SECTOR BRIEFINGS
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT From multinational companies to city councils, business permeates all organisations. The range of opportunities spans a wide range of functions including strategy, HR, IT, finance, marketing, logistics and sales to name but a few. Many Oxford graduates enter this sector for a career with prospects of early management responsibility, high salaries, excellent benefits and the possibility of working globally. Given the breadth of roles available within business and management, it makes sense to consider the type of business you want to work in (small tech start-up to major supermarket chain) and the sort of role that appeals to your strengths and interests but, generally speaking, management activities include: Defining objectives, allocating resources, meeting targets and taking responsibility for the business decisions. Project work. Recruiting, supervising, motivating and developing staff, to ensure effective teamworking. Effective communication. Controlling finances and managing budgets. Problem solving and dealing with complaints. Managing change. The opportunity to enter general management is often seen as a stepping stone that in time can either remain as a standalone function particularly in a manufacturing or retail organisation, or to carve a particular professional route in one area. Graduates can be recruited by a variety of industries and sectors such as consumer goods, retail, energy, healthcare, transport and leisure. Management and leadership opportunities aside, job titles across ‘business’ can vary significantly and so deciphering what is involved in the role is crucial: if strategy and problem solving really appeal, look out for business analyst graduate roles; for growing a business (including sales), look out for business development executive roles.
• • • • • • •
Getting in and entry points
Many organisations offer management positions that specialise in specific areas, such as technology, marketing, finance, human resources or distribution, all of which have an element of general management work within them.
www.careers.ox.ac.uk
Other graduate schemes offer the chance to try different ‘rotations’ over the course of typically two years before deciding to specialise. Competition for these schemes can be intense. Many of these opportunities will open in August and September with deadlines on a rolling basis. Students who have gained commercial insight via an internship or position of responsibility during their degree are likely to be at an advantage when applying for graduate schemes or management roles. Demonstrating motivation for the business you apply to is essential, as is showing your ability to work with people and build relationships. Deadlines for internship schemes, usually aimed at penultimate-year students, also tend to be in Michaelmas or early Hilary term. If you want to gain some experience in a company that doesn’t appear to advertise an internship, approach them speculatively for some experience or a shadowing opportunity. While multinational corporations offer a number of internships and graduate roles, it’s worth remembering that the majority of businesses are small or medium sized, in which case research businesses in your local area and find out if you can help out with any office tasks or projects during the vacation. Looking further ahead, if your aim is to reach the managing director role in an organisation, most large companies will look for someone with experience in more than one management area and in more than one company so be prepared to work in different businesses across the industry.
Extra-curricular ideas
• Run a mini-business that has to turn a profit, such as a theatrical production or a college ball.
• Make use of the Oxford Foundry, the entrepreneurial centre for Oxford students.
• Sign up for Insight into Strategy and Management, • • •
to learn core elements of strategy, marketing and management and learn how to build a profit-and-loss account. Join The Oxford Strategy Challenge (TOSCA) for an insight into the challenges faced by real businesses and for the opportunity to help solve problems faced by local companies. Become a campus ambassador for a large company (many employers advertise these via CareerConnect). Sign up for other relevant student organisations such as the Oxford Strategy Group and Oxford Women in Business.
More information
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/business-management
83
