Career Sectors: Business

• Recruitment and contracts – Finding the right person for a vacancy and agreeing the terms of that employment.
• Employee relations and welfare – Ensuring that staff are happy in their roles and managing such issues as disagreements or changes in circumstances.
• Employment law and health and safety – Ensuring that the company complies with, and keeps up to date with, government regulations, such as those covering working conditions.
• Pay and benefits – Making certain that maternity and paternity pay, sickness pay, holidays, pensions and any other benefits the company offers are paid and that tax and National Insurance payments are made to the government.
• Training, coaching and development – This may include telling staff about changes in industry practices, helping staff gain new skills to use within the company and developing staff through ongoing mentoring and training.

Depending on the size of the business, HR professionals can cover all the above or specialise in key areas, such as recruitment or training. Most HR jobs involve working for just one organisation and being directly employed by it. However, you could work for an HR agency: these offer one or more of the above services to other businesses and charge a fee for each aspect of the expertise they use, such as for each vacancy filled. 

Why work in marketing?

• To work primarily in an office, with some travel to visit clients and attend events.
• To be part of a young, dynamic and sociable team, working in a fast-moving, well-paying and highly creative industry.
• To work in a sometimes highly stressful and pressurised, yet incredibly rewarding environment.
• To join an in-demand sector with the chance to work with the latest digital communications technologies.
• Salaries to vary greatly depending on role, region, experience and type of organisation.
• An opportunity to work alongside some of the most popular and recognisable brands.
• Plenty of career choice and the flexibility to specialise in a particular area or transition into a related field.
• Freelancing to be a viable option, particularly in PR, exhibitions and copywriting.

Which marketing skills do employers want?

Employers in the creative industries typically seek people with:

• A good understanding of digital marketing techniques.
• Analytical and numerical skills.
• Commercial awareness.
• Communication, interpersonal and teamworking skills.
• Creativity, innovation, initiative and imagination.
• Customer service skills.
• Flexibility.
• Negotiation skills.
• Organisational skills.
• The ability to work under pressure.
• The confidence to pitch, present and justify your ideas.

Typical duties include:

• Preparing accounts and tax returns.
• Auditing financial information.
• Compiling and presenting reports, budgets, business plans, commentaries and financial statements.
• Analysing business plans.
• Providing tax planning services based on current legislation.
• Financial forecasting and risk analysis.
• Dealing with insolvency situations.
• Negotiating the terms of business deals with clients.
• Meeting and interviewing clients.
• Managing colleagues.

Employers Include:

• Private accountancy firms.
• Professional services firms.
• Banks.
• Charities and not for profit organisations.
• Commercial and corporate organisations.
• Governmental bodies.
• Public sector bodies.