Whether you are already a successful business graduate, or rather someone looking for a new career, it can be more than a little bamboozling when researching the vast, ever-changing world of business.
With that being said, continue reading for a comprehensive, yet detailed guide to the plethora of available careers in business.
Table of Contents
Public Relations & Marketing
The world of marketing, promotion, and advertising are fascinating, demanding, and truly exhilarating career choice that is guaranteed to keep you on your toes.
Key skills required to succeed and prosper in marketing include:
- Excellent grammar & punctuation
- The proverbial ‘gift of the gab’
- Supreme attention to detail
- Ability to adapt quickly
- Natural leadership capabilities
- Data Analysis
- Public Speaking
- A Creative Mind
Within the area of marketing, there are a wide plethora of career paths. Digital Marketing is the process of heightening the awareness, visibility, and overall brand awareness of the company. Methods such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, mobile marketing, and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are all employed to reach the end goal as quickly and effectively as possible.
Naturally, the type, size, and general business model of the company you work for can affect the speed at which, if successful, your career in Digital Marketing advances. Generally, however, Digital Marketing interns, if they prove themselves, progress to executives then specialists and go on to become department managers or lead specialists.
Other prominent careers in marketing include product manager, brand manager, inbound marketer, marketing copywriter, and even job roles in graphic design and market research.
Public Relations usually referred to as PR, has more than a few similarities to marketing, however, working in the more cut-throat world of public relations requires a certain unique set of skills and experience. Essentially, working in public relations centers around the careful management of the image and reputation of the client by creating, launching, and overseeing meticulously executed publicity campaigns.
Key skills required to excel in Public Relations include:
- Flexibility & adaptability
- Strong command of the written word
- Natural initiative
- Prioritizing individual jobs
- Connections within the media world
- Excellent time management
- Creativity
- Empathic and sophisticated social skills
- Experience working in media
As in any other area of business, the more experience one has, the more likely the advancement and options for career progression and public relations is no different.
The most difficult stage is getting your foot in the proverbial door in the first place and it is considerably easier and more beneficial to the longevity of your career to start on the agency side instead of an in-house role. After at least a few years of demonstrating you’re staying power and making yourself as indispensable as possible to the company you work for, it is then time to start developing your skills and pushing away from your comfort zone.
The principal career opportunities within the world of Public Relations include an accounting executive, copywriter, fundraiser, marketing coordinator, and direct marketing spokesperson.
Business Management, Intelligence & Administration
Exactly what it says on the proverbial tin, a business management role is basically the coordination and organization of all activities pertaining to the company. Everything a business manager does is with the clear objective of sharpening, modernizing, curtailing, and generally improving the overall success of the business.
Business management requires a specific set of skills, not just ones that relate to leadership, which include:
- Financial acumen & intelligence
- Problem-solving skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Innovative Ways
- Leadership Qualities
- The ability to apply objectivity and perspective
- Creativity
- Adaptability
Business management is an exceedingly competitive area of the world of business, and obviously, the first step is to obtain a business degree. As business is such an incredibly broad spectrum, there are copious different types of business degrees that major in different areas, including economics, accounting, advertising, healthcare management, human resources, finance, advertising, public relations, and supply chain management.
After the acquisition of a business degree from a reputable and established college or university, it is then time to concentrate on improving and expanding your organizational and leadership skills. One of the most effective ways to do this is to subsequently undertake an Organizational Consulting MBA at the postgraduate level.
The fascinating area of business intelligence is one of the more forward-thinking and progressive ways of ensuring the longevity and success of a company.
Essentially, business intelligence, otherwise known as BI, combines data tools and infrastructure, data mining, business analytics, and data visualization to make exceedingly more specific and accurate data-driven decisions. All these elements combine to create modern business intelligence within a company and are the most effective tool for businesses of them all.
Modern business analysis involves using statistics and carefully constructed databases to uncover the current trends in the larger datasets, sharing and comparing data analysis, asking specific data-related questions, and staying abreast of what is going to happen next.
Contrary to popular belief, business administration differs from business management in more than a few ways. While business management deals with the overall management, organization, and leadership of the company, business administration focuses instead on the individual job roles and responsibilities within the business department of a company. Whereas people who pursue a business management role are interested in the overall leadership of a department, those interested in business administration are usually drawn to a specific element within the field of business.
Top qualities and skills someone who is interested in a career in business administration includes:
- Excellent command of the written word
- High standard of IT understanding and usage
- Time management
- Problem-solving
- Delegation and team working skills
- Excellent standard of administrative skills
- Organization
- Planning and research
- The ability to improvise effectively
Human Resources
Human Resources, usually referred to as HR, is the crucial part of a business that essentially deals with anything and everything employee-related. HR takes care of payroll, recruitment, policies, procedures, employment issues, and, perhaps most importantly, acts as a go-between for employees and employers.
If you are considering a career in human resources, it would be pertinent to ask yourself several key questions to ensure that HR is the right career choice for you. Are you interested in the human psyche and what makes people behave the way they do? Are you extremely adept at problem-solving, especially amongst people with differing opinions? Are you someone who generally does not shy away from conflict and awkward situations? Are you what you would describe as a people person, know how to ‘make friends and influence people, and are you able to apply tact and diplomacy to a situation?
If this sounds like you, then a career in human resources would certainly be the right fit for you. Key skills and qualities that employers looking for a human resources manager include:
- Familiarity with Human Resources Information Software (HRIS)
- Scheduling skills
- Customer service experience
- Familiarity with employment law
- Project management expertise
- Employee relations experience
- A knowledge of onboarding and what it involves
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
Accountancy
A business accountant is one of the fundamental necessities to all successful businesses, and as a result, the role is challenging and exceedingly multi-faceted.
The primary roles of a business accountant are:
- Financial forecasting
- Introducing and interviewing clients
- Financial auditing
- Controlling expenditure and income
- Compiling financial statements, commentaries, and budgets
- Presenting business plans and reports
- Preparing tax returns
- Planning tax services adhering to official legislation
- Handling cases of insolvency
Accountancy requires a specific set of skills that are often overlooked by people wanting to pursue a career in the area. Employers looking to recruit a new accountant to take care of all their financial obligations and needs are looking for people with exceedingly high proficiency with information technology, particularly Microsoft Excel, honesty and integrity, an extremely high level of numeracy ability, and extensive analytical skills.
In addition, an ability to motivate oneself and plan and organize one’s time effectively is also a ‘must’, as are interpersonal and communication skills, business interest and acumen, and an approach to their work that is entirely methodical and logical.
As in any challenging yet rewarding career path, working as a professional accountant holds amazing and lifelong advantages and, naturally, several key disadvantages that may make you consider other areas of business instead.
One of the fundamental advantages of a career as an accountant is that there is a clear, set-out career path in front of you, and there will be no surprises or stumbling blocks along the way as you ascend the ladder of accountancy. Other advantages include the fact that accountants have been, are, and always will be a fundamental necessity to any business regardless of the industry; it is a growing and stable field of work and not to mention the earning potential that far exceeds the majority of other careers in business.
However, some people might feel that there are some drawbacks of accountancy, which include the busy season around the end of the financial tax year, the applied stress and pressures, and the monotony of the work.
