Business Studies is currently one of the fastest growing higher education courses in the UK. Although the reasons for this might seem simple, i.e. the changing financial climate and the growing negativity towards working for faceless multinationals and conglomerates, it can also seen to be due to the increasing accessibility of Business courses, for example via distance learning courses. However, it is not always clear exactly what jobs are suited to Business Studies graduates. So what are the perfect jobs for the thousands of Business Studies graduates.
One seemingly ever-growing sector of Business jobs is Marketing. The role of a Marketing Executive today is typically fast paced and changing, as well as being incredibly varied and diverse. Although it may seem that these types of jobs are normally associated with retail and media, public sector organizations also tend to have a marketing department and marketing agencies themselves deal with a wide range of clients from charities to banks.
Similarly, many Business Studies graduates move into the advertising sector. Advertising Account Executives are those who communicate between the business and the agencies handling the advertising. Roles can be administrative and include a degree of organization whilst overseeing the work of staff and the progression of each campaign. Monitoring budgets and securing deals are also priority aspects of this role.
Many Business graduates express an interest specifically in retail. The role of the Retail Merchandiser is fairly straightforward, they are responsible for the certain products being in the right shops at the right time. Again, this is a varied job due to the diversity of the retail sector and the companies therein. Product ranges need to be planned, and this involves working with sellers, manufacturers and distributors. Of course, once the products are on the shelves, it is then the Retail Merchandiser's job to monitor the selling success (or lack) of each and every product.
The role of the Sales Executive takes on similar work to the above but varies again. Sales Executives are responsible for maximising the sales of a companies goods, in particular: FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods, i.e. food), clothes, IT software, and services. Sales executives are called upon to liaise with customers and potential customers for new business. They also need a good head for budgets, trends of markets and customers, and also need to be on top of their own sales performance.