What Types of Business Jobs Are Available?
If you enjoy working hard and thrive in high-stress environments, a career in business could be just what’s needed. Boasting benefits like vacation time and health coverage as well as lucrative salary prospects, such jobs can be extremely fulfilling and satisfying.
However, it’s essential that you identify which business career will best meet your needs.
Human Resources
Human Resources departments within businesses are charged with recruiting and screening job applicants as well as administering employee benefit plans, making this role ideal for someone with strong interpersonal skills.
Talent acquisition strategies often include campus outreach, job fairs and employee referral programs designed to expand a company’s candidate pool. HR leaders also assess training needs among existing employees so they can improve productivity and performance.
Human Resources Departments are charged with overseeing all aspects of an employee’s life cycle from initial job application through final severance, including strategies for payroll, benefits administration, upskilling programs and employer-employee relations. Their duties may also include formulating policies which promote positive work culture such as flexible work options or generous parental leave programs as well as mentoring programs for mentoring purposes. Legal compliance issues related to hiring practices as well as worker disputes will also be managed within this division.
Marketing & Sales
Marketing in a business setting refers to the activities undertaken to lead customers towards purchases and ongoing relationships with your organization. This process, often known as funneling, is at the core of marketing activities and involves devising strategies for turning prospective customers into leads that Sales can convert into paying customers.
Marketing may focus on cultivating prospects, but sales is the frontline that engages directly with current and potential customers, communicating directly, negotiating prices and terms, creating special offers or freebies to win them over, as well as upselling and cross-selling new products to existing ones.
As part of their small business strategy, many small companies add a marketing person or team to assist the sales staff and reduce stress levels. This additional staff may perform research to measure market size accurately and select suitable markets and channels for advertising and promotions, along with providing metrics, industry data and creative support – an additional person or team can prove very valuable in supporting sales efforts.
Operations & General Manager
General managers oversee the day-to-day activities of their company as well as create and follow strategies to expand it. Working closely with department heads, general managers establish operational policies, train staff members, and communicate company goals across their organization. General managers can be found almost everywhere including government bodies, non-profits and educational institutes.
Senior managers oversee marketing, operations, and financial departments. To be effective at this job, they require excellent business acumen and leadership abilities; possess a deep knowledge of all departments’ interactions; are adept at resolving conflicts among them and frequently travel between offices to meet with teams they oversee and clients alike – for which a valid passport may be needed when undertaking international work trips.
General managers (GMs) must meet revenue and profit targets set forth by their Chief Executive Officer. A good general manager focuses on results-orientation while managing budgets by keeping tabs on which line items help increase sales and balancing budgets accordingly. Furthermore, they can quickly identify any problems or potential solutions and address them quickly.
Business Owner
Business owners (sometimes known as entrepreneurs) usually start their own companies, although they may take on this role after one is already operating. Their primary responsibilities include creating the financial plan, mentoring staff members and sharing product or services with customers. Furthermore, they need to know the laws regarding employees and payroll processes – reviewing sales reports against short- and long-term goals is part of their job duties as well.
Work environments of business owners vary based on their industry and product or service offering; however, typically a storefront, office space or production facilities. When needed they also travel between them as necessary. Marketing, customer service and financial management skills typically appear on business owner resumes; unlike general managers/partners who often earn higher annual salaries. Business owners generally lack higher education.
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