Page 694 - Business Principles and Management

Chapter 25 • Developing an Effective Organization

25.4 Personal Career Planning

Goals Terms
• Describe the variety of career • entry-level • supervisor/
opportunities in business, includ- occupations management
ing international business careers. • career-level occupations
• Outline the steps in preparing an occupations • executive/
individual career plan. • specialist entrepreneur
occupations occupations
• career portfolio

Business Careers

Business careers are appealing because of the number and variety of jobs avail-
able and the opportunities for advancement. No matter what your interests,
skills, or level of education and experience might be, there is a job in business
that matches them. Once you have obtained your first job and gained both
experience an knowledge of business procedures, many opportunities open up.
You can advance with additional education or with continuing experience and
training on the job.
You can identify career paths in almost any business. If you begin work in a
clerical position, you may progress to more specialized jobs in information man-
agement or office administration. You can then advance from assistant manager
to department manager or to a highly specialized position in either area. Some
people progress to the very top of the company as executives. Similar career paths
are available to people who begin as counter workers in fast-food restaurants,
supply clerks in factories, or bell staff in hotels.
Because common areas of knowledge and skills are important to many types
of businesses, you are not limited to one career path, one type of business, or one
geographic area. People who begin in banking may change to an insurance career.
Someone who is a salesperson for a computer products company may decide to
move to a pharmaceutical company for a higher salary or more responsibilities.
If job prospects are not particularly good in one part of the country, a skilled
businessperson can probably find employment in another region. Career paths
in business are usually very flexible.

LEVELS OF EMPLOYMENT
When you first enter the workforce, you will most likely begin in an entry-level
position. Many people get their first job in business while still in high school, with
little prior work experience and only a beginning understanding of business prin-
ciples and operations. The top positions in large corporations are held by people
with many years of experience. Executives usually have worked in several areas
of the business and often have experience in several businesses. Most business
executives today have a college degree and, increasingly, graduate degrees.

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