event planning careers Archives

The Best Places to Find Event Planning Careers

September 29, 2011 By Andrew Maxwell Comments

As you probably already know, there are many outlets that promote themselves as the best place to find event planning careers. Just entering a search term in Google will show you that there are literally millions of URLs that promote event planning careers. However, I’ve often found that some insight from industry professionals helps narrow the field of where to look effectively.

Industry associations often promote event planning careers

The meetings and events industry is one of the largest industries in the country. While that can be taken as good news as far as potential employment opportunities go, it can also mean that there are many promoted avenues available for finding event planning careers. I use the word promoted on purpose in that last sentence. The problem with promoted is that while it may appear on the first few pages of a Google search, it doesn’t always mean that it is the best resource for you.

Of course the industry’s largest association, MPI (meeting professionals international) has a jobs and community section on its website. A quick glance will show you that association members are posting job opportunities here. And as the association has thousands of members, you can be comfortable knowing that the jobs and careers listed are reputable.

I’ve mentioned before that I always raise a caution flag when you see any job posting that is asking you to pay for something before they provide you with additional information. These sites (and there are many of them) are basically trying to sell you something rather than provide you with solid job opportunities.

Another meeting and event Association is ISES. ISES (International Special Events Society) is an association design to educate and communicate with event planners and suppliers alike. On the ISES website they also have a career center page where members can post their job openings. In addition, ISES also provides training for the CSEP designation (Certified Special Events Professional). This certificate recognizes meeting and event professionals who’ve successfully demonstrated knowledge, skill and ability that is essential for special event planning.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, joining meeting and event planning associations is one of the best ways to introduce and establish yourself in the event planning industry. These associations provide networking events, industry trade shows and educational programs all designed to improve the standards within the industry.

Job Websites for Event Planning Careers

of course visiting job websites do provide some information on the various jobs that are available for event planning careers. For example monster.com is very robust and can provide a job search for pretty much any location where you are looking. Just remember that when applying on these online job sites that you are competing with sometimes tens of thousands of applicants. As the old adage goes – you only have one chance to make a first impression. So make sure you promote yourself in a way that makes you stand out amongst the crowd.

There are many vehicles available to you when looking for event planning careers. The key for you is to focus on where to look as there are literally thousands if not millions of avenues available. Event planning associations are probably the best place to start your search. You don’t necessarily have to become a member of these associations but I strongly suggest that you consider doing so. This will give you an advantage over other people that might be looking for those same jobs – in that you will be putting your name out to the industry. Many local chapters have networking events on an ongoing basis. Take the time and attend as many of these events as you can. The more people get to see and know you the better your chances are of getting your dream event planning career.

Event Planning Jobs (plananevent.org)
Event Planners Association (plananevent.org)
Resources for Finding Event Planning Careers (plananevent.org)

Filed Under: Tools & Guides Tagged With: Education, event planning careers, event planning resources, ISES, mpi

Are Good Event Planning Careers Still out There?

August 25, 2011 By Andrew Maxwell Comments

The seal of the United States Department of Labor

Image via Wikipedia

If you’ve been watching the news lately it’s becoming harder and harder to predict what in the heck is going to happen in the jobs market over the next 12 to 18 months. Which begs the question – are there still good event planning careers? And if so who is hiring and what region could I expect to get employed faster. These may seem like simple questions at the onset, however we are now living in a world where Democrats have proposed higher spending cuts then Republicans have even requested. And Republicans are about to say no to a payroll tax cut that the Democrats have proposed. Seriously have the gods gone crazy?

Event Planning Careers Will Flourish in Spite of the Politicians

Watching the recent debt ceiling debate unfold in Washington I couldn’t help think that we have elected a bunch of children. Doesn’t matter which side of the aisle that you sit on, left or right, it seems like these politicians weren’t concerned about creating jobs for you and me in the least. And wasn’t that all that we were hearing about before the last congressional elections? And just how many job bills have been introduced since the last election? As of last check the unemployment rate in the United States is 9.1% (July 2011, US Department of Labor). Seriously folks, it’s high time we put pressure on our elected officials to do something about the current job situation.

In spite of all the recent childish behavior at the state and national levels the outlook for event planning careers is expected to increase 16% through 2018. This information was dissected from the US Department of Labor. While accurate I write this with a word of caution. These projections did factor in the economic downturn from 2008. But right now we’re hoping that we do not have a double dip recession. There’s really no way of telling whether this will happen or not. The only thing I would suggest is that you don’t listen to a politician talk about employment outlook- research opinions from economists instead.

Event planning careers come in many shapes and forms. The initial increase of employment in this industry will most likely come from individuals setting up their own event planning career companies. With the larger event planning companies, new hires will likely be a little slower paced as these businesses struggle through the uncertain times. However it’s not that there are no event planning careers out there it’s just that you have to do a little more digging than usual to find the good ones. And rest assured, in spite of our current political climate, our economy will rebound.

Filed Under: Planning An Event Tagged With: careers, Education, event planning careers, meeting planning, meeting planning company, Politics

Resources for Finding Event Planning Careers

August 24, 2011 By Andrew Maxwell Comments

As we have talked about here at plananevent.org many times, job hunting in today’s economy is a challenge to say the least. Today it seems we know many people that have either lost their jobs to downsizing or have been laid off because business levels have dropped. Regardless of the reason there’s one thing that is certain – event planning careers, like most other industries, are becoming harder and harder to find. That doesn’t mean that good ones don’t exist (they do). It’s just that you have to be a little more resourceful than before when trying to find that perfect event planning career.

The Internet Is a Good Resource for Finding Event Planning Careers but Beware

I’m sure that most of you have spent some time Goggling event planning careers. And on the Internet there certainly is no shortage of results when you Google that phrase (at last check I believe it was over 17 million returns). There are very good sites to use as a resource for finding that perfect event planning career. Of course reputable jobsites are the better places to start your search. You can key in specific search terms as well as create free accounts on many jobsites. Creating these free accounts allows you to save your searches and come back often to check for updates. But don’t forget that there are probably thousands and thousands like you that are applying for the same job. So it’s important to be creative in how you present yourself as you don’t have a very large window to get in front of the decision-maker.

I’m sure you have all seen the websites that promises that you will be making X amount in just a few days by duplicating a tried and tested technique. A word of caution with these sites. Generally speaking the saying “if it sounds too good to be true chances are it is too good to be true” is the best approach to take. If websites are asking you to pay money upfront for access to this or that system before they give you an ample overview of the system I would recommend you raise a red flag and get out of there as soon as possible. Unfortunately this is often the case with work from home business sites. And event planning careers can certainly fall within the work from home category. Another telltale sign is if you cannot see a mailing address in the contact information. Any reputable websites or product will always provide you with enough information before you purchase as well as their physical location. I would not buy anything from a site that does not offer this.

The Best Event Planning Careers, like Good Wine, Generally Take Time

I can’t stress enough that any good event planning career is going to take time to build. Unless you’re already in a senior event planning career, chances are you’re not going to walk into your dream job. Those jobs just take time, plain and simple. But for those of you who feel that those jobs are worth the time then there are many areas where you can search and begin that path. A good first place is industry associations. Take MPI (meeting professionals international) for example. Not only do they offer an area for job postings on their website, they also link to chapter sites and related sites where you can find out additional information. Your convention and visitors Bureau (CVB) is another great area to begin your search. And as we have mentioned many times before volunteering is good in so many ways. Not only are you enriching your life in an area that is probably near and dear to your heart, volunteering is an ideal way to get your foot in a door when an opportunity opens.