retailers then you’re not likely to find a generalist position like that. You would find product specialists, or people who work with vendors, or a team that coordinates the photography and SKU information, or an SEO team, or a data management team, but all told the e-commerce division is hundreds of people.
But there’s a big difference between e-commerce where you’re selling other people’s products on your site, and selling your products on other people’s sites. Your experience would absolutely translate and be valuable, no problem, but if you’re looking at large retailers then you would do better to differentiate your experience in those roles more clearly.
I feel like LinkedIn would be a good environment for you because you could detail all of that and let recruiters find you, which they certainly will, and to focus on keywords rather than titles.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:20 PM on February 17, 2018
But there’s a big difference between e-commerce where you’re selling other people’s products on your site, and selling your products on other people’s sites. Your experience would absolutely translate and be valuable, no problem, but if you’re looking at large retailers then you would do better to differentiate your experience in those roles more clearly.
I feel like LinkedIn would be a good environment for you because you could detail all of that and let recruiters find you, which they certainly will, and to focus on keywords rather than titles.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:20 PM on February 17, 2018
Best answer: eCommerce Merchandiser (verb definition)
posted by rhizome at 10:08 PM on February 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 10:08 PM on February 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Best answer: as a guy who works with eComm, PIM, ERP etc., my first thought goes to the software you're using while doing your job. You mentioned ChannelAdvisor and Netsuite. If you work in other software suites, include them too, and do some LinkedIn searches for others with that in their profile - might be a bit of a needle in a haystack, but at least it's a smaller haystack. Also, be sure to include those software suites that you work in on YOUR online job profiles, as people tend to look not just for people with the job skills per se, but experience in the specific software they're using.
Some terms that also come to mind to search on titles might be:
online content management/manager - this may more normally apply to editorial/creative/social but look around in this area
product marketing
product information specialist
product information management
I think you're going to find that you're going to have to conduct a lot of different searches and continually brainstorm and evolve your search terms, as the work you do (like most jobs) is a bit specific and granular, and different companies might divide it differently.
Also, don't forget to look at higher level titles if you are looking to move up. You might be more than qualified to be purchasing manager or eComm manager at a different sized company.
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:25 AM on February 18, 2018
Some terms that also come to mind to search on titles might be:
online content management/manager - this may more normally apply to editorial/creative/social but look around in this area
product marketing
product information specialist
product information management
I think you're going to find that you're going to have to conduct a lot of different searches and continually brainstorm and evolve your search terms, as the work you do (like most jobs) is a bit specific and granular, and different companies might divide it differently.
Also, don't forget to look at higher level titles if you are looking to move up. You might be more than qualified to be purchasing manager or eComm manager at a different sized company.
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:25 AM on February 18, 2018
Came in to chime in Site Merchandiser. In the companies I've worked at, the more senior ones would also report weekly sell-through and be accountable for sales and budgets.
posted by like_neon at 1:45 AM on February 19, 2018
posted by like_neon at 1:45 AM on February 19, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ananci at 3:15 PM on February 17, 2018