How to Prepare for a Career in Events Management
Preparing for a career can feel like an overwhelming task, no matter what field you enter. But with the right training, experience, and hard work, you can turn your career into a successful one. This is especially true if you want to enter the field of events management.
Events management often includes a large variety of tasks for each project, such as:
- Researching opportunities for events
- Communicating with clients to find out about their event requirements
- Producing detailed proposals for the event
- Managing the event budget
- Securinga venue, arranging the catering, and hiring the necessary equipment
- Organising traffic control and ensuring that there is sufficient parking for the event
- Providing assistance on the day(s) of the event
- Evaluating the event after it has taken place
Whether you work in-house for a company or on your own as a freelancer, the above list includes only a few of the tasks and responsibilities that you will be required to perform as an events manager.
Here are some ideas for gaining events planning experience,along with tips on how to prepare for a career in events management:
1. Get the right training: Make sure that you choose a course suited to what you want to achieve. At the end of your events management studies, you should have the skills that you need to be able to manage an entire event, consult with clients, source suppliers, manage budgets, and achieve the goals set by your clients. So choose your course carefully.
2. Be a leader: As an events manager, you will have to set up meetings, plan event schedules, make managerial decisions, organise priorities, and work effectively within a budget. All of these activities require leadership skills, so it will be a good idea to get involved in a leadership role in your community or social groups while you are studying —this will give you some of the relevant experience you need when entering the work environment.
3. Volunteer your services: Volunteering for work while you are studying is the perfect way to gain some experience. Not only will experience help you secure a job more quickly, but it gives you a lot to talk about during future job interviews.And also: employers loving hearing about any relevant volunteer work you have done if you are applying for a job in the field of events planning.
Additional aspects to note about this field:
There are a few important things to note about a career in events management.
- Firstly, you have to remain professional at all times:when you attend an event, you are not there as a guest — you are there to work and to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
- Secondly, this is not an 08:00 – 17:00 kind of job. This job requires you to be willing to work irregular hours, including evenings and weekends.
Each project brings new challenges, but you are always learning and growing. And one of the positive aspects is that you get to plan exciting events, ranging from weddings and sports days to business conferences and fashion shows!
Finding a job: Finding a job once you’ve completed your studies may feel like a major challenge, but it doesn’t need to be. And with a part-time events management course at Oxbridge Academy, you can build up your events management experience while you are still busy studying. Tackling freelance jobs or volunteering to help out with certain events can help you reach your career goals a lot quicker.
Already qualified and ready to go into the events job market? Apply for one of the latest events management jobs on Job Mail.