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 1327 General Manager job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 35598 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 $120,830.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $117,570.
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 $92,777.
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 Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 35.84% |
| Master's Degree | 3.83% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.38% |
| Other | 20.92% |
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 Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 38.18% |
| 3 to 5 years | 48.81% |
| 6 to 8 years | 6.22% |
| 9+ years | 6.79% |
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 (57.76%)
- Management (57.38%)
- Customer Service (50.28%)
- Leadership (49.58%)
- Communication (47.67%)
- Operations (47.12%)
- Coaching (30.99%)
- Scheduling (17.41%)
- Business Acumen (17.09%)
- Budgeting (14.55%)
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 (44.41%)
- Calculations (12.49%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (14.65%)
- Performance Appraisal (12.38%)
- Finance (6.67%)
- Selling Techniques (11.46%)
- Gross Profit (12.49%)
- Marketing (25.14%)
- Inventory Management System (12.54%)
- Restaurant Operation (17.11%)
- Merchandising (17.03%)
- Product Quality (QA/QC) (13.61%)
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
- Retail General Manager
- Assistant Manager
- Team Manager
- Assistant Center Manager
- Manager-in-Training
- Franchise General Manager
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 (2248)
- CAVA (791)
- Caliber Collision (618)
- Arby's (584)
- Panera Bread (579)
- Gap (515)
- Old Navy (507)
- Extended Stay America (505)
- Advance Stores (496)
- Domino's Pizza (451)
North Carolina
- Hardee's (111)
- Advance Auto Parts (102)
- CAVA (64)
- Arby's (46)
- Gap (27)
- Old Navy (25)
- Caliber Collision (23)
- Wendy's (20)
- Extended Stay America (19)
- Marriott International (11)
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!
- Business Administration Master's Degrees
- Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management Master's Degrees
- Professional Communication and Managerial Skills Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.