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Event Planning Jobs-Where to Start?

June 13, 2012 By Comments
event planning jobs

photo by canadianspecialevents.com

This is the time of year when many meetings and conferences are underway. Shortly, there’ll be a lull as the bigger associations and conferences take a bit of a break in the middle of the summer. By break I mean that they won’t necessarily be meeting but the event planners will be very busy coordinating and orchestrating the upcoming fall conferences. No doubt many of you are wondering what jobs will be available in the industry this year. If you follow the 24-hour news cycle, well then let’s just say you must be worried sick. First things first. Turn off those news channels. While I’m slightly joking here, the meetings and events industry is still hiring. You just have to be smart as to where to begin your job search.

Consider Event Planning Internships to Get Your Foot in the Door

Of course networking can play a vital role when seeking employment. By networking, you meet potential contacts in a non-threatening environment. However use networking properly. Don’t jump into discussions about opportunities available etc. Rather, develop a bit of a relationship or rapport and the opportunities will tend to materialize from there. Internships are another great way to get your foot in the door. Typically internships are awarded to students or graduates that are entering the industry. But, don’t rule them out altogether even if you have been in the industry for some time and are just seeking a career change.

Social media plays a vital role today in the meetings and events industry. There are a couple of social media sites that stand out for their role in promoting industry jobs.

LinkedIn. There are many groups that have been created in LinkedIn for the sole purpose of promoting jobs. In fact I was so impressed with LinkedIn’s “jobs you may be interested in” widget that I added it to a related site, Welcome To The City. If you are logged in to your LinkedIn account and you come across their widget, it tailors the jobs it displays to you based on your account’s preferences. Certainly worth checking out. I would also suggest that you spend a little bit of time on LinkedIn searching for groups that deal with employment opportunities and then join those groups.

Twitter. On twitter, there are countless accounts that deal only with job opportunities. If you start following these accounts you’ll get updated opportunities delivered directly to your feed. Click here to see a list of twitter accounts that deal with job opportunities.

Is Now the Right Time to Become Certified?

Employers, when hiring people, look at the person’s skill set and education first and foremost. While the job of an event planner doesn’t necessarily require specific certification, a recent study by PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) indicated planners with event planning certification were paidhigher than those without. As I have always stated, it is never a bad idea to invest in yourself. Potential employers will typically interview those that have industry certification before those who do not.

There are event planning jobs in the industry today. While they may not necessarily be all that visible, they are still there. You have to become diligent and be smart about where to look for the job you are searching for. And even though you may be using social media to make first contact, it never hurts to be old-fashioned and pick up the telephone to make sure that they have received your information.

 

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Teamwork and Successful Event Planning

June 12, 2012 By Comments
four colourful stick people holding and connecting a four piece puzzle

Photo courtesy of lumaxart

I’m about to state the obvious but here goes. When a planner takes on and tackles an event the ultimate goal is success. Of course no one sets about planning anything without anticipating a successful outcome. Event planning is a profession jam-packed with hard work and filled with different undertakings and obligations. Every single event is special, diverse and unique and that truly is part of the experience.

Winning Event Planning

Planning a winning event takes a meeting planner with great organizational skills, the ability to visualize as well as a great attention to detail and spot on planning and organizing skills. There isn’t a planner I know whether it be an event planner, party planner or meeting planner that the minute they enter an event doesn’t give a quick room scan and silently acknowledge all the hard work and effort that has gone into the event planning and execution.

Event planning isn’t brain surgery but it really does take time, energy and a great deal of other elements to ensure success. Some of the oodles and oodles of things that go into the planning of an effective and successful event include allowing ample time to plan, creating a detailed timeline and checklist and having a Plan B (for just about everything) as well as… teamwork. Teamwork is such an important part of the event planning world. So surround yourselves with a great team, a hardworking team, a unified team and a supportive team. By working with a team that has yours and other team member’s back, that takes responsibility for their event parts and pieces and have decision making capabilities, you are indeed setting the event up for success.

Time to Chuckle

Have a glance at this bit of enjoyable evidence proving that one of the things you will need to save the day is a great team and a little teamwork!

 

 

 

 

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Event Planning-Why Can’t We All Just Get along

June 8, 2012 By Comments
event planning with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney

photo by onpointpolitics.com

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems every time you ask a supplier or colleague a question you keep getting pushed back? I’m sure you have those days where you want to run to the top of the mountain and just scream your lungs out. But, that’s what God invented wine for.

I used to have the saying – that I would enjoy working with people if people weren’t involved. Now we all know that in the world of event planning a large part of our job is relying on the competence of other people. That’s why this industry can be a nail biting experience for a lot of people.

The Current Do-Nothing Congress Is an Example of What Not to Do in Event Planning

do-nothing Congress

photo by yubanet.com

Lately, in the US, it seems that nothing is getting done in yet another do-nothing Congress. These people (I just can’t use the word adult and Congress in the same sentence) seem more hell-bent on obstructing legislation just because the other side brought it to the floor. If you look at the way our government works and compare it to the event planning industry you can easily see how our political system is truly dysfunctional. Comparing Congress to event planners, Congress fails miserably. After all, isn’t it their job to make sure that events (and in Congress’s case the events are the day-to-day running of the country) are executed properly? It’s not that I’m saying there shouldn’t be any debating – quite the contrary. Debating any potential legislation is exactly what we need so that, in the end, hopefully the best gets past.

Unless you’re living under a rock you know that this is a presidential election year here in the US. Which got me wondering wouldn’t it be nice, just for once, to see Barack Obama and Mitt Romney plan an event and get along. Well, apparently NBC’s Jay Leno thought the same thing. Albeit in a humorous way.

So take a look at the video below. Here you’ll see Mitt Romney and Barack Obama having a good time doing the remix of “Call Me Maybe”. Okay so maybe it’s not really them together, but one can wish can’t I?

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Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party Ideas – Welcome to the Club!

June 7, 2012 By Comments
mickey mouse head cake

Photo courtesy of Dawnie’s cakes

Who doesn’t love Mickey Mouse? The best looking 84 year old around (he’s the Dick Clark of the cartoon world) and we’ve all grown up with him, in some form or another. And as they continue to reinvent Mickey, he stays relevant and fun for kids today as well as birthday ideas .

The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is one of the latest incarnations from the marketing wizards at Disney. Introduced in 2006 and geared to the preschool set, toddlers get to hang out with the Mickster, his gal Minnie and pals Donald, Daisy and Goofy. With lots of other Disney characters dropping by there’s never a dull moment!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party Ideas – Easy, Schemesy, Themey

Welcome to the club, get ready for some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party ideas. Deciding on a Disney theme makes a parent’s life a little easier! No obscure characters or decor that will have you hunting through every party store in town looking for birthday ideas. Everyone, from your local party store to the dollar store to online party sites, has Disney party supplies.

Whether you make your own invites online, buy them or are incredibly crafty and create your own, be sure to let your gang know they are being invited to the Clubhouse for a Mickey Mouse birthday party! To add authenticity ask your guests to dress up as their favorite Clubhouse character. (Be sure to have a few extra sets of mouse ears on hand!)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party Ideas – Fun, Games and Activities

cartoonish mickery mouse

Photo courtesy of Schristia

Now that you have your birthday theme and decor figured out it’s time for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse games! And no matter how ambitious your mouse party plans may be, remember that birthday activities for toddlers should be simple and age appropriate.

Color your Favorite Character – Every toddler loves coloring and the Disney website has some great printable coloring sheets that even feature our Disney favorites celebrating a birthday. (Be sure to pick up lots of crayons at the dollar store to avoid anyone melting down over not getting the red crayon!)

Pin the Ears on the Mouse – A new twist on an old favorite! Although for younger kids we’d recommend leaving out the blindfold as the dark can still be scary for little ones.

Mixing the Mouse (Musical Packages)- Buy a couple of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys and wrap them up several times in Disney themed paper. The kids sit in a circle and, as you play the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme, they pass the package around. When the music stops the child holding the package gets to rip off as much paper as they can before the music starts. You can layer the small gifts or have a few packages going at the same time.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party Ideas – Food, Glorious Food

Don’t try to outdo yourself in this department! As any parent will tell you, when it comes to toddlers and food, the simpler the better! Finger foods work great for little hands. Veggies and dip, chips, pretzels and fresh cut fruit are always a big hit. Throw a Disney figurine or two on the tray and you’re carrying your theme over. If you are severing a meal think about finger sandwiches, hot dogs or pizza. There are too many dislikes at this young age for you to try to get fancy. And consider mini cupcakes instead of a cake. There is definitely less waste and they are way easier for the little ones to handle.

Invite your guests to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E! Come inside it’s fun inside! It’s the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday roll call!

 

 

 

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Donald Trump-Event Promoter?

June 6, 2012 By Comments

photo by blog.reidreport.com

It seems we’re seeing “The Donald” a lot more as of late. I know, I know. He seems to be a spokesperson for a lot of companies lately. And he’s also a major contributor and supporter to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. We’ll see how that pays off down the road, won’t we.

Careful What You Ask for, Especially When Promoting Political Events

I am going to give you a little tip here on how to promote an event – never ask a question that you really don’t know the answer to. Or another way of putting it is; never ask a question that can potentially lead to embarrassing answers.

Often, as part of political events, the candidate will offer themselves to the winner of a contest. Of course these types of promotions are done as ways of raising campaign money. Certainly nothing wrong as many politicians will do this to raise the much-needed campaign funds.

Donald Trump Is Learning How to Promote an Event the Hard Way

Promoting an event, or rather how to promote an event, can be a difficult task and can take some mastering. Unfortunately, for Mr. Trump, it seems he’s not taking the time to learn how to promote events properly.

The Romney campaign decided that it would run an event promotion to have dinner with Mitt Romney and Donald Trump. To Republican voters this could be enough of a draw to make them want to contribute to Mitt Romney’s campaign. At least that was the hopes of the campaign itself. So Mr. Trump took to Twitter (he seems to like twitter as of late) and posed the following question:

Donald Trump promoting an event on twitter

Now, again, it’s not so much about the event itself. With this, it’s more about the way the question is posed. Or, more importantly, it’s about the question itself that was posed. As you can guess, twitter world went abuzz with people answering Mr. Trump’s question. And I’m sure you can guess, most of the answers are not even fit to print in this article. So instead I am posting a link so that you go and take a look yourself (but don’t forget I did warn you). Click here to see the twitter community’s answers to Donald Trump’s question.

With event promotion communication is the key. But the take away here is that you’d better be careful what you ask for because you just may get the answers that are really on everybody’s mind.

 

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Say Yes to Fun and Adult Party Games

June 5, 2012 By Comments
twister game spinner

Photo courtesy of renielet

Are you hosting an adult party and looking to entertain and amuse? But not interested in the same old, same old and craving something a bit different and unique for your party? Looking to create a kick with a bit of fun thrown in? If you are nodding your head positively as you read this and if you are indeed looking to shake up your party planning, why not consider spicing things up and adding some amusing and creative adult party games to the mix? Really who decided that adult party fun is all about sitting around and visiting? So having said that, there is nothing wrong with friends and great conversation but not all party games are meant for kids. And so to ensure we’re all on the same page, when we say Adult party games, we are talking about the good old fashion clean fun type, not the kinky kind.

Fun Adult Party Games – Party, Party, PARTY!

Who doesn’t love a good party? Adult party games will easily keep your party guests amused and entertained and in turn will help encourage conversation and interaction. Fun party games for adults can and will transform an average party into a fantastic laugh out loud celebration. There is no greater joy than hosting a group (large or small) of friends playing party games, laughing and having fun.

Fun Adult Party Games – Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Party planning can be a stress filled experience, all the when, what, where and how to figure out and decide on. But once the date, location, guest list, theme, food and other party elements are determined it is time to look at and figure out what party games to enjoy. First off when considering which party games to include it is important to take a look at the guest list and remember not every single guest will join in the party game playing. Deciding on what party games to include can be a slightly challenging undertaking, as you will need to take into consideration the actual guest list, what interest them and their likes.

When looking at party games you should also determine what type of games to go with. Will the games involve alcohol, sexual nuances or will you keep it clean and appropriate for all. Trust me it is possible to plan and play some fun filled clean adult party games. Like so many other things a few innuendos may pop up here and there but truly it’s all in the interpretation.

Fun Adult Party Games – Duck, Duck GOOSE!

There are loads of really great adult party games available online, classics as well as more current ones. If you are searching for some adult party games to get your party started, look no further, here are some classics to get you started playing on that road to fun.

NO Laughing – Split the group into pairs. Each person tries to make the other person laugh by any means jokes, riddles, impersonations, funny voices. Each person goes back and forth until someone does crack up.

Famous Couple – As party guests arrive hand them a card corresponding with their sex and with the first name of one half of a well-known couple. Guests then go about asking each other yes or no questions in hopes of finding their other half amongst the party goers.

Twister – Yes we do mean Twister, the always, always favorite for kids and adults alike. We all remember Twister as a game that is chock filled with fun and laughter. And yes it’s played exactly as you recall but these days there are so many different versions of the rules. You can simply go on line and customize the game and rules for your type of party and guests.

Famous People Charades – Split the group into pairs and have the teams come up with a certain number of famous people and characters and throw them into a bowl. Each team person then acts out silently what is on their slip of paper while the other team member attempt to guess. At the end of the game the team with the most points wins.

Guess Who – Prior to the party ask each guest to bring a childhood picture. Give a number to each picture and have available paper and pen for each guest and then have them attempt to match the childhood picture with the right party guest.

Sometimes when attending a party guests can feel uneasy and self-conscious. To set the tone, mood and keep the party rolling while ensuring your guests are in the party spirit, include some fun adult party games and urge your guests to join in! The fun really does await!

 

 

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Political Current Events-For Fox Sakes, Not Again!

June 1, 2012 By Comments

photo by puregarlic.blogspot.com

For the media, there’s often a fine line between reporting the news and becoming the news. Case in point -on May 30th one of the more reputable 24-hour news stations (yes I’m being satirical here), Fox News, aired a video billed as portraying Obama’s first term in office. Well, since then, all hell has broken loose in media circles. You see, apparently, this event promotion turns out to be nothing more than a propaganda video aimed at drawing support for Obama’s competitor, Mitt Romney, in the upcoming election.

Political Events Are a Great Study on How to Promote an Event

In politics, like meeting and event planning, the name of the game often boils down to promoting the event. In meeting and event planning, the event can be a conference where you need to get word out so that it is well attended. Political events are no different. Except what they’re trying to promote is the candidate as the event itself. And let’s face it whoever gets the most people out usually crosses the finish line first.

Media organizations are expected to remain relatively neutral. However, it’s becoming more and more frequent in the US for media organizations to pick sides and then do whatever they can to promote their candidate, or the event. Without going into too much detail here, what media organizations have to be careful of is crossing the line and becoming a medium that promotes instead of reports. Fox News likes to bill itself as being fair and balanced. Unfortunately that couldn’t be further from the truth. They barely hide their tactics any longer.

Here is the video in question that was aired on “Fox and Friends” on May 30.

Before you say that it’s just the liberal media having an issue, the video in question was also panned by many conservative commentators as well. As usual, a senior Fox News executive later issued a statement saying that the deed was done by an associate producer and that person was not authorized to do so. Ohhhhhh, I see… Not my business but maybe Fox had better take a long hard look at its internal policies and revisit the section that states who is allowed to put content on the air.

Just sayin.

It seems that many news organizations will justify their lame attempt at reporting by putting a “?” after certain controversial news stories. I guess, to them, the “?” makes it legitimate. Let me show you an example of how this can be utilized. Say, for example, somebody reading this post decides that they don’t like Plan an Event. So they put a blog up on their site titled “Is plan an event trying to destroy the meeting planning industry?”. You see, by adding the “?” at the end of that phrase gets them off the hook for any slanderous comments. Then in the article all they would have to do is state that according to rumors that they’ve heard, such and such is doing such and such and therefore by all accounts destroying the meeting planning industry. You see where I’m ongoing here…. A slippery path.

Political event promotion can be a dirty game at the best of times. It’s a sad fact of world we live in today. Having said that, I’m going to be following the upcoming presidential election with fascination. First, it’s an excellent study on how to, whether correctly or incorrectly, promote an event. As for Fox News, well they too are an excellent study. I’m sure we haven’t seen the end of these little “mishaps”. We’ll just have to wait until November to see how effective they were at getting their candidate promoted the most.

 

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