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Business Management and Operations - Careers

Business Management and Operations

General Manager

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A General Manager manages all aspects of a business. May be responsible for managing a small business, or managing one division or department of a larger business. Oversees administration, finance, communication and marketing as well as operations for a company. Reports to business owners, executive management or a board of directors.

Job Outlook

There were 1299 General Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 35129 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the General Manager industry, which includes the General Manager career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new General Manager jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $114,212.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $111,164.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for General Manager postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $94,172.

Education and Experience

Posted General Manager jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree35.21%
Master's Degree3.74%
Doctoral Degree0.4%
Other21.15%

Posted General Manager jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years39.09%
3 to 5 years48.04%
6 to 8 years6.32%
9+ years6.54%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills General Manager positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Sales (57.46%)
  • Management (56.88%)
  • Customer Service (49.53%)
  • Leadership (48.54%)
  • Communication (47.24%)
  • Operations (46.84%)
  • Coaching (30.15%)
  • Scheduling (17.26%)
  • Business Acumen (16.14%)
  • Budgeting (13.91%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Profitability Management (12.7%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Profit And Loss (P&L) Management (43.92%)
  • Calculations (12.56%)
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (14.18%)
  • Performance Appraisal (12.28%)
  • Finance (6.62%)
  • Selling Techniques (11.54%)
  • Gross Profit (12.51%)
  • Marketing (25.11%)
  • Inventory Management System (12.56%)
  • Restaurant Operation (16.74%)
  • Merchandising (16.8%)
  • Product Quality (QA/QC) (13.74%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Profitability Management (100%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with General Manager skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • General Manager In Training
  • Store General Manager
  • Division General Manager
  • Team Manager
  • Retail General Manager
  • Assistant Manager
  • Drug General Manager
  • Assistant Center Manager
  • Manager-in-Training

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most General Manager jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Advance Auto Parts (2280)
  • Arby's (785)
  • CAVA (688)
  • Caliber Collision (628)
  • Panera Bread (595)
  • Extended Stay America (523)
  • Gap (486)
  • Old Navy (479)
  • Domino's Pizza (466)
  • Advance Stores (422)

North Carolina

  • Hardee's (112)
  • Advance Auto Parts (102)
  • Arby's (69)
  • CAVA (59)
  • Caliber Collision (23)
  • Gap (23)
  • Old Navy (22)
  • Wendy's (20)
  • Extended Stay America (20)
  • Gerber Collision & Glass (12)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!