Overview
All Chief Executives and Managing Directors
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Stable Future Growth
-
30,800 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
88% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
52 hours Average full-time
-
50 years Average age
-
21% female Gender Share
Chief Executives and Managing Directors determine, formulate and review the general policy programs and the overall direction of organisations within the framework established by boards of directors and similar governing bodies.
Also known as: Chief Executive Officer.
Specialisations: Director-General, Executive Director, Secretary (Government Department).
You usually need extensive managerial experience and relevant sector experience to work as a Chief Executive or Managing Director. While formal qualifications aren't essential, a university degree or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in business or business management may be useful.
Tasks
- determining objectives, strategies, policies and programs for organisations
- providing overall direction and management to organisations
- authorising material, human and financial resources to implement organisational policies and programs
- monitoring and evaluating performance of organisations against organisational objectives and strategies
- consulting with senior subordinate staff and reviewing recommendations and reports
- preparing, or arranging for the preparation of, reports, budgets and forecasts and presenting them to governing bodies
- representing the organisation at official occasions, in negotiations, at conventions, seminars, public hearings and forums, and liaising between areas of responsibility
- selecting and approving the selection of senior staff
- ensuring the organisation complies with company laws and other relevant legislation
Prospects
The number of people working as Chief Executives and Managing Directors (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 50,500 in 2014 to 30,800 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Chief Executives and Managing Directors work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Manufacturing; and Health Care and Social Assistance.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (88%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 52 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 50 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (69%).
- Gender: 21% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You usually need extensive managerial experience and relevant sector experience to work as a Chief Executive or Managing Director. While formal qualifications aren't essential, a university degree or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in business or business management may be useful.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Business Services VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Chief Executives and Managing Directors who have strong communication skills, can interact with a range of people and provide leadership.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Building and construction
Materials, and methods used to construct or repair houses, buildings, or other structures like highways and roads.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Management of financial resources
Figuring out how money is needed to do something, and keeping track of the money that's being spent.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Management of material resources
Providing the right equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do work.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Managing payments and orders
Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Guiding and directing staff
Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 11-1011.00 - Chief Executives.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 11-1011.00 - Chief Executives.
All Chief Executives and Managing Directors
-
Unavailable Weekly Pay
-
Stable Future Growth
-
30,800 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
88% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
52 hours Average full-time
-
50 years Average age
-
21% female Gender Share
Chief Executives and Managing Directors determine, formulate and review the general policy programs and the overall direction of organisations within the framework established by boards of directors and similar governing bodies.
Also known as: Chief Executive Officer.
Specialisations: Director-General, Executive Director, Secretary (Government Department).
You usually need extensive managerial experience and relevant sector experience to work as a Chief Executive or Managing Director. While formal qualifications aren't essential, a university degree or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in business or business management may be useful.
Tasks
- determining objectives, strategies, policies and programs for organisations
- providing overall direction and management to organisations
- authorising material, human and financial resources to implement organisational policies and programs
- monitoring and evaluating performance of organisations against organisational objectives and strategies
- consulting with senior subordinate staff and reviewing recommendations and reports
- preparing, or arranging for the preparation of, reports, budgets and forecasts and presenting them to governing bodies
- representing the organisation at official occasions, in negotiations, at conventions, seminars, public hearings and forums, and liaising between areas of responsibility
- selecting and approving the selection of senior staff
- ensuring the organisation complies with company laws and other relevant legislation
The number of people working as Chief Executives and Managing Directors (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 50,500 in 2014 to 30,800 in 2019.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very large occupation.
- Location: Chief Executives and Managing Directors work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: They work in many industries such as Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Manufacturing; and Health Care and Social Assistance.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (88%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 52 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 50 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (69%).
- Gender: 21% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Caution: The 2019 employment projections do not take account of any impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore no longer reflective of current labour market conditions. As such, they should be used, and interpreted, with extreme caution. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, National Skills Commission trend data to May 2019 and projections to 2024.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You usually need extensive managerial experience and relevant sector experience to work as a Chief Executive or Managing Director. While formal qualifications aren't essential, a university degree or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in business or business management may be useful.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Business Services VET training pathways.
Employers look for Chief Executives and Managing Directors who have strong communication skills, can interact with a range of people and provide leadership.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Building and construction
Materials, and methods used to construct or repair houses, buildings, or other structures like highways and roads.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Management of financial resources
Figuring out how money is needed to do something, and keeping track of the money that's being spent.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Management of material resources
Providing the right equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do work.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speed of recognition
Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Managing payments and orders
Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Guiding and directing staff
Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 11-1011.00 - Chief Executives.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
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Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 11-1011.00 - Chief Executives.