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Industry

19 January, 2016 - 17:43

The industry you target is the type of business in which you want to work. Industries include the following examples:

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Food
  • Fashion
  • Health care, pharmaceuticals, and biotech
  • Hospitality and leisure
  • Financial services
  • Government
  • Legal
  • Luxury goods
  • Management consulting
  • Manufacturing
  • Media and entertainment
  • Nonprofit causes
  • Retail
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Telecommunications
  • Transportation, aerospace, and automotive

These are just some examples, and they are of very broad industry categories. You can specify even further into subcategories. You will want to subcategorize because if you pick too broad an industry, you will have the same dilution-of-efforts problem as if you haven’t specified an industry at all.

If you look at the arts, subcategories include the following examples:

  • Type of art—visual, performing
  • Type of organization—venues for exhibiting and performing, arts education, artist support, art supplies
  • Sector—nonprofit (e.g., Lincoln Center, a venue for performing arts), private sector (e.g., Warner Music Group, a record label), government (e.g., National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency supporting artists and arts organizations)

It is not enough to say, “I want a job in the arts.” Do you mean visual arts, as in painting or sculpting? Do you mean you’d like to work in a venue, such as a museum or a theater? Do you want to work for educational programs that focus on the arts? Do you want to work in support of artists—at a foundation that gives grants for creative projects, or at an artists’ union? Do you want to be in and around artists, selling or manufacturing art supplies? Finally, you can be in the arts and work for a nonprofit, a private company, or a government agency. Each of these sectors is very different.

In a later section of this chapter, we will give ideas for how to explore different industries and the different subcategories of your industry choices to see what might be right for you. In Chapter 6 on research, we will talk about how to research industries for specific organizations and company names and other information that will help you find the jobs you want. You can see already how useful it can be to focus on being specific. Being specific in describing the jobs you want is necessary to find where those jobs are.

Let’s take another example from the list so you can get more ideas on how to break an industry down. If you look at energy, the following subcategories are included:

  • Types of energy—oil, gas, coal, nuclear, alternative
  • Types of organizations—exploration companies, utilities, research firms, regulatory agencies, equipment and support, capital raising
  • Sector—nonprofit (the US Energy Association, a nonprofit professional association), private sector (e.g.,Exxon Mobil, an oil and gas company), government (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency)

If you are interested in energy, you could work for a private company that is involved in many types of energy and at many stages, from exploration to delivery. You could research energy-related issues for a nonprofit. You could be focused on regulations for a government agency. There are multiple, different possibilities for that single energy industry choice.

Finally, let’s look at sports as a possible interest. Perhaps you have been a longtime athlete or a diehard fan. Can you take a personal interest and make it into a career?

  • Types of sports—a specific sport (e.g., football) or sports in general
  • Types of organizations—sports team (e.g., New York Giants), sports league (e.g., NFL), sports venue (e.g.,

Madison Square Garden, Meadowlands), sports program (e.g., an after-school program dedicated to foster competitive skills among youth), sports product (e.g., Under Armour), sports retailer (e.g.,

FootLocker), sports business (e.g., agencies who represent athletes, marketing and advertising firms who help companies with sports-related campaigns)

  • Sector—nonprofit (e.g., Turn 2 Foundation, which supports sports programs and is funded by Derek Jeter, a professional baseball player), private sector (e.g., Under Armour, FootLocker), government (local departments of parks and recreation)

If you are interested in sports, you might focus on a specific team or sport and look at different organizations involved with that team. Or you might focus on sports in general—perhaps take on the mission of expanding the spectator base, increasing participation among youth, or determining the impact of sports on culture.

Here is a list of possible subcategories for common industries:

Table 3.1 List of Industry with Examples of Subcategories for Each

Overall Industry

Subcategories

Arts

Visual or performing arts
Venues
Education
Artist support and marketing
Arts-related products

Education

Early, elementary, middle school, secondary school, higher education, adult,
corporate, and executive
Independent, alternative and charter, public
Regulation and advocacy
Research
Pedagogy

Energy

Oil, gas, coal, nuclear, alternative
Exploration
Utilities
Research
Regulation and safety
Equipment
Capital raising

Food

Catering
Restaurants
Corporate services
Media and journalism
Nutrition science
Regulation and safety
Human rights and food access

Fashion

Retail
Design
Manufacturing
Buying
Media and journalism

Health care, pharmaceuticals,

biotech

Hospitals, clinics
Pharmacies
Medical equipment
Research
Regulation and safety
Human rights, medical care access, patient advocacy, privacy
Insurance

Hospitality and leisure

Hotels, resorts, spas
Leisure versus commercial
Booking and sales
Event planning
Equipment and operations

Financial services

Accounting and audit
Commercial banking
Private banking and asset management
Investment banking
Retail banking
Insurance
Regulation
Consumer advocacy and protection

Government

Federal, state, municipal
Constituents represented (e.g., artists, children, elderly, small business)
Industries represented (e.g., arts, education, health care, banking)

Legal

Professional services, in-house
Criminal, civil
Family, immigration, litigation
Research
Operations and document processing
Regulation
Public defender

Luxury goods

Retail
Design
Manufacturing
Media and journalism

Management consulting

Functional specialists: HR, economics, sales, general strategy, technology
Industry specialists: financial services, pharmaceutical, nonprofits

Manufacturing

Equipment
Regulation and safety
Union relations
Capital financing

Media and entertainment

Film, TV, publishing, digital
Content production
Distribution
Marketing
Advertising
Research
Regulation and monitoring

Nonprofit causes

Mission based (e.g., ending poverty, eradicating polio)
Constituent based (e.g., advocating for the homeless, protecting consumers)
Programs
Foundations

Retail

Product based (e.g., clothing, office equipment)
Customer based (e.g., children’s, women’s)

Sports

Specific sport or sports in general
Sports team
Sports league
Sports venue
Sports-related education
Sports products and equipment
Sports retailers
Sports agencies, marketing, or advertising

Technology

Hardware
Software
Services
Regulation
Advocacy (e.g., privacy, net neutrality)

Telecommunications

Engineering and design
Manufacturing
Utilities
Regulation
Advocacy

Transportation, aerospace, and

automotive

Motor, marine, rail, aerospace
Leisure versus commercial use
Engineering and design
Manufacturing
Logistics
Regulation and safety
Consumer protection and access