Business Careers: Options, Job Titles, and Descriptions

Careers in business are wide-ranging, and any list of job titles is only going to scratch the surface of potential positions and career paths you can pursue. With that in mind, it's a good idea to be familiar with various job titles in order to get you thinking about what type of business career is a match for you.

Some titles exist in virtually every aspect of every industry, such as administrative assistant, office manager, branch manager, and operations manager. Others are specific to certain divisions that most, but not all, businesses have, such as accounting or human relations or resources.

Other job titles are specific to certain industries, such as finance or insurance. There are also job titles that are specific to international business and international affairs.

The same job can go by many different names, and if you don’t like your current title, it might be possible that your manager will let you change it as long as you ask and provide good reasons.

List of Business Job Titles

Accounting

Accounting involves keeping track of the finances of businesses and, at times, of individuals. In general, the responsibility of an accountant is two-fold: to make sure money is not lost accidentally through simple error and also to ensure that all applicable laws and regulations are followed.

Some accountants work within businesses, organizations, or government agencies and serve simply to keep their employers' accounts in order. These include bookkeepers, comptrollers, and treasurers.

Other accountants work for specialized accounting firms, such as credit managers and tax specialists. Accountants can also find good jobs in the federal government, where they serve in a regulatory or enforcement capacity (such as auditors). Many are involved in tax preparation and may work for individual clients.

These are some job titles most often associated with accounting:

Accounts receivable/payable specialist
Assessor
Auditor
Bookkeeper
Budget analyst
Cash manager
Chief financial officer
Controller
Credit manager
Tax specialist
Treasurer

Human Resources

As businesses grow, they often create human resources departments to manage and enact the often-extensive policies and regulations involved in the management of employees. Titles here can be rather general, such as human resources manager and employee relations specialist, or very focused, such as benefits officer, retirement plan counselor, and compensation analyst.

These are some common titles:

Benefits officer
Compensation analyst
Employee relations specialist
HR coordinator
HR specialist
Retirement plan counselor
Staffing consultant
Union organizer

Finance

There are many career avenues to pursue in financial management, also sometimes called fiscal management or wealth management. In these jobs, you help individuals and businesses manage their finances.

Financial advisers work as consultants to individuals or businesses. The compensation structure often includes residuals, meaning that work performed years earlier continues to pay. As a result, financial advisers can be very well compensated and have very flexible workloads.

Hedge fund managers and hedge fund traders work for very specific types of high-risk/high-return investment opportunities that investors can buy into. Loan officers and mortgage bankers are involved in types of finance more familiar to most people: the lending of money for business or real estate purposes.

Here are some of the many job titles common to a career in financial management:

Certified financial planner
Chartered wealth manager
Credit analyst
Credit manager
Financial analyst
Hedge fund manager
Hedge fund principal
Hedge fund trader
Investment advisor
Investment banker
Investor relations officer
Leveraged buyout investor
Loan officer
Mortgage banker
Mutual fund analyst
Portfolio management marketing
Portfolio manager
Ratings analyst
Stockbroker
Trust officer

Information Technology (IT) and Digital Media

Just about every employer relies on information technology. Some larger businesses or organizations create their own IT departments, while smaller ones might hire a single IT specialist or rely on outside contractors. There also are businesses that specialize in various aspects of information technology, such as software development. For individuals who have the right skills, IT is a very reliable source of employment.

These are some job titles you're likely to find in IT:

Business systems analyst
Content manager
Content strategist
Database administrator
Digital marketing manager
Full stack developer
Information architect
Marketing technologist
Mobile developer
Project manager
Social media manager
Software engineer
Systems engineer
Software developer
Systems administrator
User interface specialist
Web analytics developer
Web developer
Webmaster

Insurance Job Titles

Working in the insurance industry involves helping people and businesses guard against financial loss and manage risks. Common careers involve sales or claims adjusting, but these are some of the other titles you're likely to find in the industry:

Actuary
Claims adjuster
Damage appraiser
Insurance adjuster
Insurance agent
Insurance appraiser
Insurance broker
Insurance claims examiner
Insurance investigator
Loss control specialist
Underwriter

Real Estate

Real estate careers usually involve either residential or commercial properties. Residential real estate deals in personal properties while commercial real estate focuses on business properties. You can specialize in the buying and selling of commercial (business) properties or the brokering of purchases and sales of the businesses themselves.

These real estate job titles include both residential and business real estate:

Business broker
Business transfer agent
Commercial appraiser
Commercial real estate agent
Commercial real estate broker
Real estate appraiser
Real estate officer
Residential appraiser
Residential real estate agent
Residential real estate broker

Tips for Applying for Business Jobs

Once you’ve decided which career field in business interests you the most, you’ll be ready to create an effective resume to target specific job opportunities. The best guide to how you should structure your resume is the job listing to which you are applying – scan it for the keyword skills the employer mentions in the “Responsibilities” and “Qualifications” sections, then match your qualifications as closely as you can in the text of your resume to the particular business skills listed in the ad.

You should also echo the language of the job listing in your cover letter– for tips to make your cover letter stand out, have a look at these cover letter samples for business and administration.