For our 2013 year-in-review research, we counted down the fasted growing and declining job titles posted on Workopolis this year.

While putting the numbers together for that project, we also decided to take a look back at some of the stranger job titles we’d seen employers post on our site. We’re no strangers to odd job titles. Here at Workopolis we have a Manager of First Impressions. (That would be Joan, and if you drop by our office, she’s the first person you’ll see.) However, that’s nothing compared to some of these gems.

From a wiener peeler to a manager of mints, there have been interesting-sounding employment opportunities advertised on Workopolis. Here are our ten favourite.

  • Full Time Wiener Peeler (This was for a prepared meat company.)

  • Erection Superintendent (This job title at a construction company raised some eyebrows.)

  • S&M Coordinator (Perhaps whoever posted this job for a Sales & Marketing Coordinator should have rethought their abbreviation.)

  • Shaft and Hoist Specialist (Apparently this is actually a common job in the mining industry. It struck me as funny sounding.)

  • Bung Hole Borer (The person in this role works in wooden furniture repair.)

  • Chick Sexer (It’s not what it sounds like. A chick sexer determines the gender of baby chickens.)

  • Expert Upsetter (My wife thinks I’d be perfect for this – but it’s actually a job setting up and operating a closed-die forging machine.)

  • Cheese Manager (I think my wife would be perfect for this, because well, she really likes cheese.)

  • Ghost Hunter (Literally this was a job posted for someone to hunt ghosts – for a reality TV show.)

  • Manager, Mints & Innovation – (This was for a candy company looking to get more innovative with their mints, I suppose.)

  • Bonus: The Mayor of Montreal – (Yes, earlier this year, after losing several mayors to scandal, the Montreal Chamber of Commerce posted the job of Montreal Mayor on Workopolis. Qualifications included, “Being honest.” This was mostly as a publicity stunt – a new mayor was eventually democratically elected.)

For more out-there jobs, check out photographer Nancy Rica Schiff’s collection of photographs of the oddest jobs in the world from dog food taster to odour examiner.

And for more serious information about labour market trends in 2013 and a look ahead to 2014, you can read the full year-in-review report at http://workopolis.com/research

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Peter Harris
– Peter Harris on Twitter