If you’ve landed on this article, you probably have tons of questions about working in the business services industry and are wondering if this is a career path worth pursuing.
Good news – you have come to the right place! Whether you're an entry-level professional or well-established in another industry and looking for a career change, this article is for you!
In this article, we’ll be covering the following topics:
- What Is The Business Services Industry?
- What Companies Are In The Business Services Field?
- What Are The Job Options In Business Services?
- What Are The Skills Needed For Business Services?
- What Do Business Services Jobs Pay?
- Is Business Services A Good Career Path? (Our Verdict)
- How To Build A Job-Winning Business Services Resume
Let’s dig in!
What Is The Business Services Industry?
Business services are companies that offer support and services to other businesses, such as consulting, finance, marketing, human resources, and IT support. These services help companies operate more efficiently and effectively, allowing them to focus on their core business areas.
Companies in the business services field focus on providing expertise, processes, and tools that organizations rely on to run their day-to-day operations smoothly.
What Companies Are In The Business Services Field?
Many companies operate in the business services industry. Here are some examples from different areas:
- Consulting: Companies like McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group provide strategy and management consulting services.
- Financial Services: Firms like Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG offer auditing, tax, and financial advisory services.
- IT Services: Companies such as Accenture, Infosys, and IBM provide IT consulting and technology solutions.
- Human Resources: Companies like ADP and Workday specialize in payroll, recruitment, and HR software services.
- Marketing: Firms like Omnicom, Publicis, and WPP deliver advertising, public relations, and media buying services to clients worldwide.
These companies cover various aspects of business support, allowing organizations to operate efficiently and focus on their goals.
What Are The Job Options In Business Services?
When looking for jobs in the business services industry, you can work in roles within the sector – for example, taking a Finance position at an IT company – or take a position that directly supports business operations and client services.
In this section, we’ll cover the most common jobs that are directly tied to the business services industry.
Jobs In Consulting
Consulting roles provide advisory services to clients, helping them improve business performance and strategy. The most common roles in this area are:
- Management Consultant: Works with clients to develop business strategies and improve organizational efficiency.
- Financial Analyst: Provides financial insights and advice to help businesses make sound financial decisions.
- Business Analyst: Assesses business needs and suggests technology or process solutions.
Jobs In IT Services
IT service roles support clients with technology solutions and infrastructure. The most common roles in this area are:
- IT Consultant: Advises clients on technology solutions to improve business operations.
- Network Administrator: Manages and supports clients’ computer networks to ensure uptime and security.
- Data Analyst: Analyzes client data to provide insights and improve decision-making.
Jobs In Human Resources & Payroll
HR and payroll roles support companies by managing employee relations and compensation. The most common roles in this area are:
- HR Specialist: Manages recruitment, onboarding, and employee relations for client companies.
- Payroll Administrator: Oversees payroll processing and ensures compliance with tax regulations.
- Training Specialist: Develops and delivers training programs to enhance employee skills and knowledge.
What Are The Skills Needed For Business Services?
Learning the skills required for each position is very important. You might have to address some skill gaps or you may already have well-developed skills that you can leverage as you seek a new role.
Here are the required skills for the most common roles in the business services industry:
Entry-Level Roles:
- Communication Skills: Essential for roles in consulting and HR, where conveying information clearly is critical.
- Analytical Thinking: Required for roles like financial analysts to evaluate data and make recommendations.
- Adaptability: Willingness to adapt to various client needs and projects.
Mid-Senior Manager Roles:
- Leadership: The ability to lead, motivate, and manage teams across client-facing functions.
- Strategic Planning: Developing strategies to help clients achieve their goals.
- Project Management: Managing client projects from start to finish, ensuring delivery and client satisfaction.
Mid-Senior Technical Roles:
- Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of IT solutions, finance, or other specialized areas.
- Data Analysis: Using data to improve services and make informed business decisions.
- Problem Solving: The ability to develop innovative solutions to client challenges.
Finding Your Fit With Business Services Roles
Want to find out if you are the right fit for a role in the business services industry?
We've got you covered.
- Head over to LinkedIn and search for business services industry roles.
- Copy the job description of the role that sparked your interest.
- Head over to ResyMatch.io (or use our shortcut below)
- Grab a copy of your most updated resume.
- Upload your resume on the left side.
- Paste the job description on the right side.
- Hit “Start Resume Scan.”
Boom! ResyMatch will compare and score your resume versus the job description and identify skill gaps.
ResyMatch will also provide best practices you can use to improve your resume and will ensure that your resume is ATS compliant (ATS is a software that recruiters use to track candidates through their hiring process).
Use our shortcut below to get started:
Scanning...
What Do Business Services Jobs Pay?
Now that we’ve covered the most common jobs in the business services industry, you might be wondering how much these roles pay.
To answer this question, let’s head over to one of our favorite tools for salary research: Glassdoor.
Glassdoor is one of the world’s top job and recruiting websites where users can anonymously provide information about their companies – including their current salary. Glassdoor provides an average salary range for various roles based on the information sent by its users.
According to Glassdoor, the base salary for the most common business services jobs in 2024 are:
Jobs In Consulting
- Management Consultant: $94K – $168K / year base pay (USD)
- Financial Analyst: $63 – $100K / year base pay (USD)
- Business Analyst: $71K – $120K / year base pay (USD)
Jobs In IT Services
- IT Consultant: $71K – $120K / year base pay (USD)
- Network Administrator: $64K – $98K / year base pay (USD)
- Data Analyst: $69K – $103K / year base pay (USD)
Jobs In Human Resources & Payroll
- HR Specialist: $55K – $89K / year base pay (USD)
- Payroll Administrator: $50K – $73K / year base pay (USD)
- Training Specialist: $56K – $89K / year base pay (USD)
Best Paying Jobs In Business Services Compared To Average U.S. Salary In 2024
Now, let's check what that looks like compared to the average U.S. salary.
According to the Social Security Administration, the average salary in the U.S. is $63,795.
This is what the best-paying jobs in the business services industry look like when we put them in perspective:
Data Analyst, Business Analyst, and Management Consultant are among the highest-paying roles in business services, with an earning potential of up to 163% higher than the U.S. average.
Is Business Services A Good Career Path? (Our Verdict)
Business services is a good career path for people interested in supporting and improving business operations. They generally work in areas such as consulting, finance, tech, human resources, or marketing.
Companies like McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, Accenture, ADP, and Omnicom are leaders in the field.
If you feel like this might be the career path for you, then be sure to dive into the next section where we will cover the best strategies to help you land a job:
How To Build A Job-Winning Business Services Resume
Here's a fact most people don't usually realize: you don't need traditional experience to take on a new role.
You can leverage your unique background, experiences, and skills for nearly any position, as long as you sell it.
Think about your resume as an advertisement for yourself. Like any ad, you want it to be compelling and visually attractive, right?
That's exactly what you will do with your resume!
You will start by:
1. Leveraging The Best Keywords For Your Target Role
Remember ResyMatch.io, that resume and job description scanner tool we mentioned earlier in this article?
We first showed you how you can scan and compare your resume with your target job description to find out how your skills match the role.
However, if you don't have a resume yet, you can still get great insight from this tool by running a job description scan.
Here's how: head over to ResyMatch.io and in “Scan Type,” select “Job Description Scanner.” Then, copy the job description for your target role and paste it into the box on the left.
ResyMatch.io will provide a list of hard and soft skills that apply to the role. You can use these skills as keywords when building your resume.
2. Writing Compelling Resume Bullets
This is where you'll start crafting a resume that sells!
You'll want your resume bullets to have just the right amount of hard and soft skills, action words, measurable results, and common words.
This means a compelling business services industry resume bullet for someone applying for a Management Consultant role might look something like this:
Led a cross-functional team to streamline processes with Lean Six Sigma and data analysis, achieving a 15% cost reduction.
This bullet focuses on specific hard and soft skills that apply to a Management Consultant, while also showcasing measurable results!
To help you write the perfect resume bullet, we've created ResyBullet.io, a free resume bullet analyzer that helps you write your resume in a way that grabs attention and illustrates value. Simply copy and paste your resume bullet below to begin your analysis:
ResyBullet will analyze and score your resume bullet and give you actionable insights for improvement.
Here's how our resume bullet scored on ResyBullet:
3. Make Your Resume Visually Appealing
The last step is to take all of your content and apply it to a layout that is both easy to read and visually appealing. We recommend using a resume template so you can save the time you would normally spend designing your resume and instead allocate it to other high-value activities in your job search (like interview prep and networking).
You can use ResyBuild.io, a free resume builder, to easily build and customize your resume in no time. Just pick one of the templates below and get started:
Free Job-Winning Resume Templates, Build Yours In No Time.
Choose a resume template below to get started:
Choose from 8 proven templates and easily create, edit, and customize your resume. ResyBuild's AI assistant also helps you craft personalized, job-winning bullets in a single click. Simply add your experience, hit “Optimize”, and watch the magic happen.
Ready To Pursue A Business Services Career Path?
Then check out our No Experience, No Problem course and access a proven framework for building the skills and results you need to break into a new industry (even if you have absolutely no relevant experience right now)!
