Business management covers a whole range of skills that are useful in a business setting. If you’ve considered moving into an office or business-related positions, you’ve probably thought about doing a business administration course. This is one of the best ways to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to make your way into a range of roles.
Obtaining a Certificate IV in Business Administration opens a lot of doors for your career. But more than that, it gives you confidence that you can succeed in business administration roles. It’s important to remember, however, that being trained in business administration doesn’t just confine you to basic admin roles. You’ll learn skills that can take you anywhere in the business world.
Which industries need business management skills?
In short, every industry imaginable needs people skilled in business administration. From a local café start-up needing someone to handle accounts, marketing and general administration through to the biggest companies in the world who need experienced business executives. It doesn’t matter whether your passion lies in retail, construction, recruiting, government, automotive or any other industry you can think of. All of them need people skilled in business.
Whether you study through traditional methods or obtain a business administration certificate online, you’ll learn skills across all levels of business, from basic administration, through to marketing and even accounts. This gives you a foot in the door for careers you may never have thought of before.
So, here are some of the most in-demand careers for those with business management skills.
Administrative assistant
An administrative assistant role involves all aspect of clerical office work. Tasks range from answering reception phone calls, greeting guests, scheduling meetings and appointments and supporting staff with general daily tasks. Tasks management software for teams also get involved in specific projects, helping to ensure project coordinators are supported to get everything running smoothly.
When working as an administrative assistant, you have the opportunity to gain exposure to a wide range of other business roles, whether it be through attending meetings and taking minutes or supporting certain departments with priority work. The role varies from company to company, but you certainly learn a lot about office life.
Personal assistant
A personal assistant is quite different to an administrative assistant, although the roles are often confused. Where an admin assistant supports a whole department, team or business, a personal assistant role is more focused on supporting one person. For example, your direct supervisor might be the head of a department, the managing director, or any other member of the executive staff.
Many of the tasks are similar to that of an administrative assistant, such as scheduling appointments, booking travel, maintaining a calendar, answering phones or typing reports. However, you may also be tasked with other duties such as running errands, managing finances and generally helping your supervisor with daily activities.
Human resources and recruiting
There are several roles under the human resources banner that you could move into with a business administration certificate. There are general HR roles, which may include preparing policies, managing employee records, payroll and coordinating training. You could even be involved in onboarding new staff members.
You could also work more specifically in recruitment, whether as part of a larger human resources team or for a recruiting company themselves. Tasks might include sorting resumes, screening applicants, conducting interviews or liaising with employers to determine their needs.
Office manager
The role of an office manager is very broad and can vary depending on who you work for. In some ways, it can be seen as the next step up from an administrative assistant. While the office manager still has some admin responsibilities such as answering phones, filing, scheduling appointments and more, there is an extra level of responsibility.
The office manager is usually responsible for overseeing the work of other administrative staff. This could involve delegating work, reviewing performance and training staff. In addition, they’re responsible for the smooth operation of the office, so there may be tasks associated with managing budgets, ordering and maintaining supply levels and running meeting/conference rooms.
Accounts positions
While it’s difficult to get into an actual accounting role without some form of accounting training, there are several supporting roles you can obtain with a certificate in business administration. Larger companies may have one actual accountant, but many people working underneath to manage daily, weekly and monthly accounting tasks. For example, you could be an accounts payable or receivable officer. This would mean managing incoming invoices, making payment, and also issuing invoices to clients and monitoring for payment.
Payroll also sometimes falls into the realm of the accounts department, so this may also be an area of interest.
Sales representative
Many people think of the sales representative role as a retail position, but that’s not really the case. Certainly, retail businesses have sales representatives, customer service staff and so on, but in a lot of businesses, the sales rep role is quite different.
Rather than serving incoming customers, many sales jobs involve finding new clients or customers. Some of the tasks overlap between the retail and business environments, such as helping customers with product questions and making sales. But a sales rep may have added responsibilities such as negotiating contracts and converting potential leads into sales.
Client services/account manager
The role of a client services officer is also known as an account manager, depending on the company you work for. Essentially, these are the people who look after significant clients to make sure they’re happy. The role may also involve dealing with new clients, but a lot of their time is spent working with existing clients.
Tasks may include being the point of contact for client queries, problem-solving issues for clients, and even negotiating contract issues. The account manager might have additional duties such as overseeing the sales team, implementing sales strategy and staff training.
Data analyst
Data analysts exist in almost every industry, and the role can be quite diverse. Essentially, the job is to analyse data and form it into easy-to-understand information for decision-makers. The data could be anything, from sales figures to customer satisfaction. Ideally, a data analysts’ role should be to find efficiencies, such as identifying parts of the business where expenses are high but returns are limited.
Business consultant
Business consultancy is a booming business in the modern world. Basically, a business consultant analyses performance, processes and procedures, looking for ways a company can streamline their operations. Some organisations employ permanent business consultants, while others might hire from a consultancy firm.
There are plenty of jobs available in business consultancy, and it’s even something you can go out on your own with. The assessments you’re required to deal with anything from employee engagement to service delivery.
Management positions
Finally, there are of course management positions across all industries. These have different names, depending on where you work, such as team leaders, managers, supervisors and even executives. Managers need to have a good understanding of leadership, business practices and ideally, the intricacies of the company they work for.
The beauty of pursuing management roles is the diversity that’s out there. If you’ve got a background in sales, why not look for sales management roles? If you’re a qualified mechanic looking to get off the tools, you can manage an automotive workshop or retail business. Really, there are no limits when it comes to management, and completing a Certificate IV in Business Administration is a great way to start gaining the skills necessary for such roles.
So, if you think your future is in the business world, now is a great time to consider the training you need to reach your goals. From administrative assistants through to executives, it all starts with building your skills and knowledge. And there’s no better way to do that than with training.
META: How far can a Certificate IV in Business Administration take you? We take a look at the most in-demand roles for people skills in business management.
2018 ·
Leave a Reply