To be honest, anyone can set up a gathering. However, setting up a well-organized, high-impact, memorable event is an entirely different ball game.
Throughout my career in Marketing and PR, one of the roles that I enjoyed the most was attending and setting up events. Going into the job, I really thought that it was going to be a piece of pie. Boy was I wrong!
Real talk! Event management is much harder than people think! – Ms Career Girl
Event Management is a fun and fabulous job, but it is also important to understand that the challenges that come with it can be really nerve-racking. Sleepless nights, impossible deadlines, demanding clients, and fortuitous events are just some of the many crises that you will need to manage. It takes real guts and stamina to fill the shoes of an expert event manager.
If you envision yourself pursuing the career ladder in event management, here are some valuable tips that will help prepare you for the rough and thrilling road ahead!
Gather Your Contacts and Create More Along the Way
As early as now, make a database of your network. Whether it is for possible client leads or event suppliers, a strong network is an asset for any person applying for an event management position. Make sure to stress this detail in your CV. Once you have landed the job, a great deal of the pre-event process rests in getting quotations from suppliers, interested sponsors, and credible attendees. Having a database of people that can help you create your event can help you skip a step in the planning process.
You should also brush up on your people skills. This will come in handy when you’re building your network. Whatever stage you may be in the Event Management career ladder, interaction and communication will be a big part of your job. You need to learn how to be fair and firm in negotiations, friendly in first encounters, and confident every step of the way.
Networking comprises a big part in the role of a events manager. Brush up on your people skills to make networking a breeze! – Ms Career Girl
Learn and Practice Organization
From organizing your environment to organizing your time – a skill that is crucial in this field of work is organization. Being able to receive a task and immediately seeing organized tasks to accomplish it is necessary to execute an event flawlessly. Practicing it way ahead of the game can integrate this skill in your everyday life and can help you implement it in any task thrown your way, be it organizing a small press meet or setting up a conference.
Knowledge is Power.
While anyone can put together an event, having the technical skills to back it up will give you a definitive leg up over other event managers. Consider an events management degree, as it would definitely equip you with the tools that is needed in every facet of the job. Be ready to take on everything from creative conceptualization to accounting. Event management doesn’t end when the event does.
Be a Team Leader and a Team Player
Leadership is a crucial skill in event management. Whether you are assigned to be on top of the task or a leader of a full project, my advice is to show that you can lead both by superb delegation and by example to others. Accept criticism gracefully, and hear out other people’s ideas. In the world of events, idea sharing is a good thing. The more ideas, the more options to choose from. Don’t be a sourpuss if you don’t get your way. Learn how to be a great leader by knowing how to compromise and by keeping not your own interest, but the project’s best interest in mind.
Stay up to date with the latest trends in Event Management by adding alerts to your local events, or simply by browsing your local lifestyle sites and magazines during your downtime. – Ms Career Girl on How to be an Expert Event Manager
Stay Up to Date
A good friend, Dax Carnay, who is the Creative Strategy Director in a reputable events company puts it very well:
“Continue to learn. The industry is constantly changing. You can be good, you can be better than most people, but never consider yourself to be the best. There will always be something new and more creative than your last concept. There will always be a new medium and a new way of doing things. Never think that the way you learned it and the experiences you got will be enough. Always be a doe eyed learner.�
If you have ambitions of being part of the Events industry, it takes more than knowing how to create a Facebook event page. Get started working on these skills now so you can be on the top of your game when the opportunity comes.