How to Make a Successful Career in Event Planning

Do you have a strong passion for planning different types of parties, competitions, concerts, and ceremonies? If yes, you may want to build a career in an event planning, while creating memories for others. But the job of an event planner is a highly responsible one. No matter what kind of occasion or event it is, you’ll be accountable for its ultimate success. In order to have an event run smoothly, you’ll need to take care of things like budgeting, advertising, and marketing. In addition, you’ll need to look after guests really well.

If you have decided to become an event planner, you need to put all your career building efforts on the right track.

Given below are some of the most useful guidelines that you can use to become an event planner.

Know the Duties of an Event Planner

Many people think that becoming an event planner is all about organizing wedding parties or birthday parties. Remember that this is a more serious and more responsible position. Parties are just one type of event. As an event planner, you should be able to successfully organize conventions, conferences, seminars, corporate meetings and other professional events.

Typical job duties of an event planner include –

Helping clients choose appropriate dates and venues for events
Working with vendors (for catering and decorating services)
Developing timelines for events
Deciding the sequence of programs in events
Budgeting, marketing and advertising for events

These are just the basic responsibilities of an event planner. Depending on the type or nature of event, these professionals may be required to handle additional responsibilities and guarantee the success of clients.

Assess Your Skills

Now that you know what an event planner does, it’s time for you to identify your own skills and talents. Before you jump into the field of event planning, you must ensure that it’s the right career option for you.

Unless you have the key skills required to do an event planning job, you can’t expect to achieve success in this career.

In order to become an event planner, you should interpersonal skills. Since organizing an event is all about people, most of your time will be spent in interacting with clients and vendors. Excellent organizational and time management skills are also important to lead an event to success. Other important skills required in this occupation include multi-tasking, project management, negotiation, budget management, and staff management among others. If you think you have these skills or grow them easily, becoming an event planner or organizer should be right career choice for you.

Obtain Formal Education

A bachelor’s degree in areas like hospitality management, marketing, public relations, or business will help you build a successful career in event planning. If you are already a bachelor’s degree holder, you can opt for a certificate program in event management, offered by several colleges and universities worldwide. Topics that you’ll need to study while completing your bachelor’s degree include event coordination, events marketing, media relations, budgeting, and fundraising among others.

In addition to acquiring a relevant bachelor degree, you should also go for event planning certification. In many US states, you’ll need to clear a state-level written examination to obtain the required certification.

Gather Experience

Organizing events successfully is all about experience. If you have a strong interest in building a successful career, you should start to collect hands-on experience as quickly as possible. Before you step into this business as a professional event planner, you can gain experience by organizing different types of events for your near and dear ones. You can also find volunteering opportunities to obtain personal experience in the field of event planning.

Create Your Portfolio as an Event Planner

The main goal of having a portfolio is to win over clients quickly. Whether it’s your personal experience or professional one, you can include some good samples of your work in your portfolio. In addition, you can also include client references and recommendations in the portfolio. A well-crafted portfolio will give you an extra edge over the competition while increasing your employability.

Now, you are ready to get hired or start an event planning business of your own. However, it’s advisable to get employed with a company or organization as an event planner even if you plan to establish your own business. Getting hired at a company will allow you to increase your knowledge, build a strong network of professionals and establish relations, all of which will lay a solid foundation for your event planning business.

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Carl Mueller

Carl began his career as a recruiter in the year 2000. Since then, he has interviewed hundreds of job applicants, dealt with several hiring managers and helped a lot of people find better jobs. He's passionate about guiding people towards their best-suited careers.

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