Sales Business Development Jobs for OPT Students
Sales Business Development roles are among the more OPT-friendly positions in the business world, with many employers familiar with sponsoring STEM and non-STEM OPT students. Your 12-month authorization window is enough to prove your value before H-1B season, making timing and employer targeting critical from day one.
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Get Access To All JobsSummer 2026 Internship – Commercial Sales & Business Development Intern
Application Deadline: March 20, 2026
We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible, as internship applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Internship Dates: June 8, 2026 – August 14, 2026
(You must be available to work during this period.)
About Our Organization
Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile, and live events. For more than 130 years, Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content and today operates one of the world’s largest news-gathering networks. Our portfolio includes leading publications and products such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones - Energy, and more. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
About Dow Jones Energy
Dow Jones Energy delivers trusted market intelligence, pricing benchmarks, and forward-looking insight to leading energy companies, traders, financial institutions, and governments worldwide. Operating at the center of global commodity markets, we support decision-making across oil, gas, power, renewables, and the energy transition.
About the Role
The Commercial Sales & Business Development function drives customer acquisition, retention, and growth across our global client base. This internship sits within the Sales Business Unit and is designed to give ambitious students hands-on exposure to enterprise B2B sales in a live, fast-moving commercial environment.
As a Commercial Sales & Business Development Intern, you will support targeted outreach campaigns, contribute to sales playbook development, assist with account planning, and help analyze campaign performance while working directly alongside regional sales leaders and relationship directors across our global segments.
This is not an observational role. You will contribute to real initiatives that impact pipeline, revenue, and how our commercial teams go to market.
Key Responsibilities:
-
Customer Outreach & Engagement: Support targeted outreach campaigns across priority customer segments. Research prospects, help identify new business opportunities, and track engagement, follow-ups, and pipeline activity within CRM systems. Assist in coordinating customer meetings and preparing supporting materials.
-
Sales Playbook Contribution: Document and organize sales best practices and team learnings. Support development of structured templates for prospecting, qualification, and account planning.
-
Account Planning & Opportunity Support: Conduct research on key accounts and target industry segments. Identify whitespace and cross-sell opportunities within existing client portfolios. Support preparation of client briefings and commercial proposals.
-
Performance & Campaign Analysis: Track campaign metrics and measure outreach effectiveness. Analyze pipeline trends and conversion data. Synthesize insights to support improved sales prioritization across the team.
-
Communication & Reporting: Help prepare clear summaries and updates to communicate findings and project progress to both commercial and non-commercial audiences.
-
Process & Best Practices: Contribute to documentation of team workflows and best practices to support consistency and alignment with wider commercial objectives.
You Will:
-
First-hand exposure to enterprise B2B sales within a leading global information business
-
Direct involvement in live customer outreach campaigns across priority segments
-
Deep insight into account planning, pipeline management, and commercial execution at scale
-
Hands-on experience contributing to a real Sales Playbook used by a global team
-
Exposure to how data, pricing benchmarks, and market intelligence are sold to energy traders, financial institutions, and governments worldwide
-
Mentorship from experienced sales professionals
-
A strong foundation for a career in enterprise sales and commercial strategy
You Have:
-
Completed at least 2 years of undergraduate studies: You must be a rising junior or senior during the summer of 2026.
-
Commercial Curiosity: Genuine interest in B2B sales, commercial growth, or business development and an eagerness to understand how enterprise sales teams operate and scale.
-
Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to engage professionally in client-facing and internal contexts.
-
Analytical Ability: Comfort working with data and metrics to draw meaningful conclusions. Excel is required; experience with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) is a plus.
-
Organization & Drive: Proactive, detail-oriented, and reliable, you follow through on commitments and manage your time effectively in a fast-paced environment.
-
Collaboration: Ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams and build strong working relationships in a global, matrixed organization.
-
Strategic Thinking: An ability to connect individual tasks to broader commercial goals and identify opportunities for improvement or growth.
Reasonable accommodation: Dow Jones, Making Careers Newsworthy - We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO/Disabled/Vets. Dow Jones is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities, in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application, due to a disability, email us at talentresourceteam@dowjones.com. Please put "Reasonable Accommodation" in the subject line and provide a brief description of the type of assistance you need. This inbox will not be monitored for application status updates.
Business Area: Dow Jones - Energy
Job Category: Administration, Facilities & Secretarial
Union Status:
Non-Union role
Pay Range: $28.00 - $28.00
We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.
Pay-for-performance is a key element in our strategy to attract, engage, and motivate talented people to do their best work. Similarly to salary, for bonus eligible roles, targets are set based on a variety of factors including competitive market practice.
For benefits eligible roles, in addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce.
Since 1882, Dow Jones has been finding new ways to bring information to the world’s top business entities. Beginning as a niche news agency in an obscure Wall Street basement, Dow Jones has grown to be a worldwide news and information powerhouse, with prestigious brands including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Financial News.
This longevity and success is due to a relentless pursuit of accuracy, depth and innovation, enhanced by the wisdom of past experience and a solid grasp on the future ahead. More than its individual brands, Dow Jones is a modern gateway to intelligence, with innovative technology, advanced data feeds, integrated solutions, expert research, award-winning journalism and customizable apps and delivery systems to bring the information that matters most to customers, when and where they need it, every day.
Req ID: 51798
Summer 2026 Internship – Commercial Sales & Business Development Intern
Application Deadline: March 20, 2026
We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible, as internship applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Internship Dates: June 8, 2026 – August 14, 2026
(You must be available to work during this period.)
About Our Organization
Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile, and live events. For more than 130 years, Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content and today operates one of the world’s largest news-gathering networks. Our portfolio includes leading publications and products such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones - Energy, and more. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
About Dow Jones Energy
Dow Jones Energy delivers trusted market intelligence, pricing benchmarks, and forward-looking insight to leading energy companies, traders, financial institutions, and governments worldwide. Operating at the center of global commodity markets, we support decision-making across oil, gas, power, renewables, and the energy transition.
About the Role
The Commercial Sales & Business Development function drives customer acquisition, retention, and growth across our global client base. This internship sits within the Sales Business Unit and is designed to give ambitious students hands-on exposure to enterprise B2B sales in a live, fast-moving commercial environment.
As a Commercial Sales & Business Development Intern, you will support targeted outreach campaigns, contribute to sales playbook development, assist with account planning, and help analyze campaign performance while working directly alongside regional sales leaders and relationship directors across our global segments.
This is not an observational role. You will contribute to real initiatives that impact pipeline, revenue, and how our commercial teams go to market.
Key Responsibilities:
-
Customer Outreach & Engagement: Support targeted outreach campaigns across priority customer segments. Research prospects, help identify new business opportunities, and track engagement, follow-ups, and pipeline activity within CRM systems. Assist in coordinating customer meetings and preparing supporting materials.
-
Sales Playbook Contribution: Document and organize sales best practices and team learnings. Support development of structured templates for prospecting, qualification, and account planning.
-
Account Planning & Opportunity Support: Conduct research on key accounts and target industry segments. Identify whitespace and cross-sell opportunities within existing client portfolios. Support preparation of client briefings and commercial proposals.
-
Performance & Campaign Analysis: Track campaign metrics and measure outreach effectiveness. Analyze pipeline trends and conversion data. Synthesize insights to support improved sales prioritization across the team.
-
Communication & Reporting: Help prepare clear summaries and updates to communicate findings and project progress to both commercial and non-commercial audiences.
-
Process & Best Practices: Contribute to documentation of team workflows and best practices to support consistency and alignment with wider commercial objectives.
You Will:
-
First-hand exposure to enterprise B2B sales within a leading global information business
-
Direct involvement in live customer outreach campaigns across priority segments
-
Deep insight into account planning, pipeline management, and commercial execution at scale
-
Hands-on experience contributing to a real Sales Playbook used by a global team
-
Exposure to how data, pricing benchmarks, and market intelligence are sold to energy traders, financial institutions, and governments worldwide
-
Mentorship from experienced sales professionals
-
A strong foundation for a career in enterprise sales and commercial strategy
You Have:
-
Completed at least 2 years of undergraduate studies: You must be a rising junior or senior during the summer of 2026.
-
Commercial Curiosity: Genuine interest in B2B sales, commercial growth, or business development and an eagerness to understand how enterprise sales teams operate and scale.
-
Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to engage professionally in client-facing and internal contexts.
-
Analytical Ability: Comfort working with data and metrics to draw meaningful conclusions. Excel is required; experience with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce) is a plus.
-
Organization & Drive: Proactive, detail-oriented, and reliable, you follow through on commitments and manage your time effectively in a fast-paced environment.
-
Collaboration: Ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams and build strong working relationships in a global, matrixed organization.
-
Strategic Thinking: An ability to connect individual tasks to broader commercial goals and identify opportunities for improvement or growth.
Reasonable accommodation: Dow Jones, Making Careers Newsworthy - We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO/Disabled/Vets. Dow Jones is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities, in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application, due to a disability, email us at talentresourceteam@dowjones.com. Please put "Reasonable Accommodation" in the subject line and provide a brief description of the type of assistance you need. This inbox will not be monitored for application status updates.
Business Area: Dow Jones - Energy
Job Category: Administration, Facilities & Secretarial
Union Status:
Non-Union role
Pay Range: $28.00 - $28.00
We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.
Pay-for-performance is a key element in our strategy to attract, engage, and motivate talented people to do their best work. Similarly to salary, for bonus eligible roles, targets are set based on a variety of factors including competitive market practice.
For benefits eligible roles, in addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce.
Since 1882, Dow Jones has been finding new ways to bring information to the world’s top business entities. Beginning as a niche news agency in an obscure Wall Street basement, Dow Jones has grown to be a worldwide news and information powerhouse, with prestigious brands including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Financial News.
This longevity and success is due to a relentless pursuit of accuracy, depth and innovation, enhanced by the wisdom of past experience and a solid grasp on the future ahead. More than its individual brands, Dow Jones is a modern gateway to intelligence, with innovative technology, advanced data feeds, integrated solutions, expert research, award-winning journalism and customizable apps and delivery systems to bring the information that matters most to customers, when and where they need it, every day.
Req ID: 51798
How to Get Visa Sponsorship in Sales Business Development
Lead with revenue impact in your applications
Sales BD roles are judged on numbers. Quantify pipeline generated, deals closed, or accounts grown in every application. Employers weigh sponsorship costs against your earning potential, so making your ROI obvious reduces hesitation about your visa situation.
Disclose OPT status strategically, not upfront
Avoid listing OPT status in your resume or cover letter. Raise it after you've demonstrated fit, ideally once there's mutual interest. Framing it as a straightforward process, not a burden, keeps the conversation moving in your favor.
Time your job search around H-1B lottery deadlines
H-1B registration typically opens in March for an October 1 start date. If your OPT begins in summer, you have roughly one lottery cycle before you need an extension or alternative. Start your BD job search at least four months before registration opens.
Build internal advocates before sponsorship conversations
Managers and team leads influence sponsorship decisions more than HR does. Performing well and building trust internally means you'll have advocates arguing your case when the visa question comes up, rather than facing an impersonal HR policy review.
Sales Business Development jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Can I work in Sales Business Development on OPT without restrictions?
Yes, as long as your BD role is directly related to your degree field. A business or marketing graduate working in sales business development generally satisfies this requirement. You must work at least 20 hours per week and your employment must be authorized before your start date. Keep documentation showing how the role connects to your major.
Do Sales BD roles commonly lead to H-1B sponsorship?
Many do, particularly at mid-to-large companies with established sponsorship programs. Business development roles typically qualify as specialty occupations when a degree in business, marketing, or a related field is genuinely required. Smaller startups may be willing but lack the infrastructure to sponsor efficiently, so vetting the employer's history before accepting an offer is worth doing on Migrate Mate, which filters for sponsoring companies.
What counts as a qualifying Sales Business Development job for OPT?
The role must be related to your field of study and substantive enough to constitute professional-level employment. Titles like Business Development Representative, Sales Development Representative, Account Executive, or Partnerships Associate typically qualify for business and marketing graduates. Commission-only positions with no base salary may raise questions about legitimate employment status, so confirm the compensation structure meets your DSO's requirements.
How do I find Sales Business Development employers who sponsor OPT and H-1B?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for this search. It surfaces business development and sales roles at companies with active sponsorship histories, so you're not wasting applications on employers who won't support your visa. Filtering by sponsorship track record early saves significant time, especially given the tight timelines most OPT students are working within.
Can I work as an independent contractor or 1099 consultant in Sales BD on OPT?
This is a gray area DSOs handle cautiously. Self-employment and independent contracting are technically permitted on OPT if you can demonstrate you own a legitimate business and the work relates to your degree. However, most standard 1099 sales roles don't meet that threshold. If an employer offers a contractor arrangement instead of W-2 employment, confirm the arrangement with your DSO before accepting.
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