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Job outlook for business partners in the United States
Business partner job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected business partner job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 33,700 new jobs for business partners are projected over the next decade.
Business partner salaries have increased 8% for business partners in the last 5 years.
There are over 22,625 business partners currently employed in the United States.
There are 106,251 active business partner job openings in the US.
The average business partner salary is $96,324.
Are business partner jobs in demand?
Business partner job and salary trends over time
Business partner jobs over time
Business partner job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22,625 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 20,823 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 20,544 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 18,939 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 17,506 | 0.01% |
Average business partner salary over time
Business partner salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $96,324 | $46.31 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $92,719 | $44.58 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $90,985 | $43.74 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $89,589 | $43.07 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | $88,878 | $42.73 | +1.9% |
Business partner jobs by state
Most common states for business partners
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 421 | 61% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,564 | 23% |
| 3 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,247 | 22% |
| 4 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 398 | 21% |
| 5 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 223 | 21% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 217 | 20% |
| 7 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 166 | 19% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 138 | 19% |
| 9 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 509 | 17% |
| 10 | Vermont | 623,657 | 103 | 17% |
| 11 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,317 | 16% |
| 12 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 969 | 16% |
| 13 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 683 | 16% |
| 14 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 505 | 16% |
| 15 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 474 | 16% |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 215 | 16% |
| 17 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,082 | 15% |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 882 | 15% |
| 19 | California | 39,536,653 | 5,433 | 14% |
| 20 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,261 | 14% |
Most common cities for business partners
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dover | 6 | 16% | $95,108 |
| 2 | Annapolis | 6 | 15% | $95,479 |
| 3 | Cambridge | 12 | 11% | $102,455 |
| 4 | Mountain View | 7 | 9% | $128,705 |
| 5 | Hartford | 7 | 6% | $96,829 |
| 6 | Lansing | 6 | 5% | $97,172 |
| 7 | Topeka | 6 | 5% | $73,106 |
| 8 | Baton Rouge | 6 | 3% | $70,655 |
| 9 | Little Rock | 6 | 3% | $85,325 |
| 10 | Boston | 12 | 2% | $102,487 |
| 11 | Atlanta | 11 | 2% | $87,050 |
| 12 | Urban Honolulu | 6 | 2% | $76,428 |
| 13 | Denver | 10 | 1% | $81,946 |
| 14 | Phoenix | 9 | 1% | $89,439 |
| 15 | Washington | 8 | 1% | $112,327 |
| 16 | Indianapolis | 7 | 1% | $86,886 |
| 17 | Sacramento | 6 | 1% | $129,270 |
| 18 | Chicago | 6 | 0% | $96,094 |
Business Partner job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of business partner experts
University of West Florida
SUNY Plattsburgh
University Of Puget Sound
Lewis-Clark State College
Wayne State University
Pennsylvania State University - Greater Allegheny
Landmark College
University of Saint Mary
Coastal Carolina University
Northwestern Michigan College
University of West Georgia
Tiffin University
The Pennsylvania State University
Bucknell University
University of Central Missouri
What Business Partner skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Kim Roberts: Business professionals lead organizations by focused efforts that revolve around products/services, processes, and people. Business professionals work to ensure the firm's products and/or services meet customer expectations, with an eye toward an ever-changing market. They manage processes that produce or support the firm's products. This requires the ability to analyze data to make informed decisions, to drive continuous improvement, and to solve problems through critical thinking. Successful business professionals must also create climates that promote teamwork and foster collaboration.
What will help Business Partners increase their earning potential?
Dr. Haris Alibašić Ph.D., MPA: "In the next 3-5 years, specific skills are poised to become increasingly important in business: Data Literacy, Digital Proficiency, Emotional Intelligence, Sustainability, Resilience, and Social Responsibility. However, the most necessary lasting skill that benefited my career is Effective Communication. Being able to communicate effectively is an indispensable skill."
Dr. Laurent Josien
Associate Professor, Chair of the Marketing and Entrepreneurship DepartmentSUNY Plattsburgh
Marketing and Entrepreneurship Department
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Dr. Laurent Josien: Excel is an important skill to have. Having a certification is a big plus to have on your resume. Not a skill, but having some internship experience is also a high-value item on your resume.
Andreas Udbye Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorUniversity Of Puget Sound
School of Business and Leadership
What soft skills should all Business Partners possess?
Andreas Udbye Ph.D.: Collaboration and teamwork skills are crucial, as well as the ability to focus and meet deadlines. Although it is nice to mention that you are a good multi-tasker, most people are these days, and employers seem to like people who can stay the course and complete tasks on time and with high quality. Tenacity and accuracy are other attractive attributes.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Business Partners?
Jenny Scott: Consulting requires knowing the job itself, so industry experience is paramount.
Both "big picture/systems" thinking, as well as the ability to identify and understand details (analytical skills), is key skill in business consulting.
Don't forget the value of written communication skills. With fewer in-person meetings, being able to professionally, succinctly, and effectively write is one of the most coveted and essential skills.
Presentation skills are still - if not more - important today. Being familiar with a variety of presentation tools and platforms can be helpful; however, finding one or a few where you can be highly proficient will help achieve both efficiencies of communications, message delivery, and desired outcome.
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.
Professor of Marketing and International Business, Director, Doctoral ProgramsWayne State University
Mike Ilitch School of Business
What skills will help Business Partners earn the most?
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.: Portfolio of the above three with different weights depending on context.
Bernie Cerasaro
Assistant Teaching ProfessorPennsylvania State University - Greater Allegheny
Business Department
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Bernie Cerasaro: Skills employers would be looking for would be functional skills and interpersonal skills. Functional skills should stand out on a resume and be aligned to the business job in question. For example, if focused on marketing positions, marketing skills such as data analytics, market research, consumer behavior, global marketing, and professional selling skills would be areas for which employers would be looking. If the job market is looking for someone in accounting, then functional skills that would stand out would be intermediate financial accounting skills and courses on taxation and auditing. For those seeking positions in project management or supply chain management, skills that would stand out would encompass subject matter such as project management, portfolio management, operations planning and control, purchasing and materials management, and knowledge of ERP type systems and other business processes.
Skill sets can be enhanced via various types of certification. For example, those interested in accounting might pursue a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license, which requires 150 credits. As most universities require 120 credits for a bachelor's degree in business, a CPA would require just an additional 30 credits, which students can start accumulating while still at college. Project management certification is also an opportunity to enhance the aforementioned skills and would certainly stand out on an applicant's resume. The Project Management Institute (PMI) promotes PMP certification, which validates that you are highly skilled in soft skills to lead project teams and have the required technical aspects of managing projects. Some universities are working with the PMI to have PMI-approved courses. Approved courses are used toward the PMP training hours required to sit for the exam. For example, Penn State University has received approval for two such courses, Portfolio Management and Organizations and Project Planning and Resource Management.
Due to the high rate of interaction with the global marketplace and the complexity of international business, managers are looking more closely at applicants who have some familiarity with global markets and international culture, such as applicants who may have study abroad experience, traveled internationally, speak a foreign language or have lived or worked in another country.
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Dr. Jeanette Landin: Skills that stand out on contemporary business manager resumes are soft skills. Business managers indeed need insight and knowledge about the business and hard skills, including financial and other technical skills. What stands out on contemporary, successful business manager resumes are their soft skills. Interpersonal skills are atop the list because business is all about people working with other people to achieve a common goal: The business's mission. The people skills of communication, collaboration, and delegation are a vital part of the manager's ability to influence colleagues, delegate work, and achieve the company's mission.
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Business Partners?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Business Partners earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
What soft skills should all Business Partners possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
Sourav Batabyal Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Finance and EconomicsCoastal Carolina University
Finance and Economics Department
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Sourav Batabyal Ph.D.: Problem-solving, Creative thinking, Data Analytics, Competitive Strategies, Communication, Leadership and Team Building, Decision making.
Kristy Berak McDonald
Experiential Learning Institute DirectorNorthwestern Michigan College
Business Academic Area Faculty
What soft skills should all Business Partners possess?
Kristy Berak McDonald: This is what I teach, so I love this question. Soft skills are the hard skills to teach because they really should be taught from a young age, and many times the student has never heard of soft skills. I think all soft skills are the most important, but in terms of being a business student, Dependability, life-long learner, strong communicator, attention to detail, adaptability, and empathy are my top priority.
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.
Chair and ProfessorUniversity of West Georgia
Department of Management in the Richards College of Business
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.: Given the recent pandemic, many employers are looking for employees who can easily adjust to changing conditions and adapt to working online if necessary. Thus, resumes that demonstrate a candidate is flexible, creative, and self-disciplined are going to be attractive. Additionally, the extent to which a candidate can show excellent time-management skills will likely create more opportunities in the job market.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Business Partners?
Thomas Gainey Ph.D.: With the recent pandemic and the growing reliance on technology to perform many jobs, individuals have been forced to quickly develop or strengthen their technical skills. And these technical skills are in high demand by employers. Individuals with knowledge and experience with enterprise systems, Microsoft Office applications, and popular programming languages will have a significant advantage.
Dr. Bonnie Tiell
Professor of Sport ManagementTiffin University
School of Business
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
Dr. Bonnie Tiell: Experience and proven record of accomplishments, achievements, and added value to an organization (e.g., demonstration of increasing market shares, sales quotas, membership acquisition, etc.).
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Business Partner resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Business Partners possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Business Partners?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Business Partners earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
Neil Boyd Ph.D.
David J. & Deborah West Professor of Management; Chair, Management and Organizations DepartmentBucknell University
Management and Organizations Department
What skills will help Business Partners earn the most?
Neil Boyd Ph.D.: A combination of hard and soft skills, but at the end of the day, soft skills are critical to truly helping clients. And, for sure, they can be learned. This is a challenge for management education, but places like the Freeman College of Management at Bucknell work hard to develop soft skills in students primarily through coaching, experiential and community-based pedagogies, and professional development programming.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Business Partner job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Dan Jensen: There will be a combination of opportunities and losses across the next 3-5 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many industries will find it difficult to recover such as hospitality (hotels, restaurants, etc.), entertainment (movie theatres, night clubs, casinos, etc.), manufacturing, and educational services. But many industries and career pathways are opening up because of the use of online technologies. Positions that include remote work that leverage technology will remain and probably increase across time. Supply chain, project management, eCommerce, computer science, data science ("big data"), digital content, and artificial intelligence specialists will continue to increasingly be in demand. The healthcare industry has been in flux because of increasing costs but will emerge on the other side of the pandemic with opportunities for nurses, healthcare support staff, and related technologies (e.g., the "electronic healthcare record"). Irrespective of the pandemic, careers in sales or customer relationship management (CRM) will continue to be a popular launching point for recent college graduates.
The recruitment/hiring process is likely to become much longer than in the past and will rely on virtual interviews instead of face-to-face. With a high unemployment rate, it will be more difficult for younger, less experienced candidates to get hired. This is not great news for recent college graduates, but all is not lost.
Networking has always been the number one way that people find work opportunities. The skill is more important than ever. My recommended approach is to: identify a list of companies where you would like to work; research job postings within the company (and apply!) while simultaneously identifying contacts at the company (LinkedIn is a great tool to do this); then reaching out to contacts by using your existing network for an introduction (identify someone you know is already connected to the person you want to meet and ask them to forward a letter of introduction on your behalf). This leads to an "informational interview" (not a job interview); a chance to speak with someone about the company and its culture.