Chart Your Course Now for a Future as an Event Planner!
Ok, ok, you’ve sold me! Now give me a job!
Hopefully you are more excited than ever before at the prospect of finding your dream event planning job. You’ve read all the material up to this point, understand how the event planning industry is structured, understand the numerous types of event jobs and event planning careers, and you’re ready!
Now what?
Before we go any further, take a deep breath. Envision where you want to be in three to five years. Do you see yourself standing in the back of a ballroom or in the middle of a large field, watching with pride as your perfect event unfolds? Do you see yourself in a position doing international corporate event planning, traveling to different countries with some of the largest and most successful corporations in existence? Or do you see yourself in one of the event planning hotel jobs, working for a fantastic hotel chain, running multiple successful events?
Now, realize that it might take some time to get there – but you could easily reach your goal of being there (as in, the main event planner, the big cheese, the top chief) in just a couple of years. Invest your time wisely now, and you will enjoy a career in event planning for the rest of your life.
For those of you who want the answer on how to get an event planning job tomorrow without any experience or any contacts, good luck. I’m sorry, but it’s a competitive business (because it’s so much fun!) and it’s not very likely that you will just magically land a great event planning job out of the gate.
For those who are willing to put in a little short-term effort to reach your long-term goals, congratulations! With that attitude, you are guaranteed to be a successful event planner in no time!
Where do I begin?
To land a position in any of the event jobs, from special events to fundraisers, from corporate to sports events, the formula is the same: you need
Knowledge
Experience
Contacts
Knowledge, Experience, and Contacts
1. Knowledge: how do I learn about event planning? There are a number of event planning schools and classes that teach you what you need to know. If you work better in a structured environment, then this might be a good path for you.
Click here
to learn more about "Event Planning Courses."
However, if you are self disciplined, are willing to do your homework, and are willing to combine your knowledge with experience (explained in the next step below), schooling is not always important to become an event planner. It’s not an industry that requires the correct schooling to succeed (although education never hurts).
But you still need to learn about an entire industry. There are numerous books that introduce you to the lingo and basics of event planning. For a list of recommended reading,
click here
to go to “Event Planning Resources.”
2. How do I get experience? But wait! Don’t despair! I know how frustrating that “catch-22” is: to get experience, you need experience. (This, by the way, is standard in any industry, so don’t give up yet). If you’re serious about pursuing this career, it’s easier than you might think!
How do you get experience without having any experience? There’s one guaranteed way: VOLUNTEER!
At any given time, there are a number of events being planned by committees and associations in your area, who are more than likely in need of volunteers. Even if it’s something as petty as stuffing envelopes for a direct mailing, do it! You have nothing to lose and everything to learn, so starting at the bottom is necessary to learn the entire process anyway.
Random trivia: Did you know that in many hotel chains, it is standard for newly hired upper management to work at least two weeks in every department in the hotel? Yes, the top-paying positions are required to scrub toilets, pick up trash, and clean dishes, in order to understand how their hotel works, inside and out. If you take this same approach toward your career, you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams!
This point is worth repeating: if you do not have any event planning experience, volunteer for event planning committees in your local area! This will give you great insight to the events industry, what it's really like to plan an event, give you resume material, and also open up networking doors for you for future jobs.
As I’ve mentioned before, EVERYONE wants to be an event planner. If you don't have any experience, the only thing that's going to set you apart and move you ahead is by investing some of your time to learn and network. You've got to be doing it for the love of it; you should get excited about learning in whatever way you can!
And volunteering is one of the best ways to go from "no event planning experience" to some! After all, it's rare for committees to turn away volunteers, even if you've never planned a birthday party. Not to mention, you're doing something good for your community. How do you find volunteer opportunities? Great question! Keep reading and learn about networking and associations below!
If you are eager to find a job and would like to make money while learning about the event planning industry, there are also a few options for paid entry-level event work. You can work (for more information, click on the links) as an
On-Site Event Manager,
for a
Destination Management Company,
or in
catering.
It’s just a matter of time before you meet the right contact who knows someone who knows someone who’s hiring; and now, when they say “do you have any event planning experience?” you can say YES!!!
3. How do I get contacts and, therefore, JOBS?
Networking!
Make friends when you volunteer. Ask questions, of anyone you come across. Be a little sponge and soak it all up. People in the position you want will be impressed by your tenacity and willingness to learn.
Print some basic business cards for yourself. You can print out your basic contact information in any word processor, or there are many printing places that have affordable business cards. Get creative and fun, but don’t spend too much time or money on this. A card is the one “take-away” item a person can take if they enjoyed their conversation with you, or might know of a way to help you in the future.
Create a professional-sounding email address. With all of the free email services these days, there’s no excuse not to have a separate professional email address. Use your name, if possible. Your personal email address “skibunny” might be ok for your friends, but not when you’re trying to sell yourself as a professional. If you don’t have an email address, it’s time to join the new millennium; and you can’t function as an event planner without one!
Event Planning Associations: Associations are designed for the purpose of networking; and every industry has them. There are numerous event planning organizations and associations designed for networking.
Click here
to learn more about event planning associations.
To learn more about how to effectively network (and other steps toward making a successful career change), check out this website:
How to Change Careers.
Informational Interviews:
This is a great way to learn about the industry, and also very subtly making new friends. Research your area of interest (corporate event planning? Special events? Sports event planning and marketing?) Pick out a few companies or organizations that do what you would like to do (it doesn’t hurt to pick out organizations that could, in theory, hire you someday).
Research who the main event planning contact is. Call her up, introduce yourself as someone who is very interested in learning about this industry. Tell her that you realize she's an expert in the industry (schmoozing never hurts either) and you'd love to pick her mind. Then offer to take her to lunch, in exchange for her time and answering some questions. Prepare a list of detailed, organized, professional questions, and take notes. And then, listen and learn!
She might offer to just have you come in to the office for an appointment. If at all possible, insist on the lunch idea. Once you get her out of the office, she’ll relax more, take her time, and be more apt to talk about herself and her experience. If the office appointment is the only option, of course, take it!
Don’t take it personally if she says she is too busy. Planners are very, very busy people. Ask her when a good time would be to try again. If she pushes you off to a specific time frame, try again during that time frame. If she pushes you off indefinitely, she might not be worth your time anyway. Try someone else!
If you are self-motivated and determined, taking these three steps (knowledge, experience, and contacts) will get you on your way to finding your event planning job in no time!
Before you know it, these steps will start leading you to job opportunities. Now you need to know if you want to be an employee or an independent contractor, what the going rate is, etc. Keep reading to learn about the logistics of working as an event planner...Continue on to Event Planning Employment
Before we go any further, take a deep breath. Envision where you want to be in three to five years. Do you see yourself standing in the back of a ballroom or in the middle of a large field, watching with pride as your perfect event unfolds? Do you see yourself in a position doing international corporate event planning, traveling to different countries with some of the largest and most successful corporations in existence? Or do you see yourself in one of the event planning hotel jobs, working for a fantastic hotel chain, running multiple successful events?
Random trivia: Did you know that in many hotel chains, it is standard for newly hired upper management to work at least two weeks in every department in the hotel? Yes, the top-paying positions are required to scrub toilets, pick up trash, and clean dishes, in order to understand how their hotel works, inside and out. If you take this same approach toward your career, you will succeed beyond your wildest dreams!
