I was recently retaliated against and fired from a small nonprofit after six years there. Although my official title was “manager,” my responsibilities were much closer to a director-level role, and part of the retaliation, was being denied a title that matched the scope of the work I was already doing.

I’ve been job searching for five months and have gone through six separate interview processes, mostly for director-level roles, without landing anything. At this point, I’m wondering if I should just change my title on my resume to “Director” because it more accurately reflects the work I was actually doing day to day.

My hesitation is:

• I recently shared my resume with the “Manager” title with references for another role.
• One of those references is a former colleague who knows my actual official title.
• I’m nervous about creating inconsistencies or looking dishonest during a background check or reference process.
• Do I change it on my LinkedIn as well (making the lie public to a larger audience)?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice?